Topic: Preparations for Prophecy
Medjugorje Day By Day Nov 19 - WHEN YOU NEED ME, CALL ME
"Do not, therefore, regard the bread and wine as simply that, for they are, according to the Master's declaration, the body and blood of Christ" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem).
"If we truly understand the Eucharist; if we make the Eucharist the central focus of our lives; if we feed our lives with the Eucharist, we will not find it difficult to discover Christ, to love him, and to serve him in the poor" (Bl. Teresa of Calcutta).
Mother Teresa -
This is a sign of the joy of loving God: sharing that love with others.
Meditations by Padre Pio - May God's blessing accompany, sustain and guide you! Form a Christian family if you want a little bit of peace in this life. May the Lord give you children and then the grace to direct them on the way to Heaven.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen -
Words are cheap when there is no conviction behind them
"Whenever we set out to give `good example,' we generally do not give it. The best example is given when we are off duty and are not acting `professionally,' such as the minister or rabbi or priest when he comes down from his pulpit, the womanizer after he has finished his discourse on the `necessity of recognizing the rights of women,' the politician when he has finished his television oration on `my profound interest in social justice and my love of the common good.' When Peter told Our Lord that though others failed Him, he would never fail, the Savior retorted that within twenty-four hours Peter would deny that he even knew Him. What we say is less important in the way of influence than what we do."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html -
Jesus gave me to know the depth of His meekness and humility and to understand that He clearly demanded the same of me. I felt the gaze of God in my soul. This filled me with unspeakable love, but I understood that the Lord was looking with love on my virtues and my heroic efforts, and I knew that this was what was drawing God into my heart. It is from this that I have come to understand that it is not enough for me to strive only for the ordinary virtues, but that I must try to exercise the heroic virtues. Although exteriorly a thing may be quite ordinary, it is the different manner [in which it is carried out] that only the eye of God catches. O my Jesus, what I have written is just a pale shadow of what I understand in my soul; these are purely spiritual things, but in order to write something of what the Lord gives me to know, I must use words with which I am totally dissatisfied, because they do not express the reality. (758)
Always and in all circumstances, yield the first place to others; especially during recreation listen quietly, without interrupting, even if someone tells me the same thing ten times. I will never ask questions about something that interests me very much. (789)
Dailys - http://www.catholic-forum.com/e-pistle.html -
Quote of the Day A soul which exalts itself abases God; but a soul which abases itself exalts God. -St. Augustine
Today's Tidbit In the Untied States, the Faithful are encouraged to focus on acts of charity, penance and pray for economic justice in the days preceding Thanksgiving.
MEDJUGORJE DAY BY DAY
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Nov 19 - WHEN YOU NEED ME, CALL ME
In the first weeks of the apparitions, the Blessed Mother told the visionaries:
Pray, my angels, for these people. My children, I give you strength. I will always give it to you. When you need me call me. (First Years August 23, 1981).
And from Luke's gospel:
When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost" (Lk 15:5-6).
Reflection:
One of the most popular stories of recent years is called "Footprints in the Sand." It is the Reflection of a person who is puzzled that, although Christ's footprints normally appear next to his own in the sand, as they walk together through life, yet when he is in special need or trouble only one set of prints can be seen. And so he asks, "Where were you, Lord, when I needed you most?" To which Jesus replies: "Ah, but there were only one set of footprints because it was then that I carried you!"
This is a thought of great comfort, and yet to be picked up and carried is difficult for many of us to accept. Thoughts like, "I'm too heavy," "I'm too embarrassed," "I'm not helpless," or "I'm not worthy," fill our minds. But eventually we have to admit: "I am too tired; I am too sick," or "I am too scared." To surrender and submit to the strong arms of a Savior humiliates the proud but brings joy to the weary. What keeps us from being helped is our fierce self-sufficiency.
Application:
Today, surrender yourself to the Good Shepherd in prayer. Be alert to others around you that need to be carried for a while in your own arms
Medjugorje Day By Day Nov 18 - DO
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (d. 107), Syria—Oct. 17
"Be careful, therefore, to take part only in the one Eucharist; for there is
only one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup to unite us with His Blood."
