St. Augustine of Hippo
Dear Family of Mary!
“Dear children! Pray, work and witness with love for the Kingdom of Heaven that it may be good for you here on earth. Little children, God will bless your effort a hundredfold; you will be witnesses among peoples, souls of unbelievers will feel the grace of conversion and Heaven will be grateful for your efforts and sacrifices. Little children, witness with the Rosary in hand that you are mine and decide for holiness. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (August 25, 2019)
“Little children, God will bless your effort a hundredfold;”
When I first read these words from the August 25 message, I felt a surge of joy in my heart. To think that God could bless our very small efforts to pray, work and witness, and increase the results a hundredfold! It seems impossible. But really, all He needs is our “yes” and our desire to follow Him, and He can do the rest. Our “yes” to Him is our little effort, our small step.
There are only two other messages in which Our Lady mentions the word “hundredfold”. In each message she speaks about seeds or grain. In the first message she is thinking of the parable of the sower and the seed, and how God plants His seed in our hearts, and depending on what kind of soil He finds, the seed will grow and increase or not – (Mt 13:3-ff, Mk 4:3-ff, Luke 8:5-ff). In each of these accounts, the rich soil is the person who listens to God’s Word and receives it.
“But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mk 4:20)
“And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Lk 8:15)
We see how important it is for us to listen to the Word of God (Scripture) and in our day, to listen to God’s anointed words given to us through Our Lady, as she leads us to the Father. To listen, we must have open hearts, silent and pure hearts, peaceful and loving hearts, so that God’s word will be able to penetrate and plant itself in us. His word is life giving, fertile, and plenteous. When we listen well, and receive well, we can bear fruit, even a hundredfold.
February 25, 2006 “Dear children! In this Lenten time of grace, I call you to open your hearts to the gifts that God desires to give you. Do not be closed, but with prayer and renunciation say ‘yes’ to God and He will give to you in abundance. As in springtime the earth opens to the seed and yields a hundredfold, so also your heavenly Father will give to you in abundance. I am with you and love you, little children, with a tender love. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
In this second message Our Lady equates each of us with the grain that is planted.
Whether we are the soil that receives the Word, or the Seed that is planted, we can be like Jesus and Mary, and give of ourselves so that the harvest will be a hundredfold!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan