Come and see...

• An appeal from Fr John McCaffery OFM

Whether you are a priest, lay person or religious, I would like you to read these few words. As you know it was Jesus himself who was the first to apply the title Mother of Christ to the Church when he said: “My brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” (Luke 8 : 21)
 
We are all called to grow into a spiritual maturity resembling Mary and this is brought home to us by St Francis of Assisi when he wrote to his brothers: “We are Mothers of Christ when we carry him in our hearts and our bodies through divine love and a pure sincere conscience: we give birth to him through holy works which should shine as an example before others.”

Today, Mary as a Mother is concerned about us, a concern which shines through her messages at Medjugorje. These messages are based on the Gospel and on the official teaching of the Church, and so are sound, orthodox and Catholic in content.

On this basis alone a Catholic is not only free to adopt the messages of Medjugorje, but is in fact called to live them, which are nothing less than the challenge of the Gospel. This inspires us today to greater prayer, penance and, as a result, to peace in public and private life.

Can an obedient Catholic accept the contents of private revelation prior to an official judgment of the Church on the apparitions? The answer is yes ­ provided the person tales the trouble to examine the orthodoxy of the messages and finds nothing incompatible with the Gospel or Church teaching.

If you have avoided Medjugorje – then, please, I beg you to do so no longer. At least read and reflect on the messages. Mary is simply begging us to take the Gospel to our hearts and to live it with passion and conviction. Yes it is a challenge, but is there anything wrong in that?

May the Lord and his Mother bless you.

• Fr John McCaffery OFM

Everybody is looking for you...

Simon and his companions set out in search of Jesus, and when they found him they said, “Everybody is looking for you.”
Mark 1 : 36-37

Dear children; Also today I am among you to point you to the way that will help you to come to know God’s love, the love of God who permitted you to call him Father and to perceive him as Father. I ask of you to sincerely look into your hearts and to see how much you love him. Is he the last to be loved? Surrounded by material goods, how many times have you betrayed, denied and forgotten him? My children, do not deceive yourselves with worldly goods. Think of your soul because it is more important than the body, cleanse it. Invoke the Father, he is waiting for you. Come back to him. I am with you because he, in his mercy, sends me. Thank you. Medjugorje message November 2, 2009

Our Mother

Who encouraged the Child Jesus to pray?
Who encouraged the Child Jesus to fast?
Who encouraged the Child Jesus to read Holy Scripture?

Only the same Mother who encourages all of her children to do these same things; the same Mother whose encouraging words continually echo from Medjugorje; the same Mother who says:

• I desire to teach you how to love. March 2005
• Do not forget, little children, to read Sacred Scripture. January 06
• Thank you for every sacrifice offered for my intentions. June 05
• I call you to pray, pray, pray, until prayer become life for you. Nov 05

Our Mother encourages us to become teachers in our own families when she says: In this way, you will become teachers of the faith in your family. April 2005

Medjugorje priest did not believe at first...

Fr Branimir Musa OFM, Superior of the Franciscan Monastery at Humac (near Medjugorje) reveals that there was a time he did not believe in the Medjugorje phenomenon.

• At the beginning I did not believe in Medjugorje. I was a student at the time and for me Medjugorje was at a distance. At that time I looked at Medjugorje from a political perspective. There were problems in Poland, in Kosovo, in America. Then I thought it was the last steps of the Communists who were trying to stay in power. They wanted to create fear and make themselves stronger in that way.

When I came to Medjugorje for the first time I just came to examine; I was like Thomas; I wanted to put my finger in the palm. I came to Medjugorje and I saw so many people there and they were praying, but it was my own pride and selfishness.

I said to myself, “Let the old ladies pray, that feeling will soon be gone.” But when I became a priest and started hearing Confessions, then, against the will of the bishops and priests, conversion starts happening. People just start living different lives. That is so positive and that’s what the miracle is, that’s the strength that cannot be defined.

You can just say that God is working. But there is something else: if you are not ready to allow Jesus and Our Lady to come into your heart, conversion will never happen. If you are not going to pray in the way that God prays, that prayer won’t exist.

Very often it happens that when we are praying we just talk to ourselves, we are just putting our wishes on a piece of paper. We just have to abandon ourselves to God and say, “Here I am. Do with me whatever you want, and I want what you want me to do.”

Medjugorje has been happening now for many years. I know all the priests who have worked there. So many priests came there from different other places, and I can really say to you that everything would have fallen apart had not the Spirit of God been there, if it was not the wish of God and Our Lady. If it depended on our strength, nothing would have happened there. However, you see millions of people coming there. It’s really hard to say how many people have visited Medjugorje so far, we just know how many Holy Communions are distributed. One priest in America said to me, “The Rosary was not prayed in my church at all, but since Medjugorje, people started praying the Rosary, so I started praying the Rosary with them. Now, every evening we pray the Rosary in our church.”

I spent five and a half years in Medjugorje and we really worked hard there, hard work: confession, prayer Holy Mass, meeting pilgrims, talking with people, and that gave us a tremendous amount of joy.
If I had not been sent to Medjugorje I don’t know what would have happened to me. Medjugorje helped me to be a joyful person, to try to understand my priesthood in the right way. Medjugorje helped me to meet all of you.

When it comes to who have been to Medjugorje already, or maybe have heard what is happening there, I would say to you: “You are the messengers, the heralds of the message: Let us return to Christ.” Our Lady says to us: “My children, the joy is in my Son, the hope is in my Son, and the solution of problems is in my Son.”

Medjugorje truly is a gift, and Medjugorje lives in the world of today, and from what I have seen, thanks be to God that this is so. When it comes to the opinion of the official Church you have to be wise and to understand that the Church has to make the step aside and wait. For example, if you work in a company and you are a person who makes decisions, you won’t make an important decision straight away, You will take some time for that and reflect upon it.

What is the position of Medjugorje in the Church? We never advertised. We never actually wrote about what is happening. Not many things were published. There was a kind of rule: Come and see... and I think it is very good when people come and see. I know that it is good and necessary to send, as often as possible, reports to the Church, so that the Church may consider it in a more serious way. The Church has many difficult problems, it’s not easy for the Church. Take into consideration our human weaknesses and you will see and realise how many problems there are. We should not criticise each other, we should not criticise our priests and our bishops. What we have to do is to decide to fix that house together, as God said to St Francis: “Go and fix my Church.” So each one of us has to go and start fixing the Church with prayer and faith.

The initiative to pray always comes from God. God says, “Listen, Israel.” The initiative always comes from God so that things are good. What does it mean to pray? It means to speak, to listen, and it means to act. Listen to what God is saying, what God wants from me, what God wants me to be. It’s true that we say to God, “God, I want this, God, I want that.” But God already knows that I need all this, so to pray means to think in the way God thinks, to be one with Him, and to act towards people in the way that God wants. God won’t punish and God always acts in a positive way. If we act together with God then we will act in a positive way as well. We have to be people of hope and people of good will, not be cold-hearted, but to be warm-hearted. I have to embrace you and say to you, “I love you because God has created you.”

Our Lady and my mother-in-law

Some years ago, I returned home from a healing service. A passage from the Gospel reading during Mass prompted me to give my very sick and bed-ridden mother-in-law a ‘miraculous’ medal. Lily wasn’t a religious woman in any sense of the word, but she willingly accepted the medal.

The next day, she called out to me from her room. She was in a lot of pain and said the medal didn’t seem to be working!

Not many weeks afterwards Lily died very suddenly in bed – on her birthday, November 27 – the Feast of the Miraculous Medal!

These days, I want you to pray in a special way for the salvation of souls. Today is the feast day of the miraculous medal, and I want that you pray, in a special way, for the salvation of those people who are carrying this miraculous medal. I want you to spread the devotion and carrying of this medal, so that more souls may be saved, and that you pray in a special way. Message of Our Lady given to the Medjugorje visionary Maria, November 27, 1989

A time of grace

Dear children! Today I desire to give you hope and joy. Everything that is around you, little children, leads you towards worldly things but I desire to lead you towards a time of grace, so that through this time you may be all the closer to my Son, that he can lead you towards his love and eternal life, for which every heart yearns. You, little children, pray and may this time for you be one of grace for your soul. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, November 25, 2011

Allow me to share a joyful grace with you: This post showing the clock picture and its headline: A TIME OF GRACE, was originally made at 17:15 along with a reference saying that the message would be posted as soon as available. And while I waited in anticipation for Our Lady’s words I updated the post with the line: “Advent: a time of joyful expectation”.

The actual message came through at 18:45 – ninety minutes after I had posted the headline.  :)

“May this time for you be one of grace for your soul.”

THIS IS THE TIME

best listened to with earphones

This is the time, the time for my soul,

This is the time of grace.

This is the time, to open my heart,

This is the time of grace.

Time that God gives from heaven above,

A time to receive his merciful love.

This is the time, the time to prepare,

This is the time of grace.

This is the time, my time to repair,

This is the time of grace.

Time that God gives from heaven above,

A time to receive his merciful love.

This is the time, the time to repent,

This is the time of grace.

This is the time, to say I relent,

This is the time of grace.

Time that God gives from heaven above,

A time to receive his merciful love.

This is the time, the time to reflect,

This is the time of grace.

This is the time, the time to connect,

This is the time of grace.

Time that God gives from heaven above,

A time to receive his merciful love.

This is the time, to say I believe,

This is the time of grace.

This is the time, to ask and receive,

This is the time of grace.

Time that God gives from heaven above,

A time to receive his merciful love.

This is the time, to rest in God’s heart

This is the time of grace.

This is the time, to make a fresh start

This is the time of grace.

Time that God gives from heaven above,

A time to receive his merciful love.

bg, October 2009

What say you about forgiveness?

Our Lady of Medjugorje: Dear children! Today I invite you to decide for peace. Pray that God give you the true peace. Live peace in your hearts and you will understand, dear children, that peace is the gift of God. Dear children, without love you cannot live peace. The fruit of peace is love and the fruit of love is forgiveness. I am with you and I invite all of you, little children, that before all else forgive in the family and then you will be able to forgive others. Thank you for having responded to my call. January 25, 1996

Mark Twain: Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.

Mahatma Gandhi: The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Lewis B. Smedes: To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

George Herbert: He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.

Paul Boese: Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future

Roberto Assagioli: Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.

Josiah Bailey: They who forgive most shall be most forgiven.

Gilbert K. Chesterton: To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.

Alexander Pope: To err is human; to forgive, divine.

Voltaire: No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.

