Author: Cathy Nolan

Thank you for living my messages February 9, 2021 Dear Family of Mary! Today we will hear from Fr. Slavko, in a meditation he wrote for the June 25, 1998 message: Meditation on the message of 25th June 1998, 17th Anniversary of the Apparitions “Dear children, today I desire to thank you for living my messages.  I bless you all with my Motherly blessing and I bring you all before my Son Jesus.  Thank you for having responded to my call.” This time Mary gave us a short message, one of the shortest.  Giving thanks is found in the majority of her messages.  In each of them, apart from one, Mary says, “Thank you for having responded to my call.”  It’s surprising to us and makes us wonder, ‘Who exactly should she thank? Who among us has truly accepted and lived the messages so perfectly that the Virgin Mary is able to thank him?’  Mary sees the good the positive, even if it is only in small amounts, and it is for this good and positivity that she gives thanks.  That gives cause for reflection.  Giving thanks is the condition for peace among people and also between ourselves and God.  Whoever says, “Thank you” shows that he sees the positive especially.  At home, if we thank each other for the good, we will have peace.  If we don’t see the good and only notice or criticize the bad, there will always be conflicts and discord among us and we will never have joy/ the same goes for our relationship with God.  If we find no reason to thank God, that means that we do not have faith. God created everything.  He gave us everything that we have, and it is only our pride and our superbness which renders us blind to His gifts.  If we find no reason to give thanks, we will not even be able to pray, we will lose our faith and our trust in God.  When things don’t go well, we can easily say, “My God, why me?” but while everything goes well, we quickly forget to thank Him.  We are called to be grateful to God always, to have a humble attitude which inspires us to have constant gratitude.  Whenever gratitude stops, sin enters in.  If we are not grateful, that means that we do not see the good and we open ourselves up to conflict and sin.  It’s a great danger for us to focus on the negative and talk only of the negative.  It’s also dangerous with respect to education.  We all suffer a little from professional defamation and we behave like a teacher who is correcting the homework of his students.  When he sees the mistake, he underlines it emphatically in red so that it can be seen.  That might be the right thing to do at school, but if we only see the negative in our life, peace will not be possible and people, especially children, will not mature well.  Only the person who sees the good, who gives thanks and talks about it becomes a good educator.  Those who only criticize lose their authority with the children and with the school.  I think the same thing goes for priests and their sermons.  If a priest only criticizes and never emphasize the good things within the parish, he will also lose all authority. That which might prevent us from giving thanks is suffering, our cross.  A question comes from our heart, “How can I thank God for my suffering and my cross?  Should I do it?” The answer can only be found in faith, in front of the crucified Jesus.  How may times do we thank Jesus for His suffering and His cross, and do we praise His cross because through it He redeemed us and redeemed the world?  We believe that our suffering was caused by us or by others through their sins.  Didn’t St. Paul say that for those who believe, everything would turn to the good?  I think that the biggest test of faith, in our relationship with ourselves, with God and with others consists in believing that all of our personal suffering will change into the good, leaving the time and the method to God.  But he who also gives thanks for his own suffering and his cross frees himself from anger, from mistrust, from fear and from depression.  He will always be able to have joy and hope. To give thanks is the deepest expression and the most beautiful fruit of faith.  Mary is a grateful servant of the Lord.  Looking at her Magnificat, we see how she prays.  Her soul praises the greatness of the Lord because the Lord has looked on the humility of His servant.  And she gives thanks for the history of people, for everything the Lord did for their fathers.  She sees that God has raised the lowly, the humble and the poor and that the high and mighty are not esteemed by Him, as long as they remain haughty and proud.  Mary says, “Thank you”.  In the history of Israel she sees that God loves us and guides us just as she sees this in her own life. I spoke with one of the visionaries about her experience in Heaven, Purgatory and Hell.  Regarding Heaven, she gave me an answer which greatly pleased me.  She said, “In Heaven, we will be giving eternal thanks when we learn all that God has done for us, that we have not seen here on earth.  We will need all eternity to give thanks.” It’s the great task which is incumbent on everyone in this the start of the 18th anniversary of the apparitions.  