Dear Family of Mary

(c) Mateo Ivankovic 2017 J.M.J. February 21, 2017 St. Peter Damian   Dear Family of Mary! "Dear children! Today I call you to begin to pray the Rosary with a living faith. That way I will be able to help you. You, dear children, wish to obtain graces, but you are not praying. I am not able to help you because you do not want to get started. Dear children, I am calling you to pray the Rosary and that your Rosary be an obligation which you shall fulfill with joy. That way you shall understand the reason I am with you this long. I desire to teach you to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call." (June 12, 1986) St. Louis de Montfort shares a story in "The Secret of the Rosary" in which a woman striving after sanctity learned the value of the Rosary. She longed to win graces for herself, but spurned the Rosary until the Lord showed her what she was rejecting!! Whatever you do, do not be like a certain pious but self-willed lady in Rome, so often referred to by speakers on the Rosary. She was so devout and fervent that she put to shame by her holy life even the strictest religious in the Church.   Having decided to ask St. Dominic's advice about her spiritual life, she made her confession to him. For penance he gave her one Rosary to say and advised her to say it every day. She excused herself, saying that she had her regular exercises, that she made the Stations of Rome every day, that she wore sack-cloth as well as a hair-shirt, that she gave herself the discipline several times a week, that she often fasted and did other penances. Saint Dominic urged her over and over again to take his advice and say the Rosary, but she would not hear of it. She left the confessional, horrified at the methods of this new spiritual director who had tried so hard to persuade her to take up a devotion for which she had no taste.   Later on, when she was at prayer she fell into ecstasy and had a vision of her soul appearing before the Supreme Judge. Saint Michael put all her penances and other prayers on one side of the scales and all her sins and imperfections on the other. The tray of her good works were greatly outweighed by that of her sins and imperfections.   Filled with alarm, she cried for mercy, imploring the help of the Blessed Virgin, her gracious advocate, who took the one and only Rosary she had said for her penance and dropped it on the tray of her good works. This one Rosary was so heavy that it weighed more than all her sins as well as all her good works. Our Lady then reproved her for having refused to follow the counsel of her servant Dominic and for not saying the Rosary every day.   As soon as she came to herself she rushed and threw herself at the feet of Saint Dominic and told him all that had happened, begged his forgiveness for her unbelief, and promised to say the Rosary faithfully the glory of everlasting life.   You who are people of prayer, learn from this the power, the value and the importance of this devotion of the holy Rosary when it is said with meditation on the mysteries.  (St. Louis de Montfort. "The Secret of the Rosary")   May we all pray our Rosary with great trust and devotion. It is a gift from heaven for us, especially us, in these tumultuous days.   In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2017

Medjugorje: Our lady's Message to Marija of February 25, 2017

“Dear children! Today I am calling you to profoundly live your faith and to implore the Most High to strengthen it, so that winds and storms cannot break it. May the roots of your faith be prayer and hope in eternal life. Already now, little children, work on yourselves in this time of grace, wherein God is giving you the grace – through renunciation and the call to conversion – to be people of clear and persevering faith and hope. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Hermit of Loreto

Fr. Giacomo Capoverdi
Published on Feb 19, 2017

In light of current events, I wish to share a true story about a hermit from Loreto, Italy and the premonition he was given by God.

Think of Heaven

   

 
(c) Mateo Ivankovic 2017

J.M.J.

February 17, 2017
The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! Also today I call you to put into practice and to live my messages that I am giving you. Decide for holiness, little children, and think of heaven. Only in this way, will you have peace in your heart that no one will be able to destroy. Peace is a gift, which God gives you in prayer. Little children, seek and work with all your strength for peace to win in your hearts and in the world. Thank you for having responded to my call."  May 25, 2006

"Decide for holiness, little children and think of heaven."

"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you." (Phil 4:6-9)

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2017

...Suddenly, he heard the voice of Christ, who asked him: "My son, how old am I?" Father John replied, "Lord, You're 33 years old!"

"And you?" Jesus asked.

"I'm 50," Fr. John answered. 

Then the Lord continued: "Why haven't you ever thanked Me? I gave you 18 more years to live. At 33 I had already died."

"Yes, Lord. I'm sorry. Forgive me for never having appreciated these extra 18 years of life You gave me."

"You have spoken well about me John, but you do not know me. Taste Me." (Father John reported that Jesus stressed the words 'Taste Me'.)

"Lord, what do You mean by telling me this?"

"My son, I didn't consecrate you to be a worker. I didn't consecrate you to be an administrator. I consecrated you to be ME. Be Me!"

Father John was dumbfounded when he heard the way Jesus said "Be Me!" Jesus added: "While I was suffering, I felt abandoned, rejected, condemned, and nailed. It was a very painful situation. Now, you know."

...Father John understood a reality that concerns all of us. Before, he was performing one thousand and one works for God, where prayer was dangerously missing. Through his dereliction of a handicapped person, the Lord made him understand that He was expecting from His priest that he would perform the works OF God, rather than FOR God. That is to say, the works that God Himself had prepared for him to realize according to his Divine design.

From Fr. Jacques Philippe:

"This book gives us an opportunity, through a diversity of stories, to see mercy at work in a living and personal way. Mercy is not an abstract idea, it is a reality that has deeply changed and transformed the lives of so many people. The various chapters illustrate how God's benevolent and gratuitous love can burst forth in a human existence and, where sometimes all seemed lost, lead to true resurrections. The strength of this book does not come from speeches, but from living testimonies...

 

"We love freedom. And yet, somewhat surprisingly, our world does not fully understand the liberating force of forgiveness. We aspire to freedom, but don't always do what is necessary to achieve it! To be truly free, we must forgive. As long as I haven't forgiven someone who has hurt me, I will be stuck in my past, and will remain dependent on this enemy whom I blame and toward whom I feel anger and bitterness. The grudge will take a place in my heart which will prevent me from being free and living to the full. Forgiveness is sometimes difficult; it may seem impossible. Forgiveness is a grace that must be begged for humbly in prayer, and sometimes it takes a lot of time to get there. However, it is absolutely necessary. Whoever does not forgive will never heal completely from the wrong he has suffered and from the wounds that have been inflicted on him. 

 

"In modern society, we take great care of people who have been victims, supporting them, enabling them to express their pain, to shed light on their suffering, to ensure that they also find the truth and justice to which they are entitled. This is a good thing. However, perhaps we sometimes forget to convey to the victims that they cannot completely recover from their past unless they decide, one day, to forgive. This is not a natural decision to make, it takes courage, but it is necessary in order to find peace, healing and freedom. 

 

"The ultimate source of all forgiveness is in God, in the infinitely merciful heart of the Father."

Dearest Gospa, what patience you have with us. Do not get tired of us. Please continue to visit us! What would we do without you? Those who reject you would joyfully welcome you if only they knew you. 

Sister Emmanuel +

(Translated from French)

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT OR DEATH IN THE WORLD

"Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit. The Spirit scrutinizes all matters, even the deep things of God." -1 Corinthians 2:10
There is a certain wisdom which is not of this age or of the rulers of this age who are headed for destruction (1 Cor 2:6). If we do not have this wisdom, we will be so ultimately foolish as to crucify the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8; Heb 6:6). The only way to receive this wisdom is through the Holy Spirit.

The Lord requires us to have a holiness which surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 5:20). He even commands us to be holy as He is holy (1 Pt 1:16). We must not be angry with our brothers and sisters but reconciled (Mt 5:22-24). We must be sexually pure not only in deed but in thought (Mt 5:28ff). Our marriages and conversations are to be under Jesus' lordship (see Mt 5:32, 37). We must even love our enemies as Jesus loves them (Mt 5:44). Jesus expects us to meet the highest standards ever set for morality. We do this not by our power but only by the Spirit Who makes us holy (see Zec 4:6).