Jesus: Then Peter went up to Jesus and said, “Lord how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 18 : 21-22

The blame game

In today’s first reading (Daniel 6 : 12-28), the account of Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den, part of a sentence took my attention… “in his sight I am blameless” . Food for thought for the rest of the day.

Later in the morning a national newspaper headline also caught my eyes: “Dear victim, it’s your fault I burgled your house.” The report describes the feelings of a young thief who, when asked to write a letter to his victim, could only find in his heart reasons to blame the victim for the crime. Apparently the house owner had left his kitchen window open.

Thinking about this I began to realise there is much truth in Daniel’s words, “In his sight I am blameless.” God really has no need to blame anyone. Society is more than capable and practised in proportioning blame for its troubles and woes without the need for any help from above. Sometimes even God gets blamed for our mistakes and hardships in this life. No one is immune from being targeted, it seems.

Where does this “need” to blame others spring from. Where is the source? Who or what sows the seeds of blame in any of our lives? Why the need to buck-pass?

The desire to want to blame others for our predicaments is rooted in what happened in the Garden of Eden.

Adam was the first to point the finger at someone else for his own failings. When the Lord asked Adam, “Who had told you that you were naked... have you been eating of the tree that I forbade you to eat?” he replied, “It was the woman you put me with; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Eve was then asked by God, “What is this you have done?” Her honest response reveals the source of the blame game. “The serpent tempted me and I ate.”

We will always stand naked before God, but does he ever blame?

Dear children! Everything has its own time. Today I call you to start working on your own hearts. Now that all the work in the field is over, you are finding time for cleaning even the most neglected areas, but you leave your heart aside. Work more and clean with love every part of your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.  Medjugorje message, October 17, 1985

Fr Slavko Barbaric, 11th anniversary

Fr Slavko Barbaric • Born: March 11, 1946 • Died: November 24, 2000

I rejoice with you and I desire to tell you that your brother Slavko has been born into heaven and intercedes for you.
part message, November 25, 2000

• This is the testimony given at Fr Slavko’s funeral by Magdalena Pajic, on behalf of the Mother’s Village.

• Dear brother Slavko, we are still waiting for you! On Wednesday, after the Way of the Cross, you were supposed to come to the Mother’s Village. I don’t know whether you wanted to see someone in particular or all of us. But now, we are all here in this row full of sorrow. Even little Maja from Bjelovar has come, Boris and Toni are here, and – what a surprise – they are silent, and aunty Ružica adds a Hail Mary for you while praying her rosary.

Friday night, we were up for long time, wondering why you didn’t come and where you had gone, and we saw our religious sisters keeping a long silence instead of giving us an answer. Some of us still cannot realise what has happened, some will not even remember your face, but all of us are full of sorrow and a little angry, and we all have the same desire, to tell you a big thank you.

Thank you, brother Slavko, for having had the idea to create the Mother’s Village; thank you for not having been afraid to receive us, as different as we are.

Thank you for teaching us how to be courageous, asking us to animate the decades of the rosary on the Podbrdo while we were still learning how to pray.

Thank you for letting us see that toys have colors, that Nutella is sweet, and that it takes two persons to see-saw.

Thank you for making it possible for us to put on a white dress for the First Holy Communion, like all other children.

Thank you for having taught us how to love Our Lady and how to pray to God.

Thank you, because – in spite of everything – we have discovered what the word love means.

Other people told us that time heals all wounds, but you were the only one to tell us that time is just a companion on the way, and that only love heals everything. Your death tells us the same.

As short as the instant was that death took you away from us, as short was the instant we needed to understand your love and your sacrifice. We know now that each little piece of paper thrown on the road, each bad note in school and each disobedience towards auntie were an offence. This is why, speaking these words over your open tomb, we make a vow of fidelity to your word and to your work.

While humanly in such a deep sorrow, we feel as if you were asking us: “My children, where is your faith?” In faith, we see you united to our Mother and to your Mother Mary, and we suffer less; and this is our only hope, because, truly, through your leaving, the Mother’s Village, our orphanage, became itself a big orphan.

If we were to continue to wait for you, we would undoubtedly be overwhelmed by fear. We prefer to ask you to wait for us, now that you have reached the heavenly sanctuary. And, while we imagine you walking down the road, slightly bent forward, turning your back to us, for the first time we do not say, “Brother Slavko, goodbye”, but, with a wounded heart, with a pure children’s soul and full of enthusiasm, we say, “See you and thank you, our dear brother Slavko!”

• Further information about Mother’s Village
• source: Medjugorje Information Centre

Life-changing bus ride for Stefan

“The summer of 1985 saw me on holiday in Dubrovnik, waiting for three days to join up with some friends. I was bored on my own, and whilst considering how to amuse myself the words of a Sunday Times article from a couple of years back were put into my mind: Medjugorje – people are going there and being changed.

“I caught a bus to Medjugorje that day. Apart from the vibrancy and charged atmosphere of the place, what completely penetrated my heart was the intense and visible expression of faith being shown by the local people as they worshipped. This patent and tangible sincerity, in effect, triggered the start of my conversion experience. And with all these things came great joy and willingness to do anything for God.”

• STEFAN PARK, ordained an Augustinian priest on October 13, 2001.

Retired bishop of Derry visited Medjugorje

Bishop of Derry Seamus Hearty officially retired today because of a health issue that has rendered him unable to fulfil the obligations of his office. He has entrusted his health condition to the prayers of the people of the diocese.

Twenty four years ago in 1987 (as bishop of Raphoe) he made a private pilgrimage to Medjugorje. This is his witness published shortly after his return..

• I had heard so much about the Medjugorje phenomenon and, as things turned out, managed to go there myself for five days in July 1987. I went, of course, as a private pilgrim, a private person.

I couldn’t help being enormously impressed by everyone, both local parishioners and those who visit Medjugorje from all over Europe and overseas. I also got a very clear impression that here in Medjugorje you are dealing with a centre of prayer, of penance, and of reconciliation.

“By their fruits you shall know them.” Here the fruits are so manifest, so clear and impressive, both in Medjugorje itself and among those who return home after a pilgrimage, that they simply cannot be ignored.

Among many people from my own diocese that had been to Medjugorje I noticed the ongoing, positive results in relation both to their personal and family life. Thus I felt simply obliged to go to the place and find out myself the source, the explanation, of this experience, this tremendous manifestation of faith, this high and exemplary Christian way of life.

I have read the messages the Mother of God is said to be giving to the visionaries. And what I have seen and heard tells me that there is a strong accord, a parallel, between these messages and what the gospels say about the teaching of Christ. The emphasis is very strongly on prayer, fasting, reconciliation and peace – themes that occur over and over again in Scripture. One thing is clear about the Medjugorje messages: they contain nothing that contradicts the Church’s official teaching, which is based on Scripture as on a foundation. Here the emphasis is on prayer and how to pray – that is, with more giving of ourselves and intensity, and new methods of prayer; prayer not only in words but also as something lived.

But what is likewise emphasised in the messages is fasting. It has a long Church tradition behind it. Of recent years, however, it has fallen into disuse on a wide scale. Now it has been revived as a challenge that young people, in particular, face up to in a dramatic way.

We recognise that in Medjugorje we are dealing with a genuine call to peace, and that peace is a divine gift for which we all must pray. On the basis of what I myself observed in Medjugorje, and which everyone that has been there likewise observes, I believe that we are going to experience a radiation of this atmosphere of peace which has it origin, its centre, in Medjugorje, thereupon extending itself over the entire world.

Many prayer groups have been formed as a direct result of a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, an outcome of the religious experience people gain there and which they thereupon keep up and apply to their own life circumstances among their families and communities. Beyond doubt, the Medjugorje phenomenon has had a particular success in everything to do with fostering prayer. Not only do people more than is normal in parishes, but the quality of their prayer is particularly impressive.

The rosary, as we would expect, is one of the most important forms of prayer practised by Medjugorje groups. What has strongly impressed me is that in its recitation the biblical dimension of the mysteries is brought out so prominently.

As regards the Church – the official Church – it cannot afford to ignore this development. Bishops and priests must encourage these prayer groups and, in my opinion, must also be present at them to give leadership and due advice and spiritual orientation. It must also be said that the laity who, with good intentions and devotion, come together to pray deserve every help and direction they can get from the clergy. While, it is true, the presence of a priest is not absolutely necessary at prayer meetings, it is nonetheless most desirable in order that exaggerations and unrealistic or mistaken ideas and expectations may be avoided.

It would be a great pity if Medjugorje’s central message (prayer, fasting, reconciliation and peace) became obscured in any way or if excessive emphasis came to be placed on signs and wonders. Accordingly, the presence at these prayer meetings of the Official Church in the person of the priest is very much to be desired.

My most outstanding experience in Medjugorje was the hearing of Confessions. One day I spent three hours doing so. And I am sure that during those three hours I heard more Confessions of the kind that are basic and come from the depth of the heart than during all the 21 years of my priesthood. I could not help but be moved by the workings of grace – the clear workings of grace; also, by the clear acceptance of the call to penance and reconciliation which expressed themselves so unmistakably in the quality of the Confessions I heard. So this experience will ever remain my most impressive and abiding Medjugorje memory.

In widsom and love...

Jesus said to his disciples: “Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to to resist or contradict.
Luke 21 : 12-15

Dear children! I rejoice with you and in this time of grace I call you to spiritual renewal. Pray, little children, that the Holy Spirit may come to dwell in you in fullness, so that you may be able to witness in joy to all those who are far from faith. Especially, little children, pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that in the spirit of love, every day and in each situation, you may be closer to your fellow-man; and that in wisdom and love you may overcome every difficulty. I am with you and I intercede for each of you before Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Medjugorje Message, May 25, 2000

The forever kingdom...

In the time of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not pass into the hands of another race: it will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms and itself last forever... Daniel 2 : 31-45

Dear Children! Today I call you, together with me, to begin to build the Kingdom of Heaven in your hearts; that you may forget that what is personal and – led by the example of my Son – think of what is of God. What does he desire of you? Do not permit satan to open the paths of of earthly happiness, the paths without my Son. My children, they are false and last a short while. My Son exists. I offer you eternal happiness and peace and unity with my Son, with God; I offer you the Kingdom of God. Thank you. Medjugorje message, August 2, 2010

• Commentary on Daniel 2:31-45 by Frank Doyle SJ

Daniel, we saw, had been blessed with a divine gift for interpreting dreams.

King Nebuchadnezzzar has had a series of dreams but he cannot remember their contents which greatly disturbed him. He calls in all his wise men and astrologers to interpret them. Naturally, without being told the contents, they cannot do so although they apparently go into all kinds of rambling disquisitions to cover their ignorance. The king goes into a rage and wants them all executed. Daniel and his companions are also to be given the same fate.

Daniel then approaches the king’s chief executioner to ask the king to hold off the executions (in which he would also be involved) because he wants the opportunity to interpret the king’s dreams. He is then brought into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, who asks if Daniel can interpret his dreams. The young man says that all the wise men and soothsayers in the kingdom did not know how to interpret the dreams but “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries”. He is the one who, through Daniel, will tell the king what is going to happen in the final days.

Daniel then begins his interpretation. He knows that the king is concerned about the future. It has been revealed to Daniel not because he is wiser than anyone else but so that the king can learn the meaning of his dream and to understand his innermost thoughts.

It is at this point that our reading begins, with a description of the contents of the dream and the meaning of its symbols. This, says Daniel, is what the king saw: A huge bright statue, terrible to look at. The head of the statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, the belly and thigh of bronze, the legs – part iron and part clay.

As the king watched in his dream, a stone broke away, untouched by any human hand. This stone struck the feet of iron and clay and shattered them. Then all the rest of the statue collapsed and broke into fine pieces “as fine as chaff on the threshing floor in summer”. A wind blew them all away, leaving not a trace.

On the other hand, the stone which had struck the statue grew into a great mountain, filling the whole world.

Now, says Daniel, comes the interpretation of the dream.

First, Nebuchadnezzar himself. God has given him sovereignty, power, strength and honour. Daniel pointedly notes that the source of the king’s power is God and not the divine nature which Nebuchadnezzar claims for himself. In addition all human life and all other life have been entrusted to his rule. He is the head of gold in the dream.

After him will come another kingdom, of silver, which will not be as great as Nebuchadnezzar’s, followed by a third of bronze, which will rule the whole world. Then there will be a fourth, “hard as iron, iron that crushes and pulverises all”. And, like iron, it will crush and break all earlier kingdoms.

The feet – part iron and part clay – represent a kingdom that will split in two, but will maintain some of the strength of iron: in other words, the kingdom will be partly hard and partly brittle. And, just as the feet are a combination of earth and clay, so the two will be mixed together in human seed. But they will not hold together, any more than iron and clay can.

Then it is that God will set up a kingdom never to be destroyed, a kingdom which will not pass into the hands of another race. On the contrary, it will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms and last forever. This is symbolised by the stone, untouched by human hand, which broke away and reduced all the metals to powder.

Daniel concludes: “The Great God has shown the king what is to take place. The dream is true; the interpretation exact.”

For us, at this distance in time, the interpretation itself needs some further elucidation. The references are to actual historical dynasties which succeeded one another.

The gold head represents the Neo-Babylonian empire; the silver chest and arms, the Median empire; the bronze belly and thighs, the Persian empire; the iron legs, the Greek empire established by Alexander the Great, c.330. The iron will be the strongest, the kingdom of Philip of Macedon and his famous son, Alexander, and will overcome all others. With his death, Alexander’s kingdom divides but cannot reunite because the iron and clay of the feet will not blend. After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided among his generals. The two resulting kingdoms, which most affected the Jews, were the dynasty of the Ptolemies in Egypt and that of the Seleucids in Syria, who tried in vain by war and through intermarriage (“mixed together in human seed”), to restore the unity of Alexander’s empire.

The diminishing value of the metals from gold to silver to bronze to iron represents the decreasing power and grandeur of the rulers of the successive empires, from the absolute despotism of Nebuchadnezzar to the relatively democratic system of the Greeks. The metals also symbolise a growing degree of toughness and endurance, with each successive empire lasting longer than the preceding one.

Last of all comes the messianic kingdom. The stone hewn from the mountain is the messianic kingdom awaited by the Jews. This is an apocalyptic prediction which, in Daniel, does not yet know about the way in which it will be realised. He sees it still as something exclusively Jewish (“It will not pass into the hands of another race”).

But with the coming of Jesus, the form of the prediction becomes clear. He is the stone which breaks away from the mountain. He is the Messiah come to establish the everlasting Kingdom of God, very different from the preceding empires which have now all been reduced to dust and blown away like chaff. The empires of the earth collapse and give place to a new kingdom which, being founded by God, is everlasting, the Kingdom of God. Jesus will later refer to himself as the corner-stone formerly rejected and as the foundation stone, with a clear allusion to the stone which breaks away from the mountain and crushes him on whom it falls.

Our reading ends with Daniel’s interpretation but we may as well add in the conclusion of this narrative. In spite of the disturbing nature of the interpretation as far as Nebuchadnezzar is concerned, he is deeply moved and uncharacteristically falls prostrate before Daniel as to a god. He acknowledges the greatness of Daniel’s God. “Your god is indeed the God of gods, the Master of kings, and the Revealer of mysteries.” It will not be the last time the king acknowledges the God of Israel.

Daniel is then rewarded by being made governor of the whole province of Babylon and chief sage of the kingdom and given many gifts. However, Daniel entrusts the running of the province to his three companions while he remains in attendance on the king.
This vision and its interpretation, of course, is not just a historical narrative. It is a special message of hope for a people who are under the cruel persecution of the tyrannical King Antiochus, about whom we were reading last week in the books of the Maccabees.

And history confirms that no dynasty, no political power lasts for ever. In our own century we have seen the collapse of powerful (and very anti-Christian) empires – German Nazism and Italian Fascism and Russian Communism. The millions of peoples who suffered under these regimes must have felt at times very much like the Jews under Antiochus. Yet, all these regimes have collapsed and much more rapidly than most had hoped for or expected.

For us Christians, our hope is based on God because God represents truth and justice and these must always will prevail in the end. As Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar: “This is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure.” Our lives are based not on any earthly regime but on the rock that is our Christian faith. The Kingdom of God is the stone which grew into a great mountain, filling the whole world.

• I highly recommend LIVING SPACE as a source for scripture commentary.

The Risen Saviour

Many Roads

Andrew Peterson sings “Many Roads”
All images: Medjugorje Moments

That crazy old moon

photo by Ian Walker

That crazy old moon... it does things to people. The latest Medjugorje novelty brought to our attention via the internet are pictures of the moon taken recently by a pilgrim at Medjugorje.

I know the pilgrim personally, and have travelled with him to Medjugorje on a few occasions, but I can assure Ian and everyone else that the photos are not miraculous but simply the effect of ‘camera shake’ while using a slow shutter speed.

Ian is a prayerful man, and he is not claiming the photos to be miraculous, but nevertheless they have been posted and promoted on at least two Medjugorje websites, the latest on MedjugoreToday, a website coming out of Denmark that reports Medjugorje “news”.

photo by Ian Walker

No doubt, some will claim the images to be a sign or actually believe that the multiple moons are miraculous. But this kind of photo-delusion happens a lot at Medjugorje, prompted, in my opinion, by a desire and need for affirmation (which exists in all of us) be it by God or anyone else. 

Medjugorje produces many false claims of the supernatural, especially with the photographic image. Some of the ‘miraculous’ images are deliberately manufactured while others are produced without any tampering but have a technical explanation.

Ian is quoted as saying he didn’t actually see the shapes when he was taking the images, just a normal moon. So how come the camera did?

Here’s the same technique applied to Our Lady’s statue in Medjugorje. The effect is intentional because I deliberately used a slow shutter speed and moved the camera during exposure. I didn’t see the statue move because it didn’t, just my camera. And that’s what happened with Ian’s pictures. The moon didn’t dramatically move during exposure, just his camera. Hence the trail of light.

I have contacted Ian about this matter and he tells me that another friend of his, a photographer, has seen the images and holds the same opinion as myself, that the effect is caused by ‘camera shake’ during a long exposure.

photo by Bernard Gallagher

Recording movement using a slow shutter speed is a popular technique in photography. The picture alongside is an example. The camera is stationary but the fast travelling vehicles are not, and all that is recorded is the trail of lights, the stationery buildings and shining moon.

So try taking a picture of the moon tonight or this weekend, without using flash and see what what you get. Who knows, you may discover a ‘Mary’ shape, a “Cross” shape, or even the shape of a “foetus”.

Shape-spotting and scrutinising photographs for signs is a past-time for some pilgrims visiting Medjugorje... “I see this, I see that, turn the picture upside down and you can see something else...” How great and wonderful our imagination can be at times!

I took a photograph one time at Medjugorje. It showed a reflection of a card image of Our Lady in the polished surface of the Risen Christ statue. Many thought at the time that the image was miraculous. It is special, but not miraculous and I tell people that.

A year later I returned to Medjugorje.  The image had been copied and put on sale in one of the Medjugorje shops, displayed with other images under the banner, “Miracle Photographs.” I explained to the shop attendant the circumstances behind the picture and asked her to have it removed from sale. It was, for a short while, and then returned to the shelf again later.

The image is also circulated on web sites hosting “miraculous” images from Medjugorje, and so the myth is perpetuated, the innocence of pilgrims exploited and the credibility of Medjugorje put to the test.

Stretching the imagination...
another “moving statue” image taken at Medjugorje

Ivan’s testimony and message from Our Lady

You can listen to audio recordings of Ivan’s witness in Vienna yesterday, and the translation of the message and description of the apparition by Ivan, on Fr Neil Buchlein’s website via this link:
OUR BLESSED MOTHER’S CHILDREN

The joy of the Lord

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn in Vienna Cathedral today. • image courtesy of marytv

Lord, grant me the grace to be the reason for your joy. Your mother shows us how we can be a joy for you. She shows us the path to peace. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, November 19, 2011

Do not be sad: the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8 : 10

Dear children! I am looking at you and in your hearts I do not see joy. Today I desire to give you the joy of the Risen One, that he may lead you and embrace you with his love and tenderness. I love you and I am praying for your conversion without ceasing before my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, October 25, 2011

Vienna live link

Ivan gives his witness in Vienna’s St Stephen’s Cathedral today,
alongside translator Milona van Hapsburg. • image courtesy of marytv

I’m getting a lot of traffic this afternoon searching for a link to the prayer event held today in Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna.

 To view live go to: http://www.marytv.tv/

The hand of God reaches out at Medjugorje

As Jesus drew near and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, “If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when you enemies will raise fortifications all around you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it. Luke 19 : 41-44

• Less than forty years after Jesus made this prophecy, much of Jerusalem and its Temple was destroyed by the Romans.