We have to learn to be grateful, that is to say, that we must first open our eyes to the positive and to the good, and then give thanks.  Through gratitude we will experience joy and peace, protect ourselves from the negative, discover the positive and the good in others., we will talk about it and will give thanks for that.  Only then will we obtain the courage and the strength to face the negative in ourselves and in others.  And we will know to thank God for His great love, His Fatherly concern, and for this great gift which He has given us in this time. Let us think about the story in the Gospel in which Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one came back to thank Him, the others didn’t have the time.  One in ten, that’s too little.  If we ask ourselves if we are grateful, we will see that we behave in the same way perhaps.  But for those of us who are in the School of Mary, This must not be the case… (From Fr. Slavko Barbaric: “Medjugorje and Father Slavko Barbaric” Les Editions Sakramento 2016, p.138-140) I find Fr. Slavko’s words to be very healing!  To be continued tomorrow!   In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan © Mary TV 2021  

Let holiness begin to reign in your life! February 8, 2021 St. Jerome Emiliani St. Josephine Bakhita Dear Family of Mary! “…Be joyful bearers of peace and love that it may be good for you on earth. Yearn for Heaven; and in Heaven there is no sorrow or hatred. That is why, little children, decide anew for conversion and let holiness begin to reign in your life…” (January 25, 2021) Here is the homily for English Mass in Medjugorje, February 7, 2021, given by Fr. Robert Rieger: (Gospel was: Mark 1:29-39) Sometimes the Church is rattled by scandals.  And we’ve always got something to complain about when we look at our priests.  That means we are expecting from the Church, moral integrity, and good example.  But the nature of the Church isn’t just moral integrity, and we get a view of the nature of the Church in this Gospel. Jesus is our Lord and our Savior.  The Church is His Body.  The Holy Spirit animates the Church.  And what does Jesus do?  He leaves the synagogue and goes to a family.  And there He begins the healing.  And the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, who lay sick with a fever, was not just to take away the fever.  But the healing of the mother-in-law was so she could regain her dignity as servant. And then later on that evening, all the sick, all those possessed with demons, came to that house.  And so the nature of the Church begins to emerge, because this was the life of Jesus, and the life of Jesus is in the Church and is in each one of us, and so we start to become a magnet of sickness, of moral despair, of those who are possessed. Which means that even though the Church is the moral strength that keeps this world on its feet, it is also the place which attracts sickness, sin, and those who are in the depths of despair, and those who are attacked by evil. And that is quite a paradox.  You know, you would like to have the Church be just an example of purity, but it is full of sinners, beginning with us priests!  And that is the mystery of the Church, it is something so beautiful, and it is a life in which our ugliness and our darkness have a work of transformation and transfiguration.  We can come into the Church in all of our crippled-ness, and as we grow with the Church and let the light of Jesus grow in us, we can start to stand up tall, and serve others which is our truest and most beautiful dignity. And so at the end of the evening, after Jesus has cast out sicknesses and cast out demons, He goes off on His own to pray.  And there is the source of Jesus’ life.  Not just prayer, but the fact that He is the Son of the Father.  He is being the Son of the Father, being the Child of God.  That is the source and also the animation of His prayer.  He knows that He is the Son.  And that is the most beautiful and strengthening experience of His life. And in that experience of being the Son, He knows He can go out again.  Everyone would like to keep Jesus – “No, don’t go out like this, everyone is waiting for you, we are becoming famous here, and you are doing really good things…!”  And Jesus says- “No, I have to go, I have to go further, I have to keep going!” You know that is also our problem with God.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just sit down and pray a bit!  And, you know, be easy!  Couldn’t we just all be happy together?  But that’s not the reality.  Reality pushes us to become servants of others.  Continuously moving out to reach others who are in despair, others who are in ignorance, others who are possessed by demons.  I think the future of the Church in its walk of resurrection, in its walk of transformation, will be like Jesus today…leaving the synagogue and going into the family.  Going into the family to be with the sick, going into the family to be with the possessed, going into the family to be with those who are slaves to sin. There the Church manifests the power of its moral integrity.  