Mother Teresa -
We need to work for Christ with a humble heart, with the humility of Christ.
He comes and uses us to be His love and compassion in the world in spite of our weaknesses and frailties.
Meditations by Padre Pio -
Jesus and your soul must cultivate the vineyard together. It is for you to pick up and carry away the stones, to pull out the thorn bushes. It is the task of Jesus to sow, plant, cultivate, to water.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen -
To hype without sincerity is fleeting "Influences are of two kinds: conscious and unconscious. Conscious influence is one in which we deliberately seek to mold character or the mentality of another.
This kind of influence is not always sound, it is too closely related to advertising. Almost all the great impacts on the characters of others have been made indirectly, not directly. He who starts out to `edify' others almost always makes a fool of himself."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html -
Today, I heard these words: You see how weak you are, so when shall I be able to count on you? I answered, "Jesus, be always with me, for I am Your little child. Jesus, You know what little children do." (722)
I have understood that at certain and most difficult moments I shall be alone, deserted by everyone, and that I must face all the storms and fight with all the strength of my soul, even with those from whom I expected to get help.
But I am not alone, because Jesus is with me, and with Him I fear nothing. I am well aware of everything, and I know what God is demanding of me. Suffering, contempt, ridicule, persecution, and humiliation will be my constant lot. I know no other way. For sincere love-ingratitude; this is my path, marked out by the footprints of Jesus.
My Jesus, my strength and my only hope, in You alone is all my hope. My trust will not be frustrated. (746)
Dailys - http://www.catholic-forum.com/e-pistle.html -
Quote of the Day Be careful to give no credit to yourself for anything; if you do, you are stealing from God, to whom alone every good thing is due. -St Vincent de Paul
Today's Tidbit The process for canonization that allowed Elizabeth to be canonized so quickly is no longer used. Now a more formalized, legal process is required before a person is recognized officially as a saint.
MEDJUGORJE DAY BY DAY
Nov 18 - DO NOT GIVE IN
Early in the apparitions, the Virgin spoke to the visionaries of endurance:
Do not give in. Keep your faith. I will accompany you at every step (First Years November 10, 1981).
Paul also speaks of endurance:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, We will also live with him; If we endure, we will also reign with him (2 Tm 2:10-12).
Reflection:
Many years ago two men were on board a sailing ship, going back to their home on a far-off Pacific island, when one of them noticed a little grain of corn at his feet.
He picked it up and examined it. "It's a grain of corn," he said. "If it were a sackful it might be of some use!! And he threw it away again carelessly.
But the other man picked it up, put it in his pocket and treasured it until they reached their island home. Then he sowed it. It grew into a plant, and yielded a tiny crop, so small as to be laughable.
But he planted that in turn, and the next time the result was enough to give a few grains to each of his many friends.
So the crop grew, and in the end it yielded an abundant harvest. The little seed was the means of introducing corn to the Pacific islands.
When the seed of faith first comes into our lives with its love and power and we feel its great energy, we treat it with great reverence. As time goes by, however, we may begin to take it for granted.
We can get lazy, tired, and careless. When that begins to happen, we are in danger of sliding into lukewarmness.
And so Our Lady says today, "Do not give in. Keep your faith;" and in Revelation: "[This] is a call for endurance and the faith of the saints."
One of the great values of the Medjugorje messages is that they renew and energize our faith, guarding us from lethargy. As long as we heed the messages, our faith cannot help but deepen and bear an abundant harvest.
Application:
Simply offer the following prayer today: Mother Mary, your messages have meant new life to me. They have given me healing and hope, deepening my faith. Please keep me attentive and truly careful about what I hold most dear. Amen
Medjugorje Day By Day Nov 17 - GIVE ME ALL YOUR HARDSHIPS
St. Teresa of Avila, Carmelite & Church Doctor (1515-1582), Spain—Oct. 15
She wrote, "I am quite sure that if we could but once approach the Most Holy Sacrament with great faith and love, it would suffice to make us rich. How much more so if we approach it often!"
Mother Teresa -
The Scriptures tell us, "I have called you by name. You belong to me. You are precious to me. I love you."
God Himself declares that we are precious to Him. He loves us, and He wants us to respond to His love.
Meditations by Padre Pio -
There is nothing more nauseating than a woman, especially if she is married, who is fickle, frivolous and haughty.
The Christian wife must be a woman of sound piety towards God, an angel of peace in the family, dignified and pleasant towards others.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen -
The canvas of memories is filled by the brushstroke of our actions
"With some measure of pessimism, Shakespeare makes one of his characters say: `The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones" (Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene ii, Line 79). More hopeful was the poet who wrote: `
Full lasting is the song, though he the singer passes' (George Meredith, The Thrush in February, 7). Both, however, are in agreement on the importance of influence, either for evil or for good. Some can look back and fix the day when a good influence began and say with Dante:
`In that part of the book of my memory, before which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying `The new life begins." " (La Vita Nuova, tr. by Dante Gabriel Rossetti). In the gallery of memory, some portrait is hanging to which one can acknowledge a debt of formation, or a fresh vision of life."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html -
O my Jesus, nothing is better for the soul than humiliations. In contempt is the secret of happiness, when the soul recognizes that, of itself, it is only wretchedness and nothingness, and that whatever it possesses of good is a gift of God.
When the soul sees that everything is given it freely and that the only thing it has of itself is its own misery, this is what sustains it in a continual act of humble prostration before the majesty of God. And God, seeing the soul in such a disposition, pursues it with His graces.
As the soul continues to immerse itself more deeply into the abyss of its nothingness and need, God uses His omnipotence to exalt it. If there is a truly happy soul upon earth, it can only be a truly humble soul. At first, one's self-love suffers greatly on this account, but after a soul has struggled courageously, God grants it much light by which it sees how wretched and full of deception everything is.
God alone is in its heart. A humble soul does not trust itself, but places all its confidence in God. God defends the humble soul and lets Himself into its secrets, and the soul abides in unsurpassable happiness which no one can comprehend. (593)
My Jesus, You see how weak I am of myself. Therefore, You Yourself direct my affairs. And know, Jesus, that without You I will not budge for any cause, but with You I will take on the most difficult things. (602)
Dailys - http://www.catholic-forum.com/e-pistle.html -
Quote of the Day We cultivate a very small field for Christ, but we love it, knowing that God does not require great achievements but a heart that holds back nothing for self. -St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
Today's Tidbit When the Bishops of the United States said that it was no longer required that meat not be eaten on Fridays, they did not say that people could no longer continue this practice as a personal sign of penance. The abstinence from meat on certain days is still a popular way of showing interior dedication to God and used as a penance to remind us of Jesus' sacrifice for us.
MEDJUGORJE DAY BY DAY
Nov 17 - GIVE ME ALL YOUR HARDSHIPS
The following was given to Ivan's prayer group in 1990:
Dear children, your Mother invites you to joy. Your Mother asks you to begin to live tonight's message. Again tonight, your Mother asks you to give me all your problems and all your hardships. Thank you, dear children, for continuing to live in prayer all that I have said to you (Visionary Prayer Group June 26,1990).
And from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians:
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, than I am strong (2 Cor 12:9-12).
Reflection:
Abraham Lincoln once said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." Most of us know the truth of Lincoln's words. There is hope in the fact that when we do sink to our knees, we then have something to support us. When we finally exhaust our own power, we can depend on the power of God.
We know that one of the best things that could happen to us, in experiencing a low point in life, is to reach out like St. Paul, who found God most powerfully when he was the weakest.
Application:
A prayer for today: Most loving Lord, thank you for being there at the lowest points of my life. Continue to take my hand and pull me up. Amen
Message to J.N.S.R. Sept.8,2007
I was born from Above
September 8, 2007 Nativity of Mary
MARY: I was born of God through Him, with Him and in Him, Heaven's Flower, chosen among all flowers. I had to be born on this Earth so as to teach you, all the splendors of Heaven, the very seed of all life, the one unique seed through which the entire Universe was born.
I was chosen by the Father, destined to be the Princess who would offer to the World, His Only Son, King of the Universe. Giving to the world, God become man, that was the whole Mystery of God being revealed, Divinity becoming human.
God, who blooms like a flower, opens up in order to reveal to us the Holy Trinity, starting with making Himself visible: "Whoever sees Me, sees My Father".
Through My Fiat, I was to receive Him who is the Image of God, our Father. And, through My Child, give to each of the Father Creator's children, the very prototype of the man called one day to become the Son of God, to live in this World made New. Humanity will become divine.
When seeing JESUS Christ, you will become similar to Him. That glorious future, by accepting the Spirit of God by My FIAT, I already had it within Me.
I am MARY Most Holy, the Divine Immaculate Conception, asking you to accept with all your heart, the great and total Purification. You will thus become Immaculates able to bear JESUS in you and sing with JESUS and MARY:
"Through Him, with Him and in Him, to You, God the Almighty Father in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, all Honour and Glory forever and ever! Amen."
In God's Heaven, as well as on your purified Earth, you will all be many little JESUS and MARY's of Love.
Your Divine Mother,
Mother of God and of Men.
http://www.jnsr. be/uk.htm
Message From Mother Mary - November 16, 2007 thru Lec -
Message Received From Mother Mary
November 16, 2007(Friday)
7:15AM
In the interim, I paused for a moment to recharge my spiritual battery by
praying the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory Be, the Apostle's Creed, Prayer for
Protection to St. Michael and the exorcism prayer.
I have already asked for the covering of the most Precious Blood of Jesus after
the mass, before getting the very first message.
Then I asked Mother Mary if she has anything to say.
She said "Yes" son. What follows is what I heard from the still, small, inner
voice:
My son, your honoring me your Mother counts much in my inclination to seek
fellowship with you on a regular basis. I desire to speak to the faithful so as
not to let go of their zeal in praying first of all the prayer which my Son
taught them.
Praying the Rosary will help much to ward off temptations of the
evil one as well as repel attacks seen and unseen from the invisible enemy. The
angels of the Lord stand before you to protect you wherever your feet takes you
to but seek their help for they also respect your free will choice as we do too.
Their help is perceptible and always ready but ask them to help.
Prayers of the faithful are gathered by angels and presented to me which I then
lay at the feet of my Son for His hearing.
To those who have recourse to me, be
assured therefore that your prayers that sought my intercession will never be in
vain for I myself am the one directly talking to my Son to please grant your
prayers even if hurriedly said. I do not encroach though on my Son's wisdom but
a constant appeal to His merciful heart many times do obtain answers to
petitions sent by the faithful.
I do help my Son win more souls for heaven.
Message Reception Ended : 7:35 am Duration - 20 minute
Medjugorje Day By Day Nov 16 - HERE YOU RECEIVE BLESSINGS
How the Bridegroom Comes
From this infinite Being in three persons I proceed, the Divine Word made flesh, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit in power, wisdom, kindness and every other attribute. I come to embrace fallen humanity, taking on your nature to bring you up to heaven.
Only a God could satisfy the offense to God, and love, love alone made me offer myself to the Father / for your good and descend into the womb of a Virgin, the straw of a manger, the sweat of a carpenter shop, the affronts, the sufferings and the humiliations of Calvary, to death on the cross and to be a perpetual victim on the altar for as long as there would be someone to feed on my body, my blood, and my life itself.
God touched you, enveloped you but you could not come close to him! That is why I came to make myself Eucharist, to live at your side, hiding my splendor, descending into your heart to enrich and transform it. Creation, redemption, and communion are proofs that I am love, that I have always been and will never cease to be love.
Come then to your Savior, to your Jesus, who has made himself bread to feed you. Come to the God of your hopes. Come, and like Moses, adore your God and Lord.
VENERABLE CONCEPClON CABRERA DE ARMIDA (CONCHITA)
St. Teresa of Avila, Carmelite & Church Doctor (1515-1582), Spain—Oct. 15
She wrote, "I am quite sure that if we could but once approach the Most Holy Sacrament with great faith and love, it would suffice to make us rich. How much more so if we approach it often!"
