6/4/13

Dear Family of Mary!


Setting out  

(c)Mary TV 2013
Set Out after Jesus!!

 
J.M.J.
 
June 4, 2013
 
Dear Family of Mary!
 
"Dear children! In this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father: 'Father'. To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." (June 2, 2013)   *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphases.
 
Our Lady begins this very long message with a plea to us to "set out" after her Son. To "set out" is a familiar phrase connected with Our Lady. In Luke 1:39, Our Lady sets out to visit her cousin Elizabeth. ("Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah." - Lk 1:39 - The Jerusalem Bible) There is a strong element of determination associated with "setting out".
 
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, gave a teaching on Our Lady's "setting out" during a Rosary in St. Peter's Square ending the Month of May on the Visitation. [quotes are from the Vatican Information Service, June 1, 2013 communique] He spoke about Our Lady's attitude when she decided to go visit Elizabeth. He said she listened, decided and acted at that moment of setting out.  
 
Our Lady listened to God, and discerned His call to her. He was calling her to go to Elizabeth. Then Our Lady also listened to the realities in her life, and those realities did not dissuade her from going to visit Elizabeth.
 
Once she had listened, the Holy Father said that Mary made a decision. "Mary doesn't let herself be carried away by events, doesn't avoid the burden of making decisions...In life, it is difficult to make decisions. Often we tend to postpone them, to let others decide for us. Often we prefer to be caught up by events, chasing the fashion of the moment. Sometimes we know what we have to do, but we don't have the courage or it seems too difficult because it means going against the grain...Mary goes against the current. She listens to God, reflects and tries to understand the reality [of the situation] and decides to entrust herself completely to God."
 
How true these words are. How easy it is to listen to God's call, or Our Lady's messages, but then never make a concrete decision to follow. We do let ourselves get caught up in worldly pursuits, in daily business, so much so that we just fail to respond to those calls. We just drop the ball. Our Lady would have us learn how to "set out".
 
The Holy Father went on to say, "Action is the third word...Mary, despite the difficulties and criticism she received for her decision to leave, doesn't stop at anything. Mary isn't rushed, doesn't let herself be carried away by the moment. But when it's clear what God is asking of her, what she must do, she doesn't linger, doesn't hold back but goes 'in haste."
 
Our Lady set out, in haste, once she had decided on God's word to her. She did not drop the ball. She acted on God's call to her. She is asking us to learn how to set out, deliberately and concretely. She wants us to set out after her Son, Jesus. It seems to me that she is speaking firmly to us about the importance of this moment. She wants us to hear her call to us and take some time to measure and weigh all the realities in our lives so that we can make a good decision. That is what she means when she says that she knows our pain, suffering and difficulties...She knows how hard it has been for each of us, and how hard it will be to turn to Jesus. But she wants us to settle ourselves to those realities and then choose Jesus first. We each know what it means to follow Him. We each have unique circumstances in which to act. But act we must. We must "set out" now on the road with our Savior.
 
"Dear children! In this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him."
 
May we receive the virtues of Our Lady to listen, decide and act, so that we can "set out" after her Son Jesus. May we become responsive to the movements of God in our hearts, firm in our decisions, and practical in our actions, so that we will find ourselves following Jesus, our Savior in these restless and eventful days. Mary calls us. Jesus leads us. The world needs our response!
 
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013  
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