March 15, 2013
Dear
Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!
1. On
March 2nd, Mirjana Soldoreceived her monthly
apparition inside her new building, after which she conveyed to us the following message:
"Dear children, I am coming to you as a mother and I
desire that in me, as in a mother, you may find your abode, consolation and
rest. Therefore, my children, apostles of my love, pray. Pray with humble
devotion, obedience and complete trust in the Heavenly Father. Trust as I have
trusted when it was said to me that I will bring the blessing of the promise.
May out of your hearts, from your lips, always come forth 'May your will be
done!' Therefore, trust and pray so that I can intercede for you before the
Lord, for Him to give you the Heavenly Blessing and fill you with the Holy
Spirit. Then He will be able to help all those who do not know the Lord - you,
apostles of my love, will help them to call Him 'Father' with complete trust.
Pray for your shepherds and place your trust in their blessed hands. Thank
you."
2. Finally Success in
Fasting?
Matthew,
a very dear friend, has been a faithful pilgrim of Medjugorje since 1996. That
year, after receiving a particular grace on Mount Krizevac, he experienced a
conversion so deep that his life took a sharp turn to the right, much to the
great joy of his wife, who had been praying, praying, praying for a very long
time. He wholeheartedly embraced the principle messages of the Virgin and began
his education, doing his best to live out her famous five stones (Note
1) in order to grow in the faith. Maintaining his commitment to these
objectives was something he couldn't guarantee after only five days in
Medjugorje. He did that little by little.
Two years later, he no longer had any difficulty with monthly confession, the Eucharist, daily reading the Word of God, and praying the rosary.
Two years later, he no longer had any difficulty with monthly confession, the Eucharist, daily reading the Word of God, and praying the rosary.
But
fasting, that endeavor among the five stones . . . impossible! There was nothing
he could do. He was a fine gourmet, and a connoisseur of the best wines of
France. He enjoyed great health, and mealtime, for him, was a sacred and
unquestionable necessity. Every attempt at fasting proved to be in vain. When
Matthew came to Medjugorje, he used to joke with his friends, "When you go to
Sister Emmanuel's house, if you want to eat well, avoid going there on Wednesday
or Friday!"
One
day, Matthew asked me for advice: How could he finally succeed at fasting? I was
surprised at his question, I wondered if he expected me to reveal a quasi-magic
remedy. Then I found out that he had no actual hope of putting his problem to
rest. He admitted to me that each time he took one step forward in his attempt
at fasting, he had to take two steps back when it became obvious that it wasn't
working for him. All the gleaming lights from the Gospa in her messages on the
necessity of fasting had become for him points of discomfort, of suffering, even
of guilt. He enumerated for me a profusion of disastrous symptoms that attacked
him when he began to fast.
"I
tried to force it", he told me. "But in vain. I would force myself to eat bread,
but then I'd have a bad day. I'd be in a bad mood, and at 2 o'clock in the
morning, when I couldn't sleep, I'd get up and go into the kitchen to have an
omelet or something like that, so I could get back to sleep. Finally, I just
quit fasting. Ever since we experienced our retreat in Medjugorje my wife and I
have organized our daily schedule putting Jesus in the first place. Since our
children no longer live with us, each day we follow the same routine: in the
morning we attend Mass and in the early afternoon we say the rosary or go to
adoration. But there's still the problem of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. I
want bread to become my only nourishment two times a week, the way it is for the
other apostles of the Gospa!
"You
ought to try bread made with spelt," I told him. "That flour is really rich and
contains all you need. It will really fill you up (Note 2). You can also
use a bread machine (Note 3). And don't forget to give your struggle over
to Jesus the night before fasting so that you make the decision beforehand, then
we wake up with a strong mind and will! you'll see. He'll help you!"
Matthew
went for it. "I followed your advice," he wrote to me later. "The other day,
after I had decided to buy a bread machine and spelt, I went to my local bakery
to get some information on it, and saw some loaves of spelt bread on the display
shelf. It was a Tuesday, so I bought enough for the next day, Wednesday, but
with no assurance as to the hoped-for result. Wednesday morning I cut into my
new spelt bread with the firm resolution to eat only bread until the next
morning. At morning Mass, I entrusted my fasting to Jesus, so He would help me.
Miracle! The bread alone was enough. I fueled up all day on the bread: a marvel!
I was flabbergasted to have 'gotten by' morning, noon, and night on spelt bread
with some honey and water.
The
fasting hadn't been a trial. On the contrary, it was astonishing, because I
hadn't suffered my usual upset stomach. I had a very good night, as though I had
eaten normally, and woke up at 7 in the morning with no heaviness. What's more,
the entire day Thursday was spent in joy. I then committed myself to fasting on
Wednesdays and Fridays for the intentions of our heavenly Mother. And to think
it took me 17 years to find this recipe! Maybe it was a gift from St. Therese as
well, because I had to live in Lisieux (France) to find a bakery which made this
bread. Fasting is no longer servitude but a source of joy that my wife shares
with me."
Matthew was not afraid to leap into the water. All too often we want to understand a message from Mary or a verse from the Bible before putting it into practice. What a mistake! We miss so many graces that way! If Heaven asks us to do something, what do we have to fear? Certainly, we have to organize ourselves in a way that allows us to live rightly, looking for methods that are best adapted to our health, our families, etc., but it is only in living out the messages that we discover the new horizons behind them. There are secrets that don't reveal themselves until we act with confidence.
3. In Rome?
Last month the six visionaries were invited to go to Rome together in order
to meet a few Cardinals from the Commission on Medjugorje. Things must be moving
along since this is the first time that they have been invited together. In the
past few years of investigation, they had been invited separately, some of them
even several times, but not together.
Mirjana
gave a touching witness on Radio Maria-Italy after the meeting. Of course, none
of the visionaries are allowed to reveal what was said to them there. No
problem, they are used to secrets! However, she mentioned that before she went,
she was a bit afraid to speak to Cardinals! Let's keep up praying with
confidence until the Roman statement is issued.There is much at
stake with this statement, both for the Church and for the world! We can also
help the experts who are involved by sending them our Guardian Angels because
Angels are excellent to whisper the ways of God in men's hearts. May Our Lady's
plans be fulfilled!
Dearest Gospa, during this Lent, we wish
to please God above all. We wish to get closer to Jesus, adoring Him in His
sufferings for us. You know so well how to do that! Please, lead us, help us,
inspire us!
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
Nota Bene:
A big
"Thank You" to all those who are or will be sending me their testimonies for the
new book I am writing, they are very touching! May I suggest another request to
make the book more attractive? If you have any beautiful photos that have to do
with Medj, please send them to me at gospa.fr@gmail.com and put
"My witness" as a subject.THANK YOU with all my heart!
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