The Church has the power to cast out demons, the power to forgive sins, the power to teach people to stay in the walk of transfiguration of their lives. So that’s the paradox, while it has this wonderful power, we will always have something to do with problem people, problem humanity, problem priests, which is why it is better to curb our criticism and curb our complaining.  Because when priests fall, be careful that is not going to be you two seconds later. Everyone is at risk of falling, and everyone is called to the walk of transformation, everyone is called to the walk of repentance, and that is a beautiful witness that we can offer of the Church’s power and the Church’s moral integrity. I, a poor sinner, a priestly sinner, am called as son of God, to stand up again!  To stand up again in the dignity of being forgiven, and to serve people.  So don’t hold the experience of God and the experience of prayer in a small and individual isolation.  That would be the distortion of the Church’s true nature.  We are called as sons of God to go out into our families or out into our neighborhood, to preach the Good News that the sick our healed, the sinners are forgiven, and the demons will be cast out! In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021      

Ponder how much you have received! February 5, 2021 St. Agatha Dear Family of Mary! “…As nature which gives itself, you also, little children, ponder how much you have received…” (January 25, 2021) I really love the way Our Lady calls us to gratitude, over and over again!  In this one sentence she directs us to look at nature and realize how much nature gives: Light, water, air, plants for our food, trees for wood which warms us and with which we build our homes, animals for food and to help with our work, fish for food, and on and on.  Nature gives and gives. But instead of telling us to give like nature, she tells us to think about how much we have received!  Instead of giving us a lesson on generosity, she is giving us a lesson on gratitude.  Truly this way of thinking can make us very humble, childlike, and happy!!  We have received so much through nature which is the gift of God!  God made it all and has given it to us.  There is never a moment in which we cannot give thanks!  And even more, we can give thanks to God for creating us and loving us into His eternal arms! Here are two litanies of thanksgiving that we might pray with weekend as we learn gratitude anew! A LITANY OF THANKSGIVING (from “The Book of Common Worship: Daily Prayer” publ. Westminster/John Knox Press 1993) Give thanks to the Lord who is good. God’s love is everlasting. Come, let us praise God joyfully. Let us come to God with thanksgiving. For the good world; for things great and small, beautiful and awesome; for seen and unseen splendors; We thank you, Lord God. For human life; for talking and moving and thinking together; for common hopes and hardships shared from birth until our dying; We thank you, Lord God. For work to do and strength to work; for the comradeship of labor; for exchanges of good humor and encouragement; We thank you, Lord God. For marriage; for the mystery and joy of flesh made one; for mutual forgiveness and burdens shared; for secrets kept in love; We thank you, Lord God. For family; for living together and eating together; for family amusements and family pleasures; We thank you, Lord God. For children; for their energy and curiosity; for their brave play and startling frankness; for their sudden sympathies; We thank you, Lord GOD For the young; for their high hopes; for their irreverence toward worn-out values; for their search for freedom; for their solemn vows; We thank you, Lord God. For growing up and growing old; for wisdom deepened by experience; for rest in leisure; and for time made precious by its passing; We thank you, Lord God. For your help in times of doubt and sorrow; for healing our diseases; for preserving us in temptation and danger; We thank you, Lord God. For the Church into which we have been called; for the good news we receive by Word and Sacrament; for our life together in the Lord; We praise you, Lord God. For your Holy Spirit, who guides our steps and brings us gifts of faith and love; who prays in us and prompts our grateful worship; We praise you, Lord God. Above all, O God, for your Son Jesus Christ, who lived and died and lives again for our salvation; for our hope in him; and for the joy of serving him; We thank and praise you, Eternal God, for all your goodness to us. Give thanks to the Lord, who is good. God’s love is everlasting. A Litany of Thanks to God Father, you bless us with the gift of life. Father, we give you thanks. You give us your Son as our Savior. Father, we give you thanks. you teach us his word of life. Father, we give you thanks. You make us your holy people. Father, we give you thanks. You cleanse us from our sins. Father, we give you thanks. You give us Mary as our mother and our model. Father, we give you thanks. You invite us to love you by loving others. Father, we give you thanks. You give us talents and gifts to use for your glory. Father, we give you thanks. You help us to do good works for you. Father, we give you thanks. You nourish us with the bread of life. Father, we give you thanks. You give us the cup of salvation. Father, we give you thanks. You have given us your Spirit. Father, we give you thanks. You promise us the joys of heaven. Father, we give you thanks. You call us to sing your praises forever. Father, we give you thanks. Beloved God, you have given us all grace and life through the hands of Christ our Savior. With Jesus, we bless Your Name. With Him we thank You. With Christ our Lord, we pray to You: Our Father, in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in Heaven, Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. Amen.   In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021    

