Author: Cathy Nolan

Have more trust in God who is your Father in Heaven….   October 12, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! In today’s Gospel, we hear these incredibly comforting words from Jesus: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Lk 11: 9-13) Our Lady has reminded us of this very same thing in her messages. She wants us to know God the Father. She wants us to relate to Him as our very own Father. But this takes prayer and trust. Listen to her words: May 25, 2018 “Dear children! In this peaceless time, I am calling you to have more trust in God who is your Father in Heaven and who has sent me to lead you to Him. You, open your hearts to the gifts which He desires to give you and, in the silence of your heart, Adore my Son Jesus who has given His life so that you may live in eternity – where He desires to lead you. May your hope be the joy of a meeting with the Most High in everyday life. Therefore, I am calling you: do not neglect prayer because prayer works miracles. Thank you for having responded to my call.” May we live this day as children of our Heavenly Father, with complete trust! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023  

May everything I do be for the glory of God!     October 11, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! September 25, 2020 “Dear children! I am with you for so long because God is great in His love and in my presence. I am calling you, little children: return to God and to prayer. May the measure of your [way of] living be love and do not forget, little children, that prayer and fasting work miracles in you and around you. May everything you do be for the glory of God, and then Heaven will fill your heart with joy and you will feel that God loves you and is sending me to save you and the earth on which you live. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Our Lady said in this message: “May everything you do be for the glory of God…” Why does she say this? Well, for one thing she knows that if we do everything for the glory of God, then, “Heaven will fill your heart with joy and you will feel that God loves you…” Acting out of the desire to give God’s glory opens us up to God in such a way that His joy can invade our very being. We will feel God’s love, because we have given our very life to Him. Feeling God’s love is like no other feeling on earth. It is beyond imagining. The saints do hint at that feeling in their writings. Still writing about it is not experiencing it. To feel God’s love is amazing, it is heaven, it is peace and hope and everything that is good, rolled into one! But there is more… We won’t just feel God’s love, we “will feel that God loves you and is sending me to save you and the earth on which you live…” God is sending Our Lady to us to save us and the earth we live on. He is doing this right now, each moment of the day. She is coming to deliver us from eternal separation from God, and to even save our poor earth from all the evil that has been thrust upon it by the enemy. She is coming to bring us back to God, once and for all. We can receive all of this if everything we do is for the glory of God! Our job is to just keep our eyes on the Lord, and give Him glory constantly, through our thoughts, our prayers, our conversations, our actions, our work, our rest, our sicknesses and our trials. If we keep our focus on glorifying God, all will be turned into good. Let’s try an experiment. As best we can, let’s try to repeat Our Lady’s words to us today: “May everything you do be for the glory of God…” “May everything I do be for the glory of God today!” “May what I am doing right now be for the glory of God!” “Until the day I die, may everything I do be for the glory of God!” Amen! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023

Let everything you do be for the glory of God!     October 10, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! September 25, 2020 “Dear children! I am with you for so long because God is great in His love and in my presence. I am calling you, little children: return to God and to prayer. May the measure of your [way of] living be love and do not forget, little children, that prayer and fasting work miracles in you and around you. May everything you do be for the glory of God, and then Heaven will fill your heart with joy and you will feel that God loves you and is sending me to save you and the earth on which you live. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Our Lady makes it clear that it is our job to give Glory to God! “May everything you do be for the glory of God!” Now that is our job! It is our job to give glory to God in everything! Then it is God’s job to deliver us and defeat our enemy. We have been told in the Scriptures of many such moments when God miraculously saved his faithful people from impossible odds. One such moment is when the three young men refused to deny God and were thrown into a fiery furnace. But the flames could not touch them, because the Lord sent an angel into the furnace to protect them from the flames, and they gave Glory to God for their deliverance!! Here is that account from the Book of Daniel. These young men risked their lives for the Lord, and he came to their rescue: Daniel 15: 24-68: Now the king’s servants who threw them in did not cease feeding the furnace fires with naphtha, pitch, tow, and brush. And the flame streamed out above the furnace forty-nine cubits, and it broke through and burned those of the Chaldeans whom it caught about the furnace. But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azariah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the furnace, and made the midst of the furnace like a moist whistling wind, so that the fire did not touch them at all or hurt or trouble them. Then the three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying: “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever; And blessed is thy glorious, holy name and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever; Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holy glory and to be extolled and highly glorified for ever. Blessed art thou, who sittest upon cherubim and lookest upon the deeps, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever. Blessed art thou upon the throne of thy kingdom and to be extolled and highly exalted for ever. Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven and to be sung and glorified for ever. “Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you heavens, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all waters above the heaven, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all powers, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, sun and moon, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, stars of heaven, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all rain and dew, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all winds, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, fire and heat, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, dews and snows, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, nights and days, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, light and darkness, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, ice and cold, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, frosts and snows, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Let the earth bless the Lord; let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, mountains and hills, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you springs, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, seas and rivers, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you whales and all creatures that move in the waters, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all birds of the air, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, all beasts and cattle, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you sons of men, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, O Israel, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you priests of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever. Bless the Lord, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever; for he has rescued us from Hades and saved us from the hand of death, and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace; from the midst of the fire he has delivered us. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. Bless him, all who worship the Lord, the God of gods, sing praise to him and give thanks to him, for his mercy endures for ever.” Amen and Amen!!! Glory to God forever!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023    

The Glory of God!   October 9, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! Our Lady gave two messages in 1985 in which she mentioned something unusual. She gave them a way to pray for God’s plan. Here are the two messages: “Dear Children, These days satan is manifesting himself in a special way in this parish. Pray, dear children, that God’s plan is brought into effect and that every work of satan ends up for the glory of God. I have stayed with you this long so I might help you along in your trials. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (02/07/1985) “Pray, dear children, so that God’s plan may be accomplished, and all the works of satan be changed in favor of the Glory of God.” (02/17/1985). Our Lady told the children to pray for God’s plan, and then she added, “pray…that every work of satan ends up for the glory of God.” Or as in the second message, “Pray…all the works of satan be changed in favor of the Glory of God.” What does this say to us? I think Our Lady wants us to actively pray that all that our enemy is doing in our lives will end up for the glory of God. We can simply pray that. It is a statement of truth and hope. We can pray that all that our enemy plans to do to harm and entrap us will be thwarted by the Lord, and end up bringing the Glory of God to us! That is good news! I also think Our Lady sees much more than we do. And she sees that God is infinitely more powerful than our enemy, satan. And that with very little effort God can thwart all the plans of the enemy, so that all the enemy’s efforts will end up giving glory to God Himself! And isn’t this the truth. We have seen it clearly. When? In the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus. The enemy did his worst to Jesus. Jesus died after horrible suffering, in public. Certainly no one would believe in Jesus again. And yet on the third day, Jesus rose, triumphant and glorious. And all satan’s efforts ended up for the Glory of God! This is the pattern we see in the lives of the saints and in our own families, when a trial turns into a victory because of love and forgiveness and trust. All ends up for the Glory of God!! It is certain for those who stay faithful to the Lord and keep to His ways. Our Lady wants us to have this heavenly hope, that all will be well, and all manner of things shall be well. God will triumph over our enemy and all that the enemy has tried to do to ruin us will turn for the glory of God! Our Lady also told us that we need to do all we do for the Glory of God, every day of our lives. Here is a beautiful message about the Glory of God: September 25, 2020 “Dear children! I am with you for so long because God is great in His love and in my presence. I am calling you, little children: return to God and to prayer. May the measure of your [way of] living be love and do not forget, little children, that prayer and fasting work miracles in you and around you. May everything you do be for the glory of God, and then Heaven will fill your heart with joy and you will feel that God loves you and is sending me to save you and the earth on which you live. Thank you for having responded to my call.” We can do everything we do for the Glory of God!! It is a wonderful way to live. It is our choice. Who are we giving glory to in our lives? Are we seeking our own glory? Or are we longing to give glory to God through our lives. We can turn our ordinary actions into moments of heavenly glory, if we do everything for the Glory of God! “May everything you do be for the glory of God, and then Heaven will fill your heart with joy and you will feel that God loves you and is sending me to save you and the earth on which you live.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023

  October 6, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! I want to share just one message with you all today! This message is as true today as it was in 1989. Let Our Lady’s words of hope and life fill you with the peace and strength we need to be a force for God in our time!! August 25, 1989 “Dear children! I call you to prayer. By means of prayer, little children, you obtain joy and peace. Through prayer you are richer in the mercy of God. Therefore, little children, let prayer be the life of each one of you. Especially I call you to pray so that all those who are far away from God may be converted. Then our hearts shall be richer because God will rule in the hearts of all men. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray! Let prayers begin to rule in the whole world. Thank you for having responded to my call.” It has taken me a long time to finally realize that Our Lady means what she says. Prayer must be the life of each one of us! Prayer must rule the whole world! Prayer obtains joy and peace. It is prayer that achieves all!!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023

St. Faustina Kowalska!   October 5, 2023 St. Faustina Kowalska Dear Family of Mary! Today is the Feast Day of St. Faustina Kowalska! She is very special to me! And I am so honored to be able to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet during the Hour of Mercy in Medjugorje, through Mary TV! Every day we pray the Chaplet together in Our Mother’s little village, and I feel her joy as well! Our Lady calls us to receive God’s Mercy in her messages. This message given through Jakov is very beautiful: December 25, 2012 (Jakov Colo) “Dear children, give the gift of your life to me and completely surrender to me so that I may help you to comprehend my motherly love and the love of my Son for you. My children, I love you immeasurably and today, in a special way, on the day of the birth of my Son, I desire to receive each of you into my heart and to give a gift of your lives to my Son. My children, Jesus loves you and gives you the grace to live in His mercy, but sin has overtaken many of your hearts and you live in darkness. Therefore, my children, do not wait, say ‘no’ to sin and surrender your hearts to my Son, because only in this way will you be able to live God’s mercy and, with Jesus in your hearts, set out on the way of salvation.” Mother understands the power of Jesus’ mercy. She witnessed it on Calvary. There is no power in all creation to compare to Jesus’ mercy! But we must desire it. We must come to Him, and say yes to Him, surrendering our old ways, and giving ourselves to Jesus. Here is a Litany to Divine Mercy that St. Faustina wrote. Today let’s pray it together and give ourselves over to the Merciful Heart of Jesus, with the help of Our Lady and St. Faustina!!! Litany of Divine Mercy Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us. God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. Divine Mercy, greatest attribute of God, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, unfathomable love of the Sanctifier, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, incomprehensible mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, expression of the greatest might of God, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in creation of heavenly spirits, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in calling us forth from nothingness to existence, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, encompassing the whole universe, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, endowing us with immortal life, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, shielding us from deserved punishment, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, lifting us from the misery of sin, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, justifying us through the Person of the Incarnate Word, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, which flowed out from the wounds of Christ, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, gushing forth from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, giving us the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of Mercy, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in revealing the mysteries of God, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the founding of the Holy Church, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in instituting the Holy Sacraments, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, first of all in the sacraments of Baptism and Penance, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the Holy Eucharist and the sacrament of Holy Orders, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in calling us to the holy faith, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the conversion of sinners, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in sanctifying the just, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, in perfecting of the pious, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, fount of help for the sick and the suffering, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, sweet relief for anguished hearts, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, only hope of despairing souls, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, accompanying us in every moment of our life, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, anticipating our needs with graces, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, repose of the dying, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, heavenly delight of the saved, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, respite and relief of the souls in Purgatory, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, crown of All Saints, we trust in You. Divine Mercy, inexhaustible source of miracles, we trust in You. Lamb of God, who revealed the greatest mercy in redeeming the world by dying on the cross, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who mercifully offers Yourself for our sake in every holy Mass, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takes away our sins with inexhaustible compassion, have mercy on us. V: The Mercy of God is above all His works. R: Hence, we will praise The Divine Mercy forever and ever. Let us pray: Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, King of mercy, who with You and the Holy Spirit shows us mercy now and forever. Amen. PS. Fr. Jason Lewis, MIC will say mass in the Divine Mercy Chapel at Cermanci in Medjugorje today. We will record the mass and post it on our webpage! What a wonderful gift on St. Faustina’s Feast Day!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023  

St. Francis of Assisi -Father of our Beloved Franciscans in Medjugorje!   October 4, 2023 St. Francis of Assisi Dear Family of Mary! Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is the founder of our dear Franciscan priests in Medjugorje. We can only feel deep gratitude to St. Francis for answering his call to follow Jesus, and through his deep love for Jesus, giving us the Franciscan call to radical devotion to Jesus! St. Francis loved Our Lady, and she has made her home in one of his parishes! Thank you, St. Francis for the parish of Medjugorje!! Here is a prayer that St. Francis wrote to Our Lady: Hail, holy Lady,  most holy Queen, Mary, Mother of God, ever Virgin. You were chosen by the Most High Father in heaven, consecrated by Him, with His most Holy Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. On you descended and still remains all the fullness of grace and every good. Hail, His Palace. Hail His Tabernacle. Hail His Robe. Hail His Handmaid. Hail, His Mother. And Hail, all holy Virtues, who, by grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are poured into the hearts of the faithful so that from their faithless state, they may be made faithful servants of God  through you. Amen. St. Francis, pray for us!!!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023

Litany to my Holy Guardian Angel   October 3, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! Yesterday was the Feast of the Guardian Angels! Today I want to share a lovely litany dedicated to the Guardian Angels. I find that the intentions expressed to our Guardian Angel are very instructive. Most of us are happy to know we have a Guardian Angel, but we don’t really know how to relate to him, or why God has given one to each of us! But the prayers in this litany are a help in knowing what to expect of our Angel, and also how to pray to him. I believe that in these days we are much in need of our Guardian Angel. Much in need! I suggest we take time with each intention in the Litany, and talk to ourselves about it. I know that sounds funny, but we can actually have a conversation with ourselves, as we ponder our presuppositions about the angels, and the reality that is expressed in the petition. Thanks be to God for giving us Guardian Angels!! What a good God we have!! Litany to my Holy Guardian Angel For Private Recitation. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us. Jesus, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us. Holy Mary, Queen of Angels, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who art my guardian, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, whom I revere as my superior, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost give me charitable counsel, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost give me wise direction, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost take the place of a tutor, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost love me tenderly, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who art my consoler, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who art attached to me as a good brother, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost instruct me in the duties and truth of salvation, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who art to me a charitable shepherd, pray for me. Angel of Heaven who art witness of all my actions, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost help me in all my undertakings, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost continually watch over me, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost intercede for me, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost carry me in thy hand, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost direct me in all my ways, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost defend me with zeal, pray for me. Angel of heaven, who dost conduct me with wisdom, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost guard me from all danger, pray for me. Angel of Heaven, who dost dissipate the darkness and enlighten the mind, pray for me. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Lord. Jesus, hear us. Jesus, graciously hear us. Pray for us, O Guardian Angel, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let Us Pray. Almighty and eternal God, Who by an effect of Thine ineffable bounty hast given to each of the faithful an angel to be the guardian of body and soul, grant that I may have for him whom Thou hast given me in Thy mercy so much respect and love, that, protected by the gifts of Thy graces and by his help, I may merit to go to Thee in Heaven, there to contemplate Thee with him and the other happy spirits in the brightness of Thy glory. Amen. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023  

To pray well, fast!   October 2, 2023 The Holy Guardian Angels Dear Family of Mary! Today, Fr. Shamon tells us that in order to pray well, we must fast! Chapter 9, Teaching Nine To pray well, fast. Prayer is the breath of the soul. Fasting is the prayer of the body. Prayer and fasting are as necessary to our spiritual life as breathing and eating are to our physical life. As breathing and eating are interrelated, so are prayer and fasting. When you fast, you can pray better. Try it and see if that isn’t true. But we have virtually forgotten about fasting. Our Lady at Medjugorje asks: “Fast strictly on Wednesday and Friday…” (8/14/84) Fasting opens you up to others and to God. Fasting helps you experience how it is to be poor. The poor hunger by necessity. They know what it is to need; and so they are open to help. The poor person is open to trusting God, for he has no one else in whom to trust. That is why Mary said God gives good things to the hungry. (Lk 1:53) Her Son echoed her sentiments when He said: “How blest are the poor in spirit: the reign of God is theirs” (Mt. 5:3) Self-sufficiency can shut out God. If we have no sense of need, then we see no need for turning to God. Our Lord himself said that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. One reason is, because a rich person tends to be self-sufficient, to trust in his own resources, and not in God. Only when the well is dry will you know the value of water. Fasting does not mean not eating. When you fast, you eat, but you do not eat what your palate craves. How often we eat just because something tastes so good! Fasting denies those tastes, so jaded by our abundance. To drink sugarless coffee and one slice of toast on Friday morning and the same with a couple of slices of toast for lunch is not too appetizing-but it is sufficient. You eat, you see, but not what you would like to eat. You are in reality denying yourself. And that is good! Such fasting is so good because it also helps toward self-mastery. We all experience the rebellion of the flesh against the spirit. St. Paul cried out that because of the sting of the flesh, he did not do what he wanted to do but what he hated. “I do, not the good I will to do, but the evil I do not intend” (Rom. 7:19) If you starve a lion, you so weaken it that you can master the beast. Fasting starves the passions and so weakens their power that it becomes possible for your reason and will to gain the upper hand in your life. Lastly, you can almost say that fasting is a physical necessity. More graves are dug by knives and forks than by auto accidents. So, thousands of people diet or go to health clubs. Fasting is not so strenuous and difficult as dieting and exercising, yet it is more rewarding; for it not only slims the body, but it also shapes the soul. Mark’s gospel tells of five conflicts between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees. The third clash was over fasting (Mk. 2:18-22). Our Lord did not attack fasting- but only the way the Scribes and Pharisees fasted. You must fast, but never to lord it over others who do not fast (Lk. 18:9-14) You must fast, but not to be seen by men, to show off (Mt. 6:16-18) You fast to atone for past sins. When you do, fasting is called “penance”. You fast to make up for the sins of others. When you do, fasting is called “reparation.” You fast to gain future strength in the struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. When you do, fasting is called “mortification.” Mortification opens up the heart to God and to others and disposes you to follow the dictates of your reason illumined by faith. So important is fasting that Jesus began His public life with it. It empowered Him to conquer the temptations of the devil. He is the way. There is another kind of fasting we can do. It is this: pick out two days each week for no television. Replace the time with family games, family prayer, family Bible reading, visits to friends and shut-ins, letter writing. One day Our Lady, in asking the seers to prepare for Christmas, said: “I tell you: turn off your television sets, your radios and follow the program set by God of mediation, prayer and reading the Gospel; foster the development of faith” (1984). She promised such a preparation would bring them the merriest merry Christmas! Rev. Albert J.M. Shamon, “Our Lady teaches about Prayer at Medjugorje.” Chapter 9, Teaching Nine! (P. 34-37) It is good to remember that our fasting empowers our prayer! Mother leads us! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023

