June 11, 2020
St. Barnabas, Apostle
Dear Family of Mary!!
I think that we shipmates have been given a beautiful secret this week. As we pray together every day over the digital sea, we are being given an understanding of Our Lady’s plan that is not evident to everyone. Our Lady is about the work of defeating Satan, right now. But if we miss that very important fact, like most of the world misses it, we could become filled with fear. Because the events of the world are out of control by the likes of us. Still, it is not out of Our Lady’s control. She is here to crush the head of Satan.
That said, I want to share a word from Reuben that is a response to the Rosary on June 10. I think he is really on to something:
March 2nd, 2015:
“Dear children, you are my strength. You, my apostles, who with your love, humility and silence of prayer are making it possible for one to come to know my Son, you live in me……….”
In the rosary for June 10th, Cathy read from the message above, and pointed out how it seemed to answer the call we make by Mother Immaculata’s prayer that Mary might live in us.
How precious that little phrase spoken in 2015 is when we see it as the response to a prayer written in 1956. How dear it is to know Our Lady is listening so carefully to every word we speak, and that we are in a real and evolving conversation with the Mother whom we love so much!
In this same rosary on June 10th, Saint Scholastica was the saint who chose to come and pray with us. She is the sister of Saint Benedict, who was the founder of the Benedictine order. Denis reminded us of a great story about Scholastica. Her brother was visiting her for his annual visit, and it came to the time that he was due to return to his monastery. Scholastica was heartbroken, and begged Benedict to stay, but he insisted he needed to leave on time in order to obey the very rule of life which he’d authored for the whole Benedictine order. Scholastica bowed her head in prayer to God the Father, asking Him to intervene somehow to keep Benedict back, and because she did so out of a dear love for her brother, God agreed to do so and sent an almighty storm to keep her beloved brother with her for another delightful night!
It was so lovely to be reminded of this story, especially given that there were sounds of thunder from above Denis and Cathy’s heads at just about the same time as Scholastica was choosing us for the rosary! I felt like Scholastica was affirming something very important for the whole family of many brothers and sisters that makes up Mary TV. By her presence, and the sound of the storm, I heard a still small voice beyond it. I sensed that everything will be ok, because we are all holed up together on the digital sea for yet another delightful night, and that all the storms which we are presently experiencing are not to be feared or rallied against in any way, because they are the very sufferings that God has allowed so as to make our prayerful unity possible! We should never moan about the permissive will of the Father- by which he allows certain evils to occur for greater goods beyond them – because all the storms he sends are intended for our response of love and unity.
So how do we respond, I wonder, to this greatest gift of Our Lady’s presence with us? How can we possibly dare to respond to this extraordinary grace of living in Mary? Well, she told us what we should do in that same message given above. We should respond with “love, humility, and silence of prayer”. In fact, we might well say our response is much more about what we don’t do. If we remain little and silent and prayerful, we don’t do what the rest of the human population is doing. We make an active point of not fretting or raging or getting too big for our boots. This resistance to the world’s reactive energy is surely very important now, especially for those of us (like me!) who may be rather too inclined to look for the big plan or powerful gesture. There definitely is a big plan unfolding here, but it’s definitely not mine to orchestrate. In fact, the longer I look for the big picture, the more liable I may be to trip over myself and fall flat on my face! When the permanent sign descends on Apparition Hill, we want to make sure we are already looking well beyond the sign to the heavenly realities it points us to. We don’t want to be so transfixed by the powerful gesture, that we have forgotten to unite ourselves with the love that causes it.
Our Lady is with us in this most mighty of spiritual storms. Indeed, she is in the very eye of this storm, where it’s quiet and still. She’s there to meet the one who is drumming up the storm, because this is her allotted hour to triumph over all Satan’s works. Let’s let the Mother do it! Our response does not need to be as mighty as hers. It doesn’t even need to be pretty. We just need to do what Benedict did and stay another night with the ones whom we love! – Reuben!!
Thank you, dear Reuben!! Yes, yes, yes!! Our Lady is indeed in the center of this storm, unseen and discounted by the powers that be. But she is going to win!! She is triumphing!! We have only to pray and be her children, with complete trust.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020
PS. Today in Medjugorje is the Feast of Corpus Christi!! Mary TV will stream the procession after the Evening Program, which will travel around the village with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!! Join us, live!!
PPS. Let’s pray this prayer together now, and daily from now on, even often throughout the day!!
Totus Tuus (Totally Yours)