Mother Teresa -
Your vocation, as well as mine, can be summed up this way: to belong to Jesus, to love with the conviction that nothing and no one can ever separate us from the love of Christ.
Meditations by Padre Pio - The principal self-denial takes place in the home.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen -
Two sides to Democracy
"The growth of democracy has done much to do away with false social snobbishness and to keep men humble in their external relations.
But it has also, from another point of view, weakened the respect for Goodness and Truth, inasmuch as the masses of people are generally inclined to equate morality with the general level of society at any given moment."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html -
O Holy Trinity, Eternal God, my spirit is drowned in Your beauty. The ages are as nothing in Your sight. You are always the same. Oh, how great is Your majesty. Jesus, why do You conceal Your majesty, why have You left Your heavenly throne and dwelt among us?
The Lord answered me, My daughter, love has brought Me here, and love keeps Me here. My daughter, if you knew what great merit and reward is earned by one act of pure love for Me, you would die of joy.
I am saying this that you may constantly unite yourself with Me through love, for this is the goal of the life of your soul. This act is an act of the will. Know that a pure soul is humble. When you lower and empty yourself before My majesty, I then pursue you with My graces and make use of My omnipotence to exalt you. (576)
Jesus, You know how ardently I desire to hide so that no one may know me but Your sweetest Heart. I want to be a tiny violet, hidden in the grass, unknown in a magnificent enclosed garden in which beautiful lilies and roses grow.
The beautiful rose and the lovely lily can be seen from afar, but in order to see a little violet, one has to bend low; only its scent gives it away. Oh, how happy I am to be able to hide myself in this way! O my divine Bridegroom, the flower of my heart and the scent of my pure love are for You.
My soul has drowned itself in You, Eternal God. From the moment when You yourself drew me to yourself, O my Jesus, the more I have known You, the more ardently I have desired You. (591)
Dailys - http://www.catholic-forum.com/e-pistle.html -
Quote of the Day O Sacred Heart of Jesus! Living and life-giving Fountain of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, glowing furnace of Love! You are my refuge and my sanctuary.
Oh my adorable and lovely Savior, consume my heart with that burning fire with which You are inflamed.
Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your Love, and let my heart be so united with Yours, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things conformed to Yours. May Your Will be the rule alike of my desires and all my actions. Amen -St. Gertrude the Great
Today's Tidbit The word "Eucharist" comes from a Greek root with a meaning similar to "thanksgiving." This term is used to refer to the Sacrament where bread and wine are made into Jesus' Body and Blood and is also used to refer to Jesus' Body and Blood
MEDJUGORJE DAY BY DAY
These thoughts for a day are taken from a daily meditation book based on the Messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje by Father Richard J. Beyer, Ave Maria Press.
Nov 16 - HERE YOU RECEIVE BLESSINGS
The following was given to Marija and Ivan when they were on Mt. Krizevac with their prayer group:
You are on a Mt. Tabor. Here you receive blessings, strength and love. Carry them into your families and into your homes. To each one of you, I grant a special blessing. Continue in joy, prayer, and reconciliation (Visionary Prayer Group June 24, 1986).
And from John's gospel:
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing (Jn 15:4-5).
Reflection:
The great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, told the story of a man who stopped to give alms to a beggar. To his dismay he found that he had left his money at home.
Stammering his explanation, he said, "I am sorry, brother, but I don't have anything." "Never mind, brother," was the beggar's answer, "that too was a gift." It seems that the word "brother" meant even more to him than money.
One of the finest things about our church is the care and concern we often have for one another. In a real sense, we all brothers and sisters.
We have a stake in each other's salvation, and we have learned from the gospel to value and strengthen each other. Our church becomes our family, our fortress, and our refuge.
There is a wedding prayer that says, "Now our joys are doubled, because the happiness of one is also the happiness of the other. Now our burdens are cut in half, since when we share them we divide the load." As members of the universal as well as the church, we double our burdens in half. We become a family, the Body of Christ, instead of isolated individuals.
Application:
Today, resolve in prayer to do what Our Lady asks of us in her message: to bring blessings, strength, and love into our families, homes and church.