That you may be stronger in faith. February 4, 2021 Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children! I am calling you at this time to prayer, fasting and renunciation, that you may be stronger in faith…” (January 25, 2021) Prayer, fasting, and renunciation are the tripod upon which our daily life of faith must be built.  Our Lady has been very clear with us over all these 40 years.  We must pray, fast, and deny ourselves (renunciation) in order adhere to Christ in every aspect of our lives.  It is a demanding lifestyle, to be sure.  But it equips us for any occasion, to stand in truth and humility with Jesus and Mary! This prayer attributed to St. Patrick, exudes the kind of strength of faith we are striving for. Fáed Fíada – The Cry of the Deer I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation. I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism, through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension, through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom. I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels, in hope of resurrection to meet with reward, in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets, in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors, in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men. I arise today, through the strength of Heaven: light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of Earth, firmness of Rock. I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd. I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils): against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of heathenry, against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry, against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, against every knowledge that endangers man’s body and soul. Christ to protect me today against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so that there may come abundance of reward. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021    

Be witnesses of my presence! February 3, 2021 St. Blaise St. Ansgar Dear Family of Mary! In this time of suffering and social upheaval, we need to keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!  We need to focus on what God is doing, not on what humans are doing.  This is a time of grace!! Our Lady said to us: “Little children, believe, pray and love, and God will be near you. He will give you the gift of all the graces you seek from Him. I am a gift to you, because, from day to day, God permits me to be with you and to love each of you with immeasurable love. Therefore, little children, in prayer and humility, open your hearts and be witnesses of my presence. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (10/25/2005) Our Lady’s simple words are powerful!  She is with us because God permits her to be with us.  She is a gift from the Father for these days. I received a beautiful witness from one of our shipmates that I think will be a blessing for us all.  This account of unexpected graces through Our Lady will strengthen all of us for the days ahead! Ginna wrote to us: Today (February 1, 2021) I talked to an attorney I had employed in the 1980’s in a city in which I lived. We hadn’t talked for 25 years! When I went to Medjugorje in 1987 I thought I remembered that this attorney had told me that she prayed the Rosary at night. So when I got home, I brought over a bunch of Wayne Weible newspapers and a blessed medal and put it all in her mailbox!  I wrote a note and told her I had been in Medjugorje and that I prayed for her. I didn’t know until today when we talked, that on the day I dropped off those Medjugorje materials my friend had been planning to kill herself.  When she saw the Medjugorje materials in her mailbox, something happened in her heart.  The next day she started fasting and called a priest and went to confession for the first time in 30 years.   She said her life changed that day and she felt she was saved from hell. When we talked today, I told her that I thought she had told me 1981 that she prayed the Rosary at night. That is why I shared about Medjugorje with her when I returned from my first trip.   Then she told me, “Ginna, all I did was hold the Rosary. I didn’t know how to pray it!” When I dropped off the Medjugorje materials she said she began to really pray it instead of holding it. We went to Medjugorje together in August 1987. She told me today that that trip changed her life even more!  