12/1/15

Be Firm in Prayer

 
Be Firm in Prayer
(c)Mateo Ivankovic
 

December 1, 2015
Advent, Week One
 
Dear Family of Mary!
 
"Dear children! Today I am calling all of you: pray for my intentions. Peace is in danger, therefore, little children, pray and be carriers of peace and hope in this restless world where Satan is attacking and tempting in every way. Little children, be firm in prayer and courageous in faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son Jesus for all of you. Thank you for having responded to my call." (November 25, 2015)
 
Our Lady asks us to be "firm in prayer." She needs us to pray for her intentions in this most important moment in history. There have been many who have prayed for Our Lady's intentions in the past, and maybe there will be many in the future, but at this moment she has only us! We are alive in this difficult moment when peace is in danger. We are those who have come to know the love of Jesus, and are consecrated to Jesus and Mary. We are the ones who are responding to Our Lady's call from Medjugorje. So, we are the ones who must be "firm in prayer" for her intentions now!
 
But because we live in this world, with all the distractions and challenges that surround us daily, we can become weak in our resolve to pray. We can be tempted to slacken our efforts. "Surely my prayer is not that important," we may think. It is precisely when we are being tempted to pray less, that it may be most important to pray more!
 
St. Faustina shared about such moments in her Diary:
 
(872) January 7. During the Holy Hour, the Lord allowed me to taste His Passion. I shared in the bitterness of the suffering that filled His soul to overflowing. Jesus gave me to understand how a soul should be faithful to prayer despite torments, dryness, and temptations; because oftentimes the realization of God's great plans depends mainly on such prayer. If we do not persevere in such prayer, we frustrate what the Lord wanted to do through us or within us. Let every soul remember these words: "And being in anguish, He prayed longer." I always prolong such prayer as much as is in my power and in conformity with my duty.
 
"Often the realization of God's great plans depends mainly on such prayer." Prayer that comes out of our fatigue or dryness is often the most powerful of prayers. And it is in these moments of prayer when we have to fight to stay faithful, that some big battles are won!
 
Our Lady gave us this message, in which she sounds like our cheerleader:
October 25, 1989 "Dear children! Today also I am inviting you to prayer. I am always inviting you, but you are still far away. Therefore, from today, decide seriously to dedicate time to God. I am with you and I wish to teach you to pray with the heart. In prayer with the heart you shall encounter God. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray! Thank you for having responded to my call."
"Pray, pray, pray!" That is the battle cry for us. May we all be firm in prayer, knowing that we are part of Our Lady's great plan for the salvation of many souls in our day.
 
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2015

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." 
Saint John Paul II 
Be connected!

No comments: