MARY, OUR MOTHER

Four churches burned by Boko Haram; Lebanon Consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

2013-06-17T10:20:00.000-04:00

AFRICA/NIGERIA - Four churches burned by Boko Haram; Mgr. Kaigama: "regional approach to defeat them"

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - Four churches were burned in an attack probably committed by members of the jihadist group Boko Haram in Borno State, one of the three northern states of Nigeria where a state of emergency has been imposed (see Fides 21/5/2013). A group of armed men with improvised explosive devices and petrol bombs attacked the Hwa'a, Kunde, Gathahure and Gjigga communities on Gwoza Hills, burning the 4 churches, raiding and looting cattle and grain reserves belonging to the population.
[file photo]
"Unfortunately I do not have precise information and do not know what communities the Christian churches destroyed belong to," says to Fides Agency His Exc. Mgr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama Archbishop of Jos and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria. "All communications have been cut off with the areas affected by military operations and it is impossible to get in touch with the Bishop of Maiduguri," explains Mgr. Kaigama.
Despite this incident, the Archbishop said that "the operation of the Nigerian army and the imposition of the State of emergency has made the population feel better and safer."
Before the recent attacks in Niger (see Fides 04/06/2013), it is certain that Boko Haram is coordinating with jihadist groups expelled from Mali. "Boko Haram is a regional issue and should be resolved with a regional approach," said Mgr. Kaigama. "We are paying the price of terrible negligence on behalf of our intelligence and our police forces who did not deal with the phenomenon in time. Now we need to bring together the resources of Nigeria, Niger and Mali to address the threat of jihadist groups. I think, however, that eventually they will be defeated," concluded Bishop Kaigama. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 17/06/2013)

ASIA/LEBANON - Patriarch Rai consecrates Lebanon to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Harissa (Agenzia Fides) - The Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites Boutros Bechara Rai consecrated Lebanon and the entire Middle East to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, praying that all the peoples of the region are freed "from the sins that lead to divisions, aggression and violence ". The solemn Act of Consecration took place yesterday, Sunday, June 16, with the recitation of a prayer read during the Eucharist Liturgy presided by the Patriarch in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, in the presence of Lebanese President Michel Sleiman and designated Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
A multitude of believers gathered around the Basilica to implore with the Act of Consecration that the Country of the cedars is not overwhelmed by the contagion of sectarian conflict that is afflicting Syria.
During the homily, His Beatitude Rai recalled that Lebanon is the only Country where the Solemnity of the Annunciation, on March 25, is celebrated by Christians and Muslims together as a national holiday. The Patriarch also reiterated the urgent need for reconciliation between the political forces and in particular between the two opposing coalitions – that on March 8th and March 14 - which he stigmatized for having compromised "the image of Lebanon and its co-existence ", crippling institutions and pushing the Lebanese people to get involved in the Syrian conflict. The Head of the Maronite Church also reiterated his full support to President Sleiman and described the regular Lebanese army as the only legitimate "protector" of Lebanon. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 17/06/2013).

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/17/2013

2013-06-17T09:56:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013

Therefore, my children, set out after my Son.

J.M.J.

June 17, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

"...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...." (June 2, 2013)

Our Lady learned about living in a community of one single people directly from Jesus during his public ministry. Luke tells us that one day while Jesus was teaching the people his mother came to see him and could not get near because of all the people:

Then his mother and his brethren came to him, but they could not reach him for the crowd. And he was told, "Your mother and your brethren are standing outside, desiring to see you." But he said to them, "My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:19-21)

The close family relationships of mother and brethren would seem to represent "a community of one single people". If family is not a community, then what is? And of course Jesus seems to agree. But He flips this idea on its head. The unity of family is attributed not to flesh and blood, but to "those who hear the word of God and do it." These are the very words Our Lady uses to instruct us in being a community. She tells us to be "one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out."

Of course, Our Lady is the best example of someone who listens to the word of God and carries it out. In Luke 1:38, she says, "Be it done to me according to your word." She chooses to say "yes" to the word of God for her, and she follows that word faithfully her entire life. That word for Mary was actually to receive The Word of God, Jesus, as her son. And her submission to that Word created a unity with God and with us that is unequaled in all history.

So Our Lady is speaking to us from her deep experience when she calls us to listen to the Word of God and carry it out.

Of course we have to remember that listening to the Word of God means that we become deeply attached to Jesus, and listen to everything He tells us, living His will for us individually, and uniquely according to our own gifts and capacities. This means that our unity with each other will come not from becoming all alike, living a program for life that is uniform and regimented. No, indeed, it means rather that we listen to the Word of the Lord, as He has taught us through His Revelation and as He speaks to our hearts, and we follow Him on our own roads, with fidelity and trust. We are all different, but we will be focused on one goal, one light, one Lord. He will be our sole desire. And we will be united in our love for Him. Our unity as a community will come from our individual and unique relationships with Jesus.

Our unity depends not on a program or human plan, not on a human controlling authority or earthly power, but on our living relationship with Jesus, the One who can unite us because He is God. Our communal life will be one of joy and freedom, as we each are directed by the Holy Spirit to love and serve each other freely, and in our own capacity. This is a community that brings life!

Our Lady is serious about this desire, because she sees that we do not always hear the Word of God and do it. She wants us to be attentive to the Holy Spirit as He moves us forward in God's will. So she follows this statement about Community with these words: "Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children." How do we achieve unity as a people? By setting out after Jesus, and becoming one with Him. By being God's children. That is how community is achieved. The Spirit will do it in us. No fear!

So, if Our Lady is serious, it is because she sees we are not setting out after Jesus. That is our road to union. All unity is in Jesus, and only in Him.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

PS. Tonight another "Fruit of Medjugorje" episode will be aired on Mary TV. 8:00 pm EDT! www.marytv.tv

PPS. Mary TV will be streaming, live, from Apparition Hill every day this week, as we pray the Novena to Our Lady of Medjugorje with the Parish. Join us at 10:00 am EDT at www.marytv.tv

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

From The Friars eLetter: The Good Side of Evil

2013-06-16T09:39:00.001-04:00

The Good Side of Evil

“If God is good, why does he let bad things happen?” We have all asked this question. It is a problem that plagues even the most brilliant of intellects and challenges even the strongest of believers. The answer seems even more elusive when bad things happen to good people. A recent experience has put this question in a different light for me.

I met a man, we’ll call him John, who had suffered a series of medical emergencies. His limbs were stiff and cramped. He was unable to speak or communicate in any meaningful way, except smile. It all happened suddenly. One day he was healthy, the next he was not. John had lived a difficult life, but he had a good heart. Yet, prior to his physical decline, he was becoming more and more estranged from his family. Everything was about to fall apart. Now, however, those who were about to leave him for good were constantly at his bedside. They had rediscovered their love for him, as I’m sure he did for them. Before his death, he was reconciled to family members who had not spoken to him in years. It was clear to me that, if not for his medical condition, none of this reconciliation would have taken place and even the family he had would have been lost.

This experience taught me that we have to judge things from the perspective of eternity. What is most important is that we leave this world reconciled to God and to others. Whatever it takes to accomplish this reconciliation is worth it. Unfortunately, because of our stubbornness, it often takes a tragedy to make us realize the importance of reconciliation. God, loving us and desiring our salvation, allows these bad things to happen so that we will attain that Supreme Good which will make us forget even the most painful of tragedies.

+ Br. Ignatius Pio Mariae, CFR

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Spiritual Gems-The Divine Insight- June 15, 2013

2013-06-15T16:29:00.000-04:00

The Divine Insight

Here is a great benefit to be gained from daily thinking about the Passion and Death of our dear Savior. We will grow in love and attachment to the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. From the feet of Jesus Crucified we proceed to the foot of the Altar where we worship, love and ascend to the most initiate union a soul could have with God through Most Holy Communion. He or she who neglects to meditate on the Passion of Christ...what He actually suffered for your personal sins....will NEVER make an ardent Communion so as to extract real benefits from it and give God the love we should.

St. Hannibal di Francia

St. Hannibal, pictured here with Françoise Mélanie Calvat,
one of the seers of Our Lady of La Salette.

You can receive complimentary materials to make your Consecration to God through Mary’s Immaculate Heart (important spiritual protection at this time in salvation history) at myconsecration.org... where you can also learn about Our Lady of Las Lajas.

You can learn more about our Lady of Fatima at www.wafusa.org.

God Bless you and your work,

Deacon Bob		Tony

Deacon Bob Ellis		Anthony Mullen
Executive Director		MyConsecration.org
World Apostolate of Fatima, USA		647 Edmonds Avenue
A Pontifical Association of the Faithful		Drexel Hill, PA 19026
visit us at: www.wafusa.org		visit us at: www.myconsecration.org

Children of Medjugorje, June 2013 Newsletter

2013-06-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

June 14, 2013

Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!

1. On June 2, 2013, Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the blue cross, surrounded by a huge crowd of pilgrims. After the apparition, she conveyed the following message:

"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."

* Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphases.

2. June is a month rich in feasts for the Church! There is the celebration of Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Trinity! Contrast these with the "feast" celebrated by the President of the United States who has again declared the month of June "gay pride month," and the "feasts" of some French who stormed three different cathedrals in rebellion against the Catholics who oppose gay marriage which was legalized there in May. So, it is more important than ever that we welcome the immense graces that come through our celebrations of God and His saints. These graces are a light in the middle of the darkness that is now overtaking so many children, young people and older people. "He who looks to him will be radiant", says the Psalmist (Ps. 33). And looking to Him simply means adoring Him.

In addition to celebrating the graces offered by God during the feasts this month, we can also prepare our hearts for the anniversary of the apparitions in Medjugorje by saying the prayer given by the Angel of Fatima to the 3 little shepherds in 1916 from the bottom of our hearts as often as we can. The novena celebrating the 32nd Anniversary of the Apparitions begins on June 15^th and ends on the anniversary itself, June 25^th. This prayer dispels so much darkness! It would be a lovely gift of thanksgiving to offer Mary for her 32 years of apparitions! God alone is able to dissipate the density of evil that attacks us every day, but the worshiper powerfully assists God's action by begging for His mercy. One can always hope for better politicians, but he who can and will change things is you, today! It is you, it is I, it is us, those who wish to adore the Living God in spirit and in truth. May the true worshipers grow in number and in quality, and the face of the world will be changed!

Here is the prayer that came to us from heaven at Fatima:

"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly. I offer you the most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. And through the infinite merit of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of you the conversion of poor sinners."

3. Miracle in Buenos Aires! In 1996, when Pope Francis was the auxiliary bishop of Cardinal Quarracino in Buenos Aires, a remarkable Eucharistic miracle occurred. The present Pope himself examined the issue and requested that the object of the miracle be photographed. The results are amazing.

On August 18, 1996, at 7 pm, Father Alejandro Pezet was celebrating Mass in the church that is in the center of the city. He was about to finish distributing Holy Communion, when a woman came to tell him that she had found a host that someone had thrown away at the back of the church. Fr. Alejandro went to take a look and saw the host. It was in poor condition and soiled. Because he could not consume it, he put it in a small bowl filled with water and then placed it in the tabernacle of the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

On August 26 he opened the tabernacle, and to his great amazement he saw that the

host had become a kind of bloody substance. He informed Mgr Jorge Bergoglio, who gave instructions to have the host photographed by professionals. These photographs, taken on September 6^th clearly show that the host, which had become a fragment of bleeding flesh, had significantly increased in size. For several years, the host remained in the tabernacle, and the entire matter remained a secret. Because the host was not undergoing any kind of visible decomposition, Mgr. Bergoglio decided to have it scientifically analyzed.

On October 5, 1999, in the presence of Mgr. Bergoglio's representative, (who had become Archbishop in the mean time) Dr. Castanon took a sample of the bloody fragment and sent it to New York to be analyzed. Because he did not want to influence the results of the examination, he decided not to tell the team of scientists where the fragment came from.

One of the scientists was the famous cardiologist and forensic pathologist, Dr. Frederic Zugiba. He determined that the analyzed substance was actual flesh and blood containing human DNA. He stated that: "The analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle which is found in the wall of the left ventricle, near the valves. This is the muscle that contracts the heart. We must remember that the left ventricle of the heart acts as a pump that sends the blood through the entire body. The heart muscle is in a state of inflammation and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time when the sample was taken. I confirm that the heart was alive, because white blood cells die outside of a living organism. They need a live organism in order to remain alive themselves. Therefore, their presence indicates that the heart was alive when the sample was taken. In fact, these white blood cells had penetrated into the tissues, which is an even stronger indication that the heart had been subjected to intense stress, as if its owner had been severely beaten on the chest."

Two Australians, journalist Mike Willesee and attorney Ron Tesoriero, witnessed the tests. Knowing the origin of the sample, they were taken aback by Dr. Zugiba's statement. Mike Willesee asked the scientist how long the white blood cells could have stayed alive if they had come from human tissue kept in water. Dr. Zugiba told him that they would have ceased to exist after a few minutes. The journalist then revealed to the doctor that the substance from which the sample was taken had first been preserved in ordinary water for one month, and that after three years, it was preserved in a bowl filled with demineralized water. Only then was a sample taken to be analyzed. Dr. Zugiba was very embarrassed by this information because he said that there was no way of explaining it scientifically.

Dr. Zugiba then asked the following question: "Please explain the following to me: if this sample comes from a dead person, how is it that while I was examining it, the cells of the sample were moving and pulsating? If this heart comes from someone who was alive in 1996, how can it still be alive?"

Only then did Mike Willesee reveal to Dr. Zugiba that the analyzed sample came from a consecrated host (white bread with no leavening), which had mysteriously been transformed into human flesh and blood. Astounded by this information, Dr. Zugiba said: "How and why could a consecrated host change its nature and become living human flesh and blood, this will remain an inexplicable mystery for science - a mystery completely beyond its competence."

Then, Dr. Ricardo Castanon Gomez arranged for the laboratory reports written after the Buenos Aires miracle to be compared to the reports that were written after the Lanciano miracle, again without revealing the origin of the test samples. The experts who proceeded with this comparison concluded that the two laboratory reports had analyzed test samples coming from the same person. They further pointed out that the two samples revealed an "AB positive" blood type. This blood had the characteristics of a man who was born and lived in the Middle East.

Only faith in the extraordinary action of God can give a reasonable answer! God wants us to be aware that He is truly present in the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharistic miracle of Buenos Aires is an extraordinary sign, witnessed by science. Through this sign, Jesus wishes to awaken in us a living faith in His Real Presence in the Eucharist, real, and not symbolic. It is only with the eyes of faith, and not with our human eyes, that we can see Him in the form of consecrated bread and wine. In the Eucharist, Jesus sees us and loves us and wishes to save us.

Don't miss this link, where you can read about how Dr. Castanon, an atheist who became a Catholic, explains this miracle (in Spanish)! http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DAPz1v8oz1ms&h=oAQGQBzhw&s=1

4. Filip Pavlovic. On July 3^rd, the nephew of the visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti will be ordained a priest at the church of St James in Medjugorje. He received his calling at the age of 4, and since then never thought of changing his direction. Let us pray with him and for him! As Mary tells us, let us love our shepherds as her Son loved them when He called them to serve us!

Dearest Gospa, I see so many of your children who know nothing at all about faith, but who are calling to you from the depths of their misery! On this Anniversary of your apparitions, we beg you, spread upon us graces of light and love, help us open our hearts to welcome these graces as never before!

Sr. Emmanuel +

- Exclusive! Sr Emmanuel can be seen live from Medjugorje on June 26th at 9 pm Medj time on our French website, www.enfantsdemedjugorje.fr! She will give in French a commentary of the message of June 25^th for the 32^ndAnniversary of the Apparitions. She will directly answer questions asked by instant message (chat). More information will be posted on the site on June 20. You can see a replay of the June 3rd program at this link: http://www.enfantsdemedjugorje.fr/index.php/prier-videos.html

PS 1. On June 10 at the Blue Cross with Ivan's prayer group. On that evening, the Gospa came happy and joyful, she prayed for a long time over us with her hands extended, especially for those who are sick. After having blessed us with her motherly blessing, she said, "Dear children, today I desire that during this time you pray especially for my intentions. Pray, dear children, in this time of grace! Together with you, I desire to realize my plans. Dear Children, thank you for having responded to my call again today."

PS 2. You can watch Medjugorje evening gatherings directly from your home! Here is the link http://www.medjugorje.hr/fr/multimedia/live-streaming/ and then sign in by typing: /fr/user/sign-up/

PS 3. Vicka is still unwell, she is undergoing infiltrations in her back in Zagreb and is still unable to receive pilgrims. Let us all pray that she may quickly recover!

PS 4. From July 8 to 12, come to Lourdes to celebrate the 40-year Anniversary of the Community of the Beatitudes with Mary! There will be translation into English. Cardinal Barbarin, Fr. Donneaud o.p. and the members of the Community will participate. Sr. Emmanuel will speak on the 9th. Tel: +33 6 6092 6626 lourdes.sessions@beatitudes.org - http//lourdes.sessions.beatitudes.org

PS 5.The Youth Festival will take place from Aug. 1 to 6. Why not make this a gift to a young person? You may save lives! http://www.medjugorjeyouthfestival.ba/

PS 6. Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic will be transferred to Zagreb in a few months and Fr. Danko to Citluk. We will miss them so much! But we know they are just following God's will and we will continue supporting them wholeheartedly with our prayer!

PS 7. Do you wish to write to the Blessed Mother for her anniversary? Send your letter to "Queen of Peace", BP 2157, F- 06103 Nice cedex, France. We will give it to a visionary.

PS 8. Sign up! Each month, receive and share Sr. Emmanuel's reports from Medjugorje!

In French: gospa.fr@gmail.com

In English and German: Pray@childrenofmedjugorje.com

In Italian: info@vocepiu.it

In Spanish: gisele.riverti@gmail.com

In Croatian: djeca.medjugorja@gmail.com

In Portuguese medjugorjeport@yahoo.com

In Chineseteresamedj@gmail.com

© Children of Medjugorje 2013

Permission is given to spread the text of these reports under two conditions:
1) No words are changed, 2) "Children of Medjugorje" is cited along with our website www.childrenofmedjugorje.com

From Mary TV: Denis' update - June 14, 2013

2013-06-14T19:20:00.001-04:00

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II

Be connected!

www.Marytv.tv

PLEASE SPREAD THIS NEWS TO FAMILY AND AND TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS!

June 14, 2013

Dear Family of Mary TV, Apostles of Our Lady of Medjugorje!

Beginning Saturday, JUNE 15, 2013 - and continuing for nine days - Mary TV will stream LIVE from Our Lady's statue on Apparition Hill, joining the parish's novena thanking Our Lady for 32 years of messages and apparitions.

Cathy and I will pray the Glorious Mysteries during our live on line Rosary beginning at 10:00 am EDT (4:00 pm Medjugorje time) in union with the Novena...and conclude live streaming with the parish as they pray from the top of Mt. Podbrdo, (Apparition Hill).

St. James Parish has called to pilgrims:

"What could we offer to Our Lady for the anniversary of Her apparitions?

This is the question many pilgrims ask, and we answer with another question: Wouldn't the dearest gift be if we would really start to live Her messages?

The main theme of Our Lady's messages is the call to peace and reconciliation,
but She underlines very often that we can obtain them only through prayer. This
is why She calls us unceasingly to pray, to renew prayer until it becomes a joy
for us, to pray with the heart...

We have composed a simple novena with the deep desire to offer something special
to Our Lady for this Anniversary, something that unites all Her children in the
whole world, something that helps us to live Her messages.

Join MARY TV streaming live during this very special Novena giving thanks for 32 years of apparitions and messages....Our Mother's presence with us!

God bless you!

Denis Nolan

www.marytv.tv

Again, the schedule for this novena:

Saturday, June 15 to Sunday, June 23, 2013:

10:00 am EDT the Rosary with Denis and Cathy
10:45 am EDT begin live streaming from Apparition Hill and pray with the parish

Join us at www.marytv.tv !!!

(c)Mary TV 2013

MISSION STATEMENT: MARY TV is a lay apostolate founded to put at the Gospa's service (Our Lady's service) modern communication technologies to bring her presence in Medjugorje - and her school in Medjugorje - to the world.

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/14/2013

2013-06-14T10:56:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013

One single people

J.M.J.

June 14, 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 emphasis

"Dear children...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.*."

Mother Mary spoke these words resolutely and with emphasis. She was serious. I imagine her taking our faces, individually, into her two sweet hands, much like mothers do when they want the complete attention of their little ones. I see her looking us each directly in the eye, and with her sweet, soft, but firm voice, telling us that she wants us to be in communion, as one single people. She doesn't want division, she doesn't want political posturing, she doesn't want us taking sides on issues. No, she wants us to be in communion with each other because we listen to the Word of God (Jesus) and we do as He tells us.

In John's Gospel, Jesus declared the same desire, in His priestly prayer before his Crucifixion. In John 17 He lays it all out:

John.17

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do; and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made.

"I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word. Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee; for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

"I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me. I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:1-26)

As I read this beautiful prayer of Jesus to His Father, I see many parallels with Our Lady's message of June 2, 2013. A careful reading of both messages will bring much fruit. Since it is the weekend, let's chew on these words together, and find the graces contained in them. Our Lady is giving us her heart in her messages. Such a sweet, and immaculate heart! This is a gift from heaven.

May the Holy Spirit anoint our minds and hearts as we ponder the Word of God and the messages of Our Lady, that we can truly find His love and joy in them and be transformed by them into the Children of God!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

PS. The parish begins a Novena to Our Lady of Medjugorje on June 15 (Saturday). The prayers can be found at www.medjugorje.org

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

[ Video ] Saint Anthony Pray for Us!

2013-06-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

A Popular Saint

by apostleshipofprayer

Reflection for 6/13/13
http://youtu.be/mnN2AOr1pdQ

www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Photos by Jim Forest, Razvan Orendovici, Kai Schreiber, Paula Miguel Cobangbang, Jim McIntosh

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/13/2013

2013-06-13T10:19:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013

Purification on Cross Mountain

J.M.J.

June 13, 2013

St. Anthony of Padua

Dear Family of Mary!

"...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..." (June 2, 2013)

Our Lady's words about prayer and fasting, purification and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father, remind me of the stories in the Book of Exodus of Moses and God. We read in Exodus 34 that the Lord told Moses to come back up the mountain to again receive the Covenant. Moses had broken the tablets he first received because of the idolatry of the people. But God again called Moses up to receive the Covenant:

The LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tables of stone like the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let no flocks or herds feed before that mountain."

So Moses cut two tables of stone like the first; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

...And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. (Ex 34:1-7, 27-29)

God called Moses to come up the mountain. He remained there for 40 days and 40 nights, fasting and praying. And during that time of fasting and prayer, Moses received the Ten Commandments, and with those commandments, a deep understanding of the Father. He was the only man who could endure being in the presence of God. Because of his great faith, Moses was able to stand before God and speak with Him. Moses was totally "cognizant" of the Father. His face to face encounter with God left a mark on Moses that was terrifying for the people. Moses' face radiated, it glowed with the power of God.

Moses was purified by his fasting and prayer, and was able to converse with God. Our Lady would have us grow close to the Heavenly Father, but to do so we must follow Moses' example of prayer and fasting. We must climb the mountain alone (go into our personal prayer) every day. And we must fast in order to leave the world behind. We are being invited into a relationship with the Father, through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we accept the invitation, we will begin to understand that God is all we need! All we need!!

(c)Mary TV 2013

Those who climb Mt. Krizevac, difficult as it may be, and pray the stations with reverence and quiet, experience a little of what Moses experienced on Mt. Sinai. The climb is purifying, and the prayer is deep. At the summit, God waits with His love and His comforting acceptance. Like Moses, we can become "friends" of God. Our faces may not glow, but the peace we receive will radiate to our family and friends at the bottom of the hill and back home.

(c)Mary TV 2013

Prayer and fasting are possible for each and every one of us. Through these two means, we can encounter the Heavenly Father. With Mother Mary's help, may we avail ourselves of these two means to purification, and draw close to the One who loves us!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

From EWTN: Discover The Truth About Pope Pius XII

2013-06-12T13:56:00.003-04:00

Don't Miss The North American Premiere of Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky
By Michelle Laque Johnson

If you have always wondered what Pope Pius XII really did to fight Nazism during World War II, you do not want to miss EWTN's new movie, "Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky." This Italian film, with an outstanding international cast, will have you on the edge of your seat. Part One of this gripping four-hour film, airs 9 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 19, immediately following an 8 p.m. ET "EWTN Live" interview with Pope Pius XII Scholar Ronald Rychlak. Part Two airs 1 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 26.

In addition, EWTN will air "Pius XII and the Holocaust: The Secret History of Great Rescue" at 11 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 19, as well as a 12-part series, "Pope Pius XII," with Rychlak and Sister Margherita Marchione. (Airs 6:30 p.m. ET, Monday, June 17 through Tuesday, July 2 (except no 6:30 airing on Monday, June 24.)

"Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky" is a movie that is rendered all the more exciting because of the truths it exposes. The film takes place in occupied Rome in 1943. The Nazis are continuing to deport thousands of Jews to death camps even as Allied troops are marching toward the city to liberate it. The life of a lovely young Jewish girl, who is being courted by two very different young men, and her family are at stake.
Meanwhile, the Pope is opening up churches and monasteries to shelter the Jews and working behind the scenes to save as many as he can. Although, some are urging him to publicly condemn the Nazis, the Pope knows that protests by Catholic bishops in the Netherlands resulted in the immediate execution of tens of thousands of Jews. Is he to risk even greater reprisals in the Nazi-occupied nations?
Learn the unbiased truth about this very important Pope at a very important time in the history of the Church and the world.
For DVDs of other Pius XII programs available from EWTN Religious Catalogue, please click here: http://bit.ly/18oLFnx.

[ Video ] Turn to the Heart of Jesus

2013-06-12T10:48:00.002-04:00

Gentle and Lowly

by apostleshipofprayer

http://youtu.be/sa6ErMQa30E

Reflection for 6/12/13

From The Friars eLetter: The Devil: The Cunning Deceiver

2013-06-12T10:31:00.000-04:00

Three Big Fights: The Devil

St. John gives us three great enemies of the soul: the world, the flesh and the devil. It is, therefore, always a good idea to know how to challenge these great adversaries. Here's a tip:

The devil: the cunning deceiver

He is the father of lies. He is to be always mistrusted, disdained and denied. St. Peter describes him as a lion always prowling about looking for someone to devour, and we are exhorted to resist him solid in our faith. He will certainly tempt and entice with words of honey and half-truths of spice.

How to Combat

A best offence is a great defense, and we have to first know what we are to defend against. The devil's plan is not, as is commonly thought, that we should simply do great evil. He is far more crafty than that. He wants only that we fail to do God's will. So when God says do good, the devil either says do great evil or do a little evil. But when God says do better, the devil says just do good. And when God says be perfect, the devil says, just be a little better.

Your great weapon here is the sacrament of confession. This followed by the Sacrament of the Eucharist is a powerful combo against his lies because this keeps us in a state of grace, a state of active friendship with God. And the best part about being close friends with God is that he shares with us his Divine Nature (or grace). Sharing in his divine nature means that we walk in his light which enables us to see more clearly the advances of the enemy and therefore resist them more thoroughly.

The Moral

You are master over yourself. God's grace, his divine nature elevates our human nature to a divinized state that empowers us to see more clearly the lies of the devil. If we should reject this state of life by a deadly sin, we may regain it by humble repentance and the sacrament of confession, but the more we can maintain divine life in our soul the greater will our resources against evil be.

+ Br. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR

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Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/12/2013

2013-06-12T10:15:00.000-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013
To be worthy of the Father...

J.M.J.

June 12, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! ... To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness..." (June 2, 2013)

And he said, "There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, `How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."' And he arose and came to his father.

But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion,and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, `Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to make merry.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, `Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!' And he said to him, `Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'" (Luke 15: 12-30)

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

PS. On a practical note. Some of you have told me you like to forward these emails to your family and friends. This is wonderful. I just want to share that when you forward it, please us the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of the email when you forward. If you forward from your own inbox, it can cause problems for you and for us. If someone who your forward your email to uses the "update email/profile" link or hits the unsubscribe option, they will unsubscribe you from the list, without you knowing it. So use the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of the email when you forward the email!!

Thanks so much!

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/11/2013

2013-06-11T09:56:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013
The Blue Cross, site of many apparitions

J.M.J.

June 11, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

Last night (Monday, June 10, 2013), Ivan met with his prayer group at the Blue Cross and Our Lady came to Ivan at about 9:50 pm. Mary TV was able to Live-Stream the prayer and the apparition! We are sorry that we did not know about the apparition until Monday morning, and so we were not able to send an announcement earlier. Ivan does not publicize his apparitions, and it has to be communicated, word of mouth! But our team was able to gather the equipment and make it to the Blue Cross in time to set up and stream! Amazing!!

It was again a dark night, and Ivan asked that no one use lights or camera flashes, so that everyone could be in a prayerful posture. So there was little to see. But Our Lady came! And Ivan shared about her visit, and gave us a brief message. Here is a translation of the message and Ivan's sharing by Ana Shawl:

People were there at Blue Cross for hours before Ivan came for the apparition. They came through the fields and through the streets and most came after the evening Mass which ended about 8:00. On the hill there was music from the boys at Cenacolo. At 9:30 Ivan lead everyone in the rosary. After the rosary, Our Lady came. After the apparition, Ivan shared with us:

Our Lady tonight came to us happy and joyful and as usual she greeted all of us with her motherly greeting: "Praised be Jesus my dear children."

After this, Our Lady prayed over all the sick that are present here tonight.

After this Our Lady then prayed over all of us with extended arms and she gave us all her motherly blessing. She blessed all the things that we brought here to be blessed.

After this Our Lady said:

"Dear Children! Today I desire during this time that you pray especially for my intentions. Pray dear children in this time of grace, and I desire together with you to realize my plans. Dear Children, thank you today for having responded to my call."

After this Ivan recommended all our needs, our intentions, our families and especially the sick. Our Lady then prayed over us and went in the sign of the light and the cross with the words, "Go in peace, my dear children".

Ivan said that this was the most important from tonight's apparition with Our Lady.

God Bless you all

Ana

Thank you to Ana for sharing the words of Ivan with us. Thanks to Josip, who recorded the apparition and the words of Ivan, so that Ana could translate them for us!

I was very aware of Our Lady's presence during the apparition (which I attended through the live-streaming on Mary TV). There was a poor little child crying inconsolably during most of the apparition. Though it was uncomfortable to hear, I felt that Our Lady was praying for that little one in a special way, and maybe there was some deliverance or healing going on. The cry of the child also reminded me of all of us, who at some point need to release all our pain and sorrow and fear to Our Lady. Sometimes it happens at an apparition, sometimes it happens during our own prayer, or at the Blessed Sacrament. But Our Lady comes to us with such great love, that we finally feel free to just give up all our pain to her. She is love, pure love, and we can entrust our inner selves to her.

Thank you to our Medjugorje team for streaming the apparition for us. What a blessing for us all!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

Thanks so much!

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

Mary TV: Denis' update - June 10, 2013

2013-06-10T11:56:00.002-04:00

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II

Be connected!

www.Marytv.tv

June 10, 2013

Dear Family of Mary TV, Apostles of Our Lady of Medjugorje!

URGENT: SPREAD THE NEWS IMMEDIATELY

MARY TV is going to stream LIVE Ivan's apparition

Monday, June 10, 2013

at the Blue Cross in Medjugorje.

Streaming begins at 3:30 pm EDT(9:30 pm Medj. time)

and concludes at about 4:30pm EDT (10:30 pm Medj time):

<www.marytv.tv >

As was the case when streaming Our Lady's apparition to Ivan on May 24, we won't be using lights - but the sound will be good. You will be able to hear some of the prayers, and the silence when Our Lady comes.

Let's cherish this opportunity to again welcome Our Mother - we, her children from all over the world! Joining with her in prayer, you will receive her blessing just as those will who are gathered at the Blue Cross on the mountain, (see "Blessing over the internet" <http://www.marytv.tv/blessing-over-the-internet>).

The live stream will be available on our home page, www.marytv.tv starting a few minutes before 3:30 pm EDT (tomorrow, Monday, June 10, 2013)!!

Please spread this good news to all the addresses in your email list....

Thank you. God bless everyone!

Denis

Picture taken by Michellina Fontana 2013

PS. During Our Lady's May 24th apparition to Ivan that we were streaming live from the top of Podbrdo, Cathy asked Our Lady to give her a sign...a flicker of light on Ivan's face as he was talking to her (Ivan didn't want any lights so it was pitch black) or some sign for Mary TV..... Then when she went to put on her Facebook page an account of the apparition she found this picture posted "Our Lady over an unknown building in Medjugoje". She's standing over the building where Mary TV's studios are in Medjugorje....in fact right over our ground floor studio!

PPS. Check out "Tea with Rosie" for this week. It has just been posted!

[ Video ] Prayers for a Priest

2013-06-10T11:49:00.002-04:00

Prayers for a Priest

by apostleshipofprayer

Reflection for 6/10/13

http://youtu.be/Ubv8iImBIaI
www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Photos by Ed Bierman, Mr. Nixter, Michael Swan, Catholic Church (England and Wales), Austin Diocese, Ryan Basilio

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/10/2013

2013-06-10T07:50:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013
He who has seen me has seen the Father...

J.M.J.

June 10, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

"...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..." (June 2, 2013)

Our Lady speaks to us quite often of our Heavenly Father. She seems to think that we don't really know the Father well enough, that we don't think of Him often enough and that we are not aware of His love. This reminds me of the question that Philip asked Jesus in John's Gospel:

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? (John 14:8-10)

We all want to say to Philip, "Dah...." But really, it is quite true that if we are not praying regularly, if we are not reading Scripture and silently listening to Jesus, we will not be aware that the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father. We may not be aware of the Father at all because we haven't gone deep enough into Jesus!

The Father is full of love. He is full of fatherly concern for us. There is not one hair on our head that He is not aware of, concerned for, delighted with. He made us because He loves us so much, and is so excited that we live with Him forever in Heaven. The Father is just like Jesus, and Jesus is just like the Father. They both love us to the end!!!

A very common wound is the "Father" wound. Very often, when we experience inner healing we will become aware that at some level we have experienced rejection or loss or abuse from our fathers. Many times it is just the absence of our earthly father that has wounded us. No father is perfect. But we have built into us a need for the perfect father. And anything less can be very painful. That is why Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied."

So, Jesus came to reveal our Perfect Father to us. He came to connect us back to our real Father who made us and who loves us intensely. This Father is the one we yearn for. Jesus in his earthly life also yearned for the Father. That is why he spent hours in prayer, often all night long. He was in prayer, connecting with His Father. We need our Father!!

Our Lady wants us to realize that we need the Father. Then she wants us to be aware of Him, be cognizant of Him, think about Him, pray to Him, depend upon Him, just as we do Jesus. We need our Father. She knows that we will be satisfied only when we are connected to the Father through Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants the very same thing!! How can we forget the prayer Jesus taught the disciples? It is a prayer that focuses completely on the Father! It is the "Our Father". Jesus came so that we could be cognizant of the Father, and understand that in Him all our needs are met!

Let's pray with Jesus, the prayer He taught us:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

May we truly become cognizant of the Heavenly Father's love for us. Our Lady will help us if we respond to her call to prayer, fasting, love and forgiveness!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

[ Video ] Do Not Weep

2013-06-09T09:24:00.003-04:00

Do Not Weep

by apostleshipofprayer

Reflection for 6/9/13

http://youtu.be/Wl6kqPU-rMI
www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Photos by Snapshots of the Past, Vad Levin, Eladisimo, Seetheholyland.net

Spiritual Gems-God’s Only Solution/ A Great Saint Reminds Us- June 8, 2013

2013-06-08T15:28:00.001-04:00

God’s Only Solution/ A Great Saint Reminds Us

St. Maximilian Kolbe gave his life as a martyr that another man might live. He also was one of the greatest evangelists of the last century reaching millions of people. He knew of God’s only solution for mankind from Fatima and here is what he says to us:

Teach everyone this Consecration to Jesus through Mary. Since it is the quickest, safest and easiest way to become a saint, it is also the quickest, safest and easiest way to conquer the whole world for Christ. So, we must tell others about it!

This is what we do….we answer God’s request: God wishes to establish in the world devotion to His Mother’s Immaculate Heart and promises salvation to those who embrace it! Will you?

Go to myconsecration.org now while you are thinking about it and do it out of love for God (or order one copy for someone you love).

Anthony J. Mullen

You can receive complimentary materials to make your Consecration to God through Mary’s Immaculate Heart (important spiritual protection at this time in salvation history) at myconsecration.org... where you can also learn about Our Lady of Las Lajas.

You can learn more about our Lady of Fatima at www.wafusa.org.

God Bless you and your work,

Deacon Bob		Tony

Deacon Bob Ellis		Anthony Mullen
Executive Director		MyConsecration.org
World Apostolate of Fatima, USA		647 Edmonds Avenue
A Pontifical Association of the Faithful		Drexel Hill, PA 19026
visit us at: www.wafusa.org		visit us at: www.myconsecration.org

[ Video ] Immaculate Heart of Mary, Deliver Us!

2013-06-08T10:31:00.002-04:00

Immaculate Heart, Deliver Us

by apostleshipofprayer

Reflection for 6/8/13

http://youtu.be/ft-9nCDQxZA

www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Photos by Antonia Hayes, Lawrence OP, Breno Peck, George Martell/The Pilot Media Group

Immaculate Heart, Deliver Us

by apostleshipofprayer

Reflection for 6/8/13

http://youtu.be/ft-9nCDQxZA

www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Photos by Antonia Hayes, Lawrence OP, Breno Peck, George Martell/The Pilot Media Group

[Video] This Sacrament of Love

2013-06-07T10:54:00.000-04:00

This Sacrament of Love

by apostleshipofprayer

Reflection for 6/76/13

http://youtu.be/W4GsNlvsKio

www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Photos by Michael swan, Cp Castro, Lawrence OP, Louisa Billeter, St. Louis Youth Ministry Office, John Ragai, joseph a

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/7/2013

2013-06-07T10:49:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013
Children of God...

J.M.J.

June 7, 2013

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Dear Family of Mary!

".... 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'..." (June 2, 2013)

It was the sacrifice of Jesus that brought us all back into the family of God. As St. John tells us:

"But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1: 12-13)

If we receive Jesus into our hearts, if we take His yoke and learn from Him, He will lead us to our Father, our true Father in heaven who made us and wants nothing more than to love us.

I like how St. John makes it clear that we do not become children of God by...

1. Blood. We do not become children of God through our parents or ancestors. Truly, God has no grandchildren!

2. The will of the flesh. We can't buy our way into the family of God with our own power or through worldly means.

3. The will of man. We can't be given a place in the family of God by any other man, no matter how holy or powerful he is.

4. But of God! We can only be born into the family of God by God Himself. God does it all for us, in Jesus.

Imagine coming up to a beautiful house, full of people you love, and finding the door shut and locked. You want to enter the house but you are locked out. You have no right to be in that house because you are not family. You are an outsider. Imagine the loneliness of that moment, when you realize you cannot get in. And they cannot open the door for you either. There is nothing you can do.

Then imagine Jesus coming around the corner of the house, embracing you, comforting you, and then showing you to the door. He takes the key from his pocket, and opens the door, and you go in together. You realize at that moment that it was because Jesus died on the Cross that you can enter the house. He alone made it possible for you to become one of the family inside. You owe everything to Him. You turn to thank Him, but He is gone. He has gone to find all the other children.

Then you notice that there is someone waiting for you in the house, someone you have always wanted to draw close to. Someone you have longed to know. It is the Father you always yearned for, the Father you needed so many times but didn't know. It is the Father who loves you so much that He would send His most beloved Son to take your place, to bear your sins, to pay your dues. This Father waits for you to come and embrace Him and call Him "Father".

You are home.

This is what Our Lady wants us to understand, to experience. She wants us to call the Heavenly Father, "Father"!! But only Jesus can make our adoption back into the family a reality.

Today as we adore the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let's thank Him for this great gift, that we are called "Children of God". It is a gift His Sacred Heart won for us.

Here is a short prayer to the Sacred Heart written by Rafael Cardinal Merry de Val:

Jesus, reveal Your Sacred Heart to me and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It forever. Grant that all my desires and every beat of my heart, which does not cease even while I sleep, may be a witness to You of my love for You and tell You: Yes Lord, I am Yours! The pledge of my loyalty to You rests ever in my heart and shall never cease to be there. Accept the little good that I do and be pleased to make up for all my wrong-doing so that I may be able to praise You in time and in eternity. Amen.

It is this union of our hearts to Jesus' Heart that brings us into the Family of God, where we call God our "Father"!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

PS. Tomorrow is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.! Really we pass through Mary's heart to Jesus' heart when we enter the presence of the Heavenly Father. What a beautiful path to take! We love you Mother Mary!!

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

Be connected!

www.marytv.tv

Jesus’s Heart: An abyss of love and mercy

2013-06-06T21:10:00.000-04:00

Tribulation Times

June 7, 2013

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN IN TWO WEEKS, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

(John 19:33-34) But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side: and immediately there came out blood and water.

TIMELY LINKS

Jesus’s Heart: An abyss of love and mercy
5 reasons to adore the Sacred Heart
Mama Mary as shield against war, disaster

ARCHBISHOP CHARLES J. CHAPUT, O.F.M.CAP.: The evidential power of beauty

“Beauty is the battlefield where God and Satan contend for the hearts of men.”
– Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

“Late have I loved thee, Beauty so old and so new; late have I loved thee. Lo, you were within, but I was outside, seeking there for you, and upon the shapely things you have made I rushed headlong — I, misshapen. You were with me, but I was not with you. They held me back far from you, those things which would have no being, were they not in you.”
– Augustine, The Confessions

A friend once told me the story of how she first met God. She doesn’t remember her age; it must have been about 4 or 5. Her family lived in the countryside on the rim of one of our big eastern cities. And one June evening, cloudless, moonless, with just the hint of a humid breeze, her father took her out into the back yard in the dark and told her to look up at the sky.

From one horizon to the other, all across the black carpet of the night, were the stars — thousands of them, tens of thousands, in clusters and rivers of light. And in the quiet, her father said, “God made the world beautiful because he loves us.”

That was more than 50 years ago. My friend grew up and learned all about entropy and supernovae and colliding galaxies and quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity. But still, when she closes her eyes, she can see that carpet of stars and hear her father’s voice. God made the world beautiful because he loves us.

Creation is more than an accident of dead matter. It’s a romance. It has purpose. It sings of the Living God. It bears his signature.

The story of my friend offers several lessons we might consider this week as summer begins and life starts to briefly slow down.

First, the most powerful kind of witness doesn’t come from a classroom or pulpit. It doesn’t need an academic degree or special techniques. Instead, it grows naturally out of the lives of ordinary people – parents and spouses and friends; people confident in the love that God bears for them and eager to share it with others; people who know the world not as a collection of confused facts but as a symphony of truth and meaning.

Second, nature is sacramental. It points to things outside itself. God speaks and creation sings in silence. We can’t hear either if we’re cocooned in a web of manufactured distraction, anxiety and noise. We can’t see the heavens if our faces are buried in technologies that turn us inward on ourselves. Yet that’s exactly what modern American life seems to promote: a restless and relentless material appetite for “more,” that gradually feeds selfishness and separates each of us from everyone else.

Third and finally, every experience of real beauty leads us closer to three key virtues: humility, because the grandeur of creation invites awe and lifts us outside ourselves; love, because the human heart was made for glory and joy, and only the Author of life can satisfy its longings; and hope, because no sadness, no despair, can ultimately survive the evidence of divine meaning that beauty provides.

If the world we see taking shape around us today in the name of a false freedom often seems filled with cynicism, ugliness, little blasphemies and sadness, we need to ask why. And then we need to turn our hearts again to the God of beauty – Augustine’s “Beauty so old and so new” — who created us, who sings his longing for us in the grandeur of the world he made, and who renews our souls.

God lives in the summer rain, the stars in the night sky, the wind in the leaves of the trees. He speaks to us through a creation alive with his love. We need to be silent, and watch and listen. And then we need to join in nature’s symphony of praise.

MEDITATION: Thoughts by St Theophan (1815-1894)

[Acts 14:20–27; John 9:39–10:9]

And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind (John 9:39). They which could not see were the simple people who believed the Lord in simplicity of heart, while they which saw were the scribes and learned men of that time, who due to their pride of mind did not believe, and held back the people.

Our clever ones think that they see, and, this is why they are alienated from that faith in the Lord that the simple in heart and mind firmly hold to. Therefore, according to the truth of the Lord they are blind, whereas the people see. They are exactly like those birds which can see at night, but not during the day. The truth of Christ is dark for them, whereas what is contrary to this truth — falsehood — to them seems clear: here they are in their element. This is so obvious, but nevertheless they are ready to ask: Are we blind also? (John 9:40). There is nothing to hide; you are blind. But since it is your own fault that you are blind, the sin of blindness and not seeing the light lies on you. You can see, but you do not want to, because you came to love a deceptive, yet tempting lie.

Thoughts and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of the Cross, Contempt and Suffering

13. Nothing unites us so closely to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ as the cross which is the most precious pledge of his love.

Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com

This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.

How Should We Act In The Presence Of The Lord?

2013-06-06T17:51:00.001-04:00

How Should We Act In The Presence Of The Lord?

Our God Is Truly Present: Body, Blood, Soul, And Divinity!

Fr. Bevil Bramwell - With the celebration of the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ in the past week, it’s good to remember the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas:

Almighty and Eternal God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sick I come to the Physician of life; unclean, to the Fountain of mercy; blind, to the Light of eternal splendor; poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore, I beg of You, through Your infinite mercy and generosity, heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I thus receive the Bread of Angels, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility, contrition and devotion, purity and faith, purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul’s salvation.
This is the humble attitude with which we should both enter the church building (because the Blessed Sacrament is reserved there) and approach the Blessed Sacrament at Holy Communion.

The reason for our humility is that the glorified and risen Lord is present here in the Bread of Angels. The Eucharist is not a manmade symbol for an absent reality, a mere reminder of times past.

Rather, as Saint Thomas prayed in his Prayer after Communion: “I thank You, Lord, Almighty Father, Everlasting God, for having been pleased, through no merit of mine, but of Your great mercy alone, to feed me, a sinner, and Your unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Blessed Eucharist is the Body and Blood of the Son of God. It is the only thing worthy of the worship that is given to God alone for that very reason.
How different would the attitude be in our churches if Christ’s Real Presence were taken seriously? Rather than trying to make our churches like movie houses or secular meeting spaces or – worse – copying other religions, perhaps we could make them houses of the Blessed Sacrament, oases of the guaranteed presence of Christ in a secular world.

The celebration of the Eucharist is not a closed, feel-good moment, private to our parish or even to our family. Eucharistic Prayer I says very clearly: “by the hands of your holy angel this offering may be born to your altar in heaven in the sight of your divine majesty so as we receive communion at this altar. . .we may be filled with every grace and blessing.” We join the liturgy of Heaven that showers its grace upon earth.

We need to be personally close to Christ for our spiritual survival, but this is not at all an individualistic concept. As John Paul II exhorted us: “The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith and open to make amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world.”
So alongside our reaching for an ever deeper appreciation and awe for the Body and Blood of Christ – which is already countercultural in our confused time – we have to learn something about the effects of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

One of them is that “our unity is the fruit of Calvary, and results from the Mass’s application to us of the fruits of the Passion, with a view to our final redemption.”(Henri de Lubac) So being Christian depends on our actually being open to the mystery at the heart of our redemption, the life, death and resurrection of Christ. In fact, our whole approach to the Body and Blood of Christ will be a good indicator of whether we even grasp the central mystery of our faith in love.
Relearning our faith so that it is not individualized (the Protestant position), but rather something that, as Christ’s own Church, joins us more deeply to Christ and each other is predicated on our approaching the Blessed Sacrament as Thomas Aquinas did. The individualism that we have been schooled in for years – and that comes to us in TV shows, in the speeches of politicians, in how we conceive of school and work – will take serious effort to overcome.

It represents a grave distortion of the social way of life for which we were created. Vatican II taught the simple truth that: “God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

We cannot expect to steep ourselves in the individualism of the culture and then regard our subsequent attitudes as Catholic. These are two irreconcilable realities. And to think otherwise is to imagine that there is no particular truth in Catholicism.

To deny the Church as the Body of Christ is to deny who Jesus Christ is, the one who is God incarnate and present among us in a special way, as we celebrate today.
Originally published by: The Catholic Thing

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Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/6/2013

2013-06-06T10:45:00.001-04:00

(c)Mary TV 2013
"For My yoke is easy, My burden is light"

J.M.J.

June 6, 2013

St. Norbert

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 message "In this restless time..." I am grateful to her for saying this. Indeed, these days are restless. There is so much violence in our world today. There is fear, anxiety, social upheaval, economic flux, climate shifts, and on and on. Our modern world is restless. It is becoming clearer and clearer that our temporal existence is threatened. This makes us restless.

Anxiety and insecurity can cause deep fatigue. We stay on high alert all day long, trying to solve our problems, trying to meet deadlines and pay bills. We use up adrenaline and guzzle caffeine in order to stay alert. It takes a toll. Our society is full of tired people.

And so our Lady addresses this problem. She tells us we live in a restless time. She draws our attention to it. She lets us recognize it. We are threatened by restlessness. Then she gives us the way out. She tells us "...in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation." The answer to the threat of restlessness and fear is Jesus. He alone can free us from restlessness and give us rest, peace and salvation.

Jesus, Himself, told us the same thing:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Mt 11:28-30)

Jesus does not tell us to run from our restless environment, or curl up in a ball. No, He tells us to come to Him, to take his yoke upon our shoulders and to learn from Him. He tells us to get up and "set out" towards Him much as Our Lady tells us in this message. He tells us to decide for Him, choose to follow Him. Once we have done that, He doesn't tell us to take a nap! No, instead, Jesus gives us His yoke! He puts us to work!!

Now, a yoke are made for a team of oxen. The yoke is made of wood and has two holes in it, to be placed over the necks of the two oxen. I always picture Jesus wearing the yoke, and offering me the other side of the yoke. Jesus and I then pull our load. What a comfort that is to me. The yoke made of wood reminds me of the Cross. Jesus is inferring that He is asking each of us to help Him carry His cross, His yoke. And He will be our constant companion on this way of the Cross.

And even more comforting, Jesus says we will learn from Him. He will be our yoke partner, and He will teach us how to wear the yoke and pull the load. Jesus will teach us how to make it through this restless world, as He travels with us, side by side.

And the good news is that Jesus is gentle and lowly of heart, which means He will be very, very kind to each of us along the way, and his teaching will be gentle and kind. We will find rest for our souls because Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light. This is probably true, because Jesus will take the lion's share of the load along the way, and only let us bear a fraction of the weight. He is our partner, remember!!

The truth is that our rest will not come from running from our responsibilities, but from meeting them head on, with Jesus. When we are paired up with Jesus, being led by Him, learning from Him, pulling with Him, all our difficulties, pains and fears will be handled and used for our good and the good of others. As we see our lives begin to make sense with Jesus, we will find rest in Him, peace, salvation, hope. This is such good news!

Our Lady urges us to come to Jesus, to take His yoke, to learn from Him, and to rest in His companionship. This is the way to escape the restlessness of our time. It is not by running away from it, or ensuring our own safety through power or wealth. No, it is by coming to Jesus, and taking His yoke upon our necks and walking with Him through it all, in peace and love and complete trust in Jesus' leadership.

We all desire rest. Let's recognize from whence our rest will come!

"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." (Is 30: 15)

When we come to Jesus, and submit ourselves to His care, trusting Him in everything, resting in Him always, we shall be saved.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"

Blessed John Paul II -

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