Your prayer invites God to enter your life!   September 29, 2023 Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels Dear Family of Mary! Today, in Chapter 8 – Teaching Eight, Fr. Shamon tells us that our prayer invites God to enter our lives: Fr. Shamon writes: One final point remains on prayer. It is this: Why does Mary need our prayers? Why does she beg for them? On September 13, 1984, she said: “Dear children. I still need your prayers. You will ask yourselves: why so many prayers?” Yes, why? The answer lies in the fact that God has given us a precious gift, something that makes us most like Himself–our free will. The Founding Fathers of our nation (the USA) cherished liberty. The Statue of Liberty graces the harbor to our land. Revolutions have been fought for liberty. But no one respects our liberty more than God Himself and His Mother. God made us free. In the Exodus, He showed that He wanted all mankind to be free. He will never violate that freedom. He even sent an angel to get Mary’s consent to divine motherhood. John pictured Our Lord as standing at the door of our hearts and knocking for entrance (Rv. 3:20). Only we can open it. And we do when we pray. Prayer says in effect to God: “I want you to enter into my life, into our world.” That is why Mary pleads for us to pray. It gives God and her the green light, so to speak, to go ahead and act in our lives and in the world. Mary is so respectful of our freedom that her messages often begin with the words “I invite you.” Like the gospel, her messages are invitations. They ask for an RSVP – a response if you please, but a response freely given. All she can do is invite and wait. Prayer is our response to the invitation. It is our asking God and Mary to step into our lives. On Thursday (4/26/84), Our Lady did not give any message to the parish. The following week (5/3/84), Marija asked Our Lady: “Dear Mother, why did you not give a message for the parish last Thursday?” Here is what Our Lady answered: “I do not wish to force anybody to do anything they do not feel or wish to do, even if I had some special message to give to the parish with which I wanted to revive the faith for all the faithful.” Imagine that! Our Lady implied that even if she had a most helpful message to give, we could prevent her so doing just by our saying ‘No’. What Our Lady can do, or will do, depends on each of us. For instance, Our Lady told the visionaries when they had asked her what she would like them to do with their lives late on: “I would very much like for you to be priests or religious, but that is for you to choose. You are free.” Again she said: “You must make up your own minds. I will help you in your decisions.” Ivanka decided to marry. Our Lady did not object. It was Ivanka’s decision. We are free! In the monthly messages to the world, Our Lady constantly calls us to decide. “Dear children. I invite all of you to decide for paradise” (10/25/87). God will give paradise only to those who freely choose it! “Dear children. I invite each one of you to decide again to surrender everything completely to me. Only in that way will I be able to present each of you to God…I desire each of you for myself, but God has given to all a freedom which I lovingly respect and to which I humbly submit…” (11/25/87) There you have it. “Only in this way will I be able…God has given to all freedom…I respect this…I submit to this.” Can you now see why she pleads so earnestly that we pray? Prayer frees her to act in our lives. This deep respect for our liberty is one of the marks of the authenticity of the apparitions of Medjugorje. Mary invites; she thanks us for our response. But not so Satan. He is the father of all agitation. He is harsh. He seeks to force his will upon us. When Mirjana saw the devil (4/14/82), she said: “You cannot imagine how terrible he was. He almost killed me with his gaze…” At every Mass we are reminded at the Presentation of the Gifts that our salvation is the work of both God and man; for the Church speaks of bread “which earth has given (God’s work) and human hands have made” (man’s work), and of wine as “fruit of the vine (God’s work) and work of human hands” (man’s work). In one of her latest messages to the world (1/25/88) Our Lady once more underscored the power that is ours in our free will. She said: “Dear children, today I am again calling you to complete conversion, which is difficult for those who have not chosen God.” We must choose God; otherwise conversion is difficult. “I am inviting you, dear children, to convert fully to God.” She asks for full conversion. Too often we seek God only in times of sickness or problems; we think He doesn’t listen to us or hear us. And that is not true. We limit God’s power by our lack of faith. So the Mother of God said: “I am praying for you and I want to draw you ever more near to God, but I cannot if you do not want it.” The final decision is ours. Mother Mary says she cannot draw us to God is we do not want it. St. Augustine said: “God who created us without our consent will not save us without our consent.” And that is that: that is why Our Lady begs us to pray. Prayer opens us up to God. Rev. Albert J.M. Shamon, “Our Lady teaches about Prayer at Medjugorje.” Chapter 8, Teaching Eight! (P. 34-37) We are grateful to Fr. Shamon for such simple but powerful words which show us Our Mother’s love and great holiness. We are in good hands with Our Lady!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023