We need the Holy Spirit in order to be wise, holy, pure, and free. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot please God (see Rm 8:8-9). Therefore, repent and pray for the Spirit, Whom we have received in Baptism and Confirmation, to be stirred into flame (2 Tm 1:6-7). Come, Holy Spirit!


Prayer: Father, I repent of quenching (1 Thes 5:19) and grieving the Spirit (Eph 4:30).

Promise: "Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him." -Sir 15:17

Praise: Praise You, Jesus, for rising to new life and for vanquishing sin and death.  Alleluia!

The Medjugorje Message: Pope appoints special envoy to Medjugorje

The Medjugorje Message: Pope appoints special envoy to Medjugorje: Pope Francis has appointed his “special envoy” to Medjugorje, but not to make any further investigations into the Marian apparitions that s...

The Martyrs of Nagasaki

St. Paul Miki and Companions, the Martyrs of Nagasaki

Detail of monument to the 26 Jesuit Martyrs at the Nagasaki Museum.

Feb. 6th, is the memorial of Saint Paul Miki and companions, the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki comprised of native Japanese Catholics and foreign missionaries who were martyred for their faith in 1597. The most well-known of the martyrs are Saints Paul Miki, John of Goto, and James Kisai. Bro. Miki was studying for the priesthood, Kisai was a lay brother and John was a postulant. The faith and joy they exhibited in imitating Christ to the last impressed their persecutors greatly.

Catholicism reached Japan in the 16th century, when the Jesuit missionary Saint Francis Xavier first preached the Good News there. As a result of continued Jesuit catechesis, by 1590, some 200,000 Japanese had entered the Church. So long as the Emperor permitted it, the Jesuits ministered discreetly, with much success.

In 1587, the Japanese imperial government, leery of Jesuit influence and the growing number of Christians among their citizenry, began a series of brutal crackdowns. Few Christian communities have endured such intense persecution over such a sustained period. Among them were priests, professed religious and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order. They were catechists, doctors, artisans and servants; including old men and innocent children, all united in their faith and singular devotion to Christ and his Church.

By order of the Emperor, in January 1597, Paul Miki and his companions were sentenced to die by crucifixion and lancing. They were marched 600 miles from Kyoto to the city of Nagasaki, the place of execution. Throughout the journey, they were tortured, mocked and humiliated. While hanging upon the cross Miki preached to the assembled bystanders, saying in part: "The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason that I die. I believe that I am telling the truth before I die. After Christ's example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain."

On February 5, 1597, the 26 martyrs of Nagasaki were stabbed to death with lances at the site that became known as "Martyrs' Hill." They were beatified in 1627, and canonized by Pius IX in 1862. Despite Japan's systematic persecution of Christians, when Commodore Matthew Perry went to Japan in 1853, he found around 20,000 Japanese Christians secretly practicing the faith. O God, strength of all the Saints, who through the Cross were pleased to call the Martyrs Saint Paul Miki and companions to life, grant, we pray, that by their intercession we may hold with unrelenting courage even until death to the faith that we profess.

Medjugorje -Our Lady's Apparition to Mirjana February 2, 2017

Dear children! You who are striving to offer every day of your life to my Son, you who are trying to live with Him, you who are praying and sacrificing - you are hope in this peaceless world. You are rays of the light of my Son, a living gospel, and you are my beloved apostles of love. My Son is with you. He is with those who think of Him - those who pray. But in the same way, He is patiently waiting for those who do not know Him. Therefore, you, apostles of my love, pray with the heart and with your works show the love of my Son. This is the only hope for you, and this is also the only way to eternal life. I, as a mother, I am here with you. Your prayers directed to me are the most beautiful roses of love for me. I cannot but be where I sense the scent of roses. There is hope. Thank you.