Dear Children! Today I invite all of you who have heard my message of peace to realise it with seriousness and with love in your life. There are many who think that they are doing a lot by talking about the messages, but do not live them. Dear children, I invite you to life and to change all the negative in you, so that it all turns into the positive and life. Dear children, I am with you and I desire to help each of you to live and by living, to witness the good news. I am here, dear children, to help you and to lead you to heaven, and in heaven is the joy through which you can already live heaven now. Thank you for having responded to my call! Medjugorje message, May 25, 1991

• Eleven months after Our Lady delivered this message to the visionary Marija, war broke out in Bosnia Herzegovina (April 1992) and lasted until December 1995.

The spiritual war continues from age to age and for every generation, but God’s opportunity for peace is always on offer, despite the enemy’s unceasing effort to hide this truth from hearts.

The Medjugorje message of peace is just such an opportunity. 

But who will recognise and accept it?

A mother’s intercessory prayer

“My son, have pity on me; I carried you nine months in my womb and suckled you for three years, fed you and reared you to the age you are now and cherished you.”  2 Macabees 7 : 27

Dear children! During these days my Lord is allowing me to be able to intercede more graces for you. Therefore, I wish to urge you once more to pray, dear children! Pray without ceasing! That way I will give you the joy which the Lord gives to me. With these graces, dear children, I want your sufferings to be a joy. I am your Mother and I desire to help you. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, June 19, 1986

The man in the sycamore tree...

 
Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him. Revelation 3 : 20

Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: “Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today!” And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what happening. “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house” they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, “Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount! And Jesus said to, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost. Luke 19 : 1-10

• Even with the wealth he has accumulated for himself and the Roman authority that ruled at the time, Zacchaeus still falls short on many things, not only in height but in love also. He is despised and looked down upon by the people for the way he extorts money and profits from collecting taxes. No way are they going to let him push through the crowds to get sight of Jesus coming through Jericho. Instead he is forced to secure a view by scrambling up a sycamore tree.

This struggle doesn’t stay with Zacchaeus. Too often it is the lowly in life who draw the ‘short’ straw, who are unable to tower above those that stand tall. But never in the eyes of Jesus.

While the people prefer to look down on Zacchaeus, it is Jesus who looks up to him perched in the tree. It is Jesus who honours him by inviting himself to the hated tax-collector’s house. While Zacchaeus may gain reward in exploiting others, it doesn’t compare to the joy he experiences when Jesus enriches him with his presence. But one man’s joy can be another man’s disappointment – and the crowd complain when they see what has had happened! They are outraged that Jesus, a respected teacher and healer, is prepared to stay at a sinner’s house.

Jesus never loses sight of those with shortcomings, those considered tainted and unworthy of love by others. Jesus has eyes for everyone – for those who stand proudly tall, and for the those who fall ashamedly short.

Consecrate your heart and make in it the home of the Lord. May he dwell in it forever. part message, March 18, 1996

Heaven’s investment...

Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out. Matthew 25 : 14-30

Dear children! You are the ones responsible for the messages. The source of grace is here, but you, dear children, are the vessels which transport the gifts. Therefore, dear children, I am calling you to do your job with responsibility. Each one shall be responsible according to his own ability. Dear children, I am calling you to give the gifts to others with love, and not to keep them for yourselves. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, May 8, 1986

Give her a share in what her hands have worked for, and let her works tell her praises at the city gates. Proverbs 31 : 31

Never lose heart...

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. “There was a judge in a certain town” he said “who had neither fear of God nor respect for men. In the same town there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘I want justice from you against my enemy!’ For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, ‘Maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give the widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming to me and worrying me to death.’”

And the Lord said, “You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” Luke 18 : 1-8

Dear children! Also today I call you to pray for peace. Pray with the heart, little children, and do not lose hope because God loves his creatures. He desires to save you, one by one, through my coming here. I call you to the way of holiness. Pray, and in prayer you are open to God’s will; in this way, in everything you do, you realise God’s plan in you and through you. Thank you for having responded to my call.  Medjugorje message, March 25, 2003

In the silence of my heart

May my faith revive.

In the silence of my heart

May my hope survive.

In the silence of my heart

May love come alive.

Meditation at Medjugorje; October 2009.

Discovering Him-who-is...

Naturally stupid are all men who have not known God and who, from the good things that are seen, have not been able to discover Him-who-is.  Book of Wisdom 13 : 1

Dear Children! Today I invite you to go into nature because there you will meet God the Creator. Today I invite you, little children, to thank God for all that he gives you. In thanking him you will discover the Most High and all the goods that surround you. Little children, God is great and his love for every creature is great. Therefore, pray to be able to understand the love and goodness of God. In the goodness and the love of God the Creator, I also am with you as a gift. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, October 25, 1995

Do not forget that you are passing like a flower in a field, which is visible from afar but disappears in a moment. January 25, 2007

Men’s group to Medjugorje

I’m planning a men’s pilgrimage group to Medjugorje for May 19 through to May 26, and leaving from Birmingham in the UK.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact me for further details

First-tiers are welcome, and a spiritual director will travel with the group.

Life?

Totustuusproduction

Medjugorje Sojourners movie trailer

This is a unique story as told through the eyes of a curious filmmaker and his son about a pilgrimage of 47 youths on a 10-day journey to the other side of the world to discover one of the most mysterious places on earth.

Along their journey both are faced with situations that challenge their faith and their fundamental beliefs. Others on the trip have questions of their own, most notably, whether visionaries are actually receiving messages from the Virgin Mary.

