October 29, 2018
Dear Family of Mary!
“Dear children! You have a great grace of being called to a new life through the messages which I am giving you. This, little children, is a time of grace, a time and a call to conversion for you and the future generations. Therefore, I am calling you, little children, pray more and open your heart to my Son Jesus. I am with you and love you all and bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (October 25, 2018)
Our Lady has mentioned this “time of grace” at least 57 times in her messages. She reminds us every so often that we are in a “time of grace”. It seems that her presence in Medjugorje indicates the time of grace. It is her presence that is the grace, and we have been given this grace now for 37 years.
There have been other times of grace. Jesus mentioned the time of Jonah as one such time:
“The men of Nin’eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” (Lk 11:32)
Jesus spoke these words in frustration, because in His day, many people ignored His words and His presence. Imagine not recognizing Jesus! Imagine not responding to His call! Imagine not knowing it was a time of grace!! Of course, in the Father’s plan Jesus had to go to the Cross to save us, and so this blindness was necessary for that time.
According to the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament, the people of Nineveh had Jonah for only 3 days. He walked through their streets and told them to repent, that they had strayed from God and their time was up! God’s grace was upon him, and so his words struck their hearts. And they responded with fasting and sack cloth. It was an astounding turn around.
But, truly something greater than Jonah is with us in Medjugorje! The Mother of God! And she is with us as our Mother, to help us to draw closer to her Son, Jesus. She is with us to teach us to pray, to help us repent, to draw us into the sacramental life of the Church, to offer us her consolation and encouragement, to bless us with her Motherly blessing, and to cover us with her mantle of love.
Our Lady has been with us for 37 years, bringing incredible graces of repentance and healing. And many of us have responded as the people of Nineveh responded. We have repented and changed our lives. But she is still with us because she is after more than a city like Nineveh. She is after the whole world!
And so she is still coming every day. She is still praying for us and asking God to give us hearts of flesh that will be capable of loving Him and each other. She is not giving up.
How can we respond to this time of grace? Our Lady says that the answer is in her messages. “You have a great grace of being called to a new life through the messages which I am giving you.” They are the vehicles of the grace for us. Her words are powerful, and simple. She is keeping us focused on what is important as we walk with her through this time of grace. Live the messages. They call us to conversion. They call us back to God. They encourage us to have faith and to love. They are a plan for our future and the future of our children and their children. Jesus is working through His Mother to bring us into His Kingdom. This is a time of grace, great grace!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2018