We reminisced about our pilgrimage quite a bit and it was such a blessing. “Ponder what you have received!!”   Next pilgrimage we make together will be to heaven!  What a joy to share what Our Lady has done for both of us in the 34 years since!  It just gives me such joy to think of how Our Lady has changed so many lives. Hoping you are both recovering and that this story brings you joy! – Ginna! Wow!  All I can say is WOW!  God’s timing is perfect!  And Our Lady’s presence is indeed a life saving grace!!  Be encouraged, everyone!!  We have a job to do in these days.  It is the job of being witnesses of Our Lady’s presence! “Little children, believe, pray and love, and God will be near you. He will give you the gift of all the graces you seek from Him. I am a gift to you, because, from day to day, God permits me to be with you and to love each of you with immeasurable love. Therefore, little children, in prayer and humility, open your hearts and be witnesses of my presence. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (10/25/2005) In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan © Mary TV 2021  

I present you all to my Son, Jesus… February 2, 2021 The Presentation of the Lord Dear Family of Mary! Today we accompany Joseph and Mary as they take Baby Jesus to the Temple to present Him to the Lord as it was prescribed in the book of the Law.  We wonder at the beauty of that moment when Mary handed her Son to the priest for the ceremony.  God Himself, in the form of a tiny child, is presented to God the Father as the First Born.  It seemed that only Joseph and Mary really understood that moment, until the prophetic voices of Simeon and Anna broke the silence with their joyful declarations! Mary presented Jesus to His Father in Heaven that day.  And she pledged her faithfulness to the call to be His Mother with total humility and docility to the will of the Father. In Medjugorje, Our Lady has come to be the Mother of us all.  She constantly tells us of her motherly love and her motherly desire that we live her messages.  She also tells us that she presents us to God!  Such a presentation is powerful.  She offers us to the Father, so that we can be blessed for His service!  She presents us to her Son, so that we can be covered with His mercy and grace. This is no small thing!  The Mother of Jesus is our Mother too!!! Let’s meditate on these five messages as our Rosary meditations today.  Our Lady wants to present us God! June 25, 1987 “Dear children! Today I thank you and I want to invite you all to God’s peace. I want each one of you to experience in your heart that peace which God gives. I want to bless you all today. I am blessing you with God’s blessing and I beseech you, dear children, to follow and to live my way. I love you, dear children, and so not even counting the number of times, I go on calling you and I thank you for all that you are doing for my intentions. I beg you, help me to present you to God and to save you. Thank you for having responded to my call. December 25, 1995 “Dear Children! Today I also rejoice with you and I bring you little Jesus, so that He may bless you. I invite you, dear children, so that your life may be united with Him. Jesus is the King of Peace and only He can give you the peace that you seek. I am with you and I present you to Jesus in a special way, now in this new time in which one should decide for Him. This time is the time of grace. Thank you for having responded to my call.” July 25, 2004 “Dear children! I call you anew: be open to my messages. I desire, little children, to draw you all closer to my Son Jesus; therefore, you pray and fast. Especially I call you to pray for my intentions, so that I can present you to my Son Jesus; for Him to transform and open your hearts to love. When you will have love in the heart, peace will rule in you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” June 25, 2013 “Dear children! With joy in the heart I love you all and call you to draw closer to my Immaculate Heart so I can draw you still closer to my Son Jesus, and that He can give you His peace and love, which are nourishment for each one of you. Open yourselves, little children, to prayer – open yourselves to my love. I am your mother and cannot leave you alone in wandering and sin. You are called, little children, to be my children, my beloved children, so I can present you all to my Son. Thank you for having responded to my call.” February 25, 2014 “Dear children! You see, hear, and feel that in the hearts of many people there is no God. They do not want Him, because they are far from prayer and do not have peace. You, little children, pray – live God’s commandments. You be prayer, you who from the very beginning said ‘yes’ to my call. Witness God and my presence and do not forget, little children: I am with you and I love you. From day to day I present you all to my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.” In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021    

I am calling you at this time to prayer… February 1, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! “…I am calling you at this time to prayer…” (01-25-21) The basis of our response to Our Lady is prayer.  Everything will come out of prayer.  Everything makes sense when we pray, because prayer is turning our attention towards God.  Prayer is looking up, lifting our eyes towards heaven and eternity.  Prayer is connecting with our God of Eternity. So let’s pray.  Today I share with you a Litany to the Heart of Mary!  Let this prayer permeate your being with the wonder of Mary! Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. 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 Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us. Heart of Mary, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, like unto the Heart of God, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, united to the Heart of Jesus, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, instrument of the Holy Ghost, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Divine Trinity, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, tabernacle of God Incarnate, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, immaculate from thy creation, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, full of grace, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, blessed among all hearts, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, throne of glory, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, most humble, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, holocaust of Divine Love, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, fastened to the Cross with Jesus Crucified, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, hope of the agonizing, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, seat of mercy, Pray for us. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart, R. Make our hearts like unto the Heart of Jesus. Let Us Pray: O most merciful God, Who, for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the miserable, wast pleased that the Most Pure Heart of Mary should be most like in charity and pity to the Divine Heart of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, grant that we, who commemorate this sweet and loving Heart, by the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Virgin, may merit to be found like unto the Heart of Jesus, through the same Christ Our Lord.   R. Amen. (This litany was composed by John Henry (Cardinal) Newman shortly after he converted to Catholicism in 1845. Let us pray this with reverence and recall the many blessings that have flowed through Mary from Jesus to us.) In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021    

Blessed are those servants… January 29, 2021 Dear Family of Mary! Let us consider again this line from the January 25, 2021 message: “…This is a time of awakening…” There is something very important about being awake in terms of the spiritual life.  Jesus talked about how important it was for servants to be found awake upon the return of their master.  But I never quite got the point, until yesterday when we discussed the words of Our Lady.  All of a sudden, I realized that being awake or awakened was not just a matter of staying up late to do my duties.  No, being awake was a state of soul in which I lived in the waking awareness of the truth about God!  Being awake is living in the reality that God is God and that we are His creatures, and that there is nothing that is separate from God.  Everything about my life is from God, for God and returning back to God.  I cannot live as if God does not exist. Listen to these words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke.  Jesus talks about the importance of staying “awake” until the Master returns.  Think about the deeper meaning of being awake – that awareness that God is real, that Jesus is God, that your life is totally gift from Him and that you only have meaning in terms of Jesus and His love.  Think of being awake in terms of this meaning: Luke 12:32-38 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!  (Lk 12:32-38) Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes!!!!  We want to be those servants who are “awake” when Jesus returns.  This means that our souls are completely awakened to the reality of our God.  Our souls are opened and ready for the Lord to come to us, because we can’t live without Him.  The doors of our hearts are ready to open to the Lord, no matter when He comes, so that He can enter in and make His home in us.  This means we are awakened to faith, hope and love.  We live in the total awareness of our God, in the day and in the night! This is a time of awakening.  We must be awakened in faith, living a totally converted life.  And we also must live in such a way that those around us will be awakened in faith as well.  God is giving us this time to awaken completely to His love, so we will be ready when He comes. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021      

This is a time of awakening January 28, 2021 St. Thomas Aquinas Dear Family of Mary! “…This is a time of awakening…” (01/25/21) Our Lady tells us that this is a time of awakening.  We might wonder what she means by this.  My first thought was of winter.  Where I live it is very cold these days.  There are inches of snow on the ground.  Nature is not ready to awaken.  Nothing is going to bud or grow yet.  So it isn’t yet the time for nature to awaken. Then my thoughts went to a different kind of awakening.  Could this be a time for souls to awaken?  We have been living through a very long winter in terms of our societies and the faith.  In every way, faith in God has been attacked.  For many years there has been a decline in belief and a rise in atheism.  We have seen the Christian culture decimated.  Could it be that this is a time to awakening to the reality of God?  Could it be that the Lord is going to do something to drive away the winter of our unbelief and bring the springtime of hope? When Our Lady tells us “this is a time of awakening”, it seems that she is announcing the grace of awakening.  She is not hopefully suggesting that it is the time of awakening.  She is announcing that God is sending the grace of awakening.  So the grace is there for souls to be awakened.  The grace is being poured out for souls to awake from their sleep and open to Jesus.  The grace of conversion is flowing.  The grace of a new faith is present, waiting to be accepted. In the Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul wrote: Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. (Eph 5:14-16) Maybe the grace of awakening has to do with finally realizing that God is God, and that we are not.  Maybe awakening has to do with allowing Christ to enter into our lives now as our Lord and Savior, so that He can call us out of the darkness of sin and into His Holy Light!  Maybe awakening has to do with glimpsing Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, and realizing that we have eternal souls that will live in one of those three places.  Maybe we need to be awakened to reality!!  God is God!  He made us and is calling us to Himself. Well, the good news is that if we are awakened by God, it will be to the truth.  And the truth will set us free. Let’s allow Our Lady to pray with us for the grace of awakening, for the grace of being raised to life by Christ.  And let’s pray for that grace for all of our brothers and sisters all over the world. “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light!” In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021      

A Pilgrim People January 27, 2021 St. Angela Merici Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children! I am calling you at this time to prayer, fasting and renunciation, that you may be stronger in faith. This is a time of awakening and of giving birth. As nature which gives itself, you also, little children, ponder how much you have received. Be joyful bearers of peace and love that it may be good for you on earth. Yearn for Heaven; and in Heaven there is no sorrow or hatred. That is why, little children, decide anew for conversion and let holiness begin to reign in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (January 25, 2021) “Dear children! I am calling you at this time to prayer, fasting and renunciation, that you may be stronger in faith…” Our Lady speaks to us about a time of prayer, fasting, and renunciation.  These are familiar topics to us, as she has been speaking about them for all of these nearly 40 years.  But they are as timely now as they were in 1981. Why? Because these three practices are the way of a pilgrim.  And Our Lady has been teaching us to be pilgrims. She appeared in Medjugorje, where the parish church was dedicated to St. James, the patron of pilgrims. She immediately began to build a prayer program in the parish that would suit the needs of pilgrims, with daily evening Mass, the prayer of the Rosary, the 7-7-7, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, daily possibilities for Confession, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the penitential climbing of the mountains for prayer.  She created a place for pilgrims. Then she drew the pilgrims from around the world by her living presence in Medjugorje.  Word spread of her apparitions to the 6 young people, and souls hungry for God began to make the journey from far and wide, to experience the Mother. Our Lady has been building a pilgrim people through Medjugorje.  And now the world needs those pilgrim people very much.  The world needs people who pray.  Indeed people who love to pray, who never neglect a moment to pray, who pray out of joy and love for God.  The world needs people who fast, who take two days a week and dedicate themselves to God alone, through fasting.  The world needs people who know how to deny themselves for the sake of other, to renounce what they can and sacrifice for others. The world needs true pilgrims to show the way back to God.  And that is who we are being formed to be.  If we live this pilgrim life, we will be stronger in faith.  And that strong faith will open the way to heaven for many. May we live our call to be pilgrim people, with all our strength and love.  Our Lady is calling us to help her. In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2021