In spite of their doubts and many conflicts, this father and son seek to find common ground while attempting to discover the truth about this sacred land and the devout believers in their group.

What lies ahead is not what you would expect.

• Further information about Steven Scaffidi’s film: THE SOJOURNERS

Reducing the debt...

The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light. Luke 16 : 8

• It’s no secret that many of the countries in the world are overburdened with debt. Now world leaders are meeting and discussing to find ways that this burden can be effectively reduced. Of course it is in the interest of everyone that the world’s economic future is not threatened by the great debt these countries find themselves under. A few days ago much of the debt owed by Greece was written off by banks to try and alleviate any threat of contagion and the burden spreading to other European countries, and possibly destabilizing the European Union.

While it may be mainly the politicians and bankers working to resolve this crisis, we too are also expected to contribute in some way and not waste the resources we have been given, little or much; this may produce some real hardship in some instances, but we are also blessed with the power to reduce the debt owed to us by others should we choose to use it.

Jesus points out in today’s Gospel (Luke 16 : 1-8) that the children of the world (which is all of us) are more astute in dealing with each other, taking steps to plan for our own future and for future generations, shown by the example of the wasteful steward who went about reducing the burden of his master’s debtors, hoping he would gain favour and employment with one of them after being fired by his master.

But Jesus also points out that in spiritual matters, as children of light, we are less astute in dealing with each other and in planning for life after death.

On Tuesday this week Our Lady said in her message to Mirjana: “My children, do not forget that you are not in this world only for yourselves, and that I am not calling you here only for your sake.”

Our Lady has come to Medjugorje with a clear plan, to reconcile the world with God and each other, to lead us to her Son Jesus, and help us to prepare for life after death. She repeatedly reminds us that this is a time of grace. Great riches are to be received from the hand of God should we choose to avail ourselves and approach him, especially through prayer. These graces are freely given and designed not to place us in debt but to free us from our burdens. God’s merciful love, his saving plan, has redeemed the world and empowers each of us to free all who are in debt to us.

St Paul writes: “Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men, you have carried out your obligations… Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour…” Romans 13 : 8-10

How can I reduce my debt to others and theirs to me? How can I be more resourceful and waste less of the precious time God has given me?

Our Lady has said, “May your heart be prepared to listen to, and live, everything which the Holy Spirit has in his plan for each of you. Little children, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on the way of truth and salvation towards eternal life.” May 25, 1998

In the company of Jesus...

Ivanka and friends in prayer prior to the visionary giving her testimony at Medjugorje

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say... Luke 15 : 1

• Shall I decide to put aside time today to seek the company of Jesus and hear what he has to say to me?

My child, tell your friends that both I and my Son will always be there for you when you seek or call us. 
Message given to Ivanka, May 7, 1985

November message of Our Lady to Mirjana

Dear children, the Father has not left you to yourselves. Immeasurable is his love, the love that is bringing me to you, to help you to come to know him, so that, through my Son, all of you can call him ‘Father’ with the fullness of heart; that you can be one people in God’s family. However, my children, do not forget that you are not in this world only for yourselves, and that I am not calling you here only for your sake. Those who follow my Son think of the brother in Christ as of their very selves and they do not know selfishness. That is why I desire that you be the light of my Son; that to all those who have not come to know the Father – to all those who wander in the darkness of sin, despair, pain and loneliness – you may illuminate the way and that, with your life, you may show them the love of God. I am with you. If you open your hearts, I will lead you. Again I am calling you: pray for your shepherds. Thank you. November 2, 2011

• Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. Romans 13 : 8

Medjugorje and the Holy Souls

We all want to believe that our deceased friends and loved ones are now happy and at peace with God in Heaven, and yet the Catholic Church teaches in its Catechism that: All who die in God’s friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. (1030)

So what exactly is this place or state of purification which the Church calls Purgatory? And are we all destined to go there, or is there any hope of a direct route into Heaven?

Although Our Lady speaks little about Purgatory in her 30 years of giving messages, she does confirm its reality and also that it is not necessarily a place that we are all destined for. She also stresses the importance of prayer for the purification of souls in Purgatory. In 1982 Our Lady gave this response to a question concerning Purgatory: There are many souls in Purgatory. There are also persons who have been consecrated to God – some priests, some religious. Pray for their intentions, at least the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be, seven times each, and the Creed. I recommend it to you. There is a large number of souls who have been in Purgatory a long time because no one prays for them. July 21, 1982

A few days later Our Lady stressed the importance of the Sacraments in bypassing Purgatory. Responding to question about a person being bad all one’s life and asking forgiveness, she said: Whoever has done very much evil during his life can go straight to Heaven if he confesses, is sorry for what he has done, and receives Communion at the end of his life. (July 24, 1982)

Only once in all of her weekly and monthly messages does Our Lady request prayers for the souls in Purgatory. Dear children, today I wish to call you to pray daily for the souls in Purgatory. For every soul, prayer and grace is necessary to reach God and the love of God. By doing this, dear children, you obtain new intercessors who will help you in life to realise that all earthly things are not important for you, that only Heaven is that for which it is necessary to strive. Therefore, dear children, pray without ceasing that you may be able to help yourselves and the others to whom your prayers will bring joy. Thank you for having responded to my call. November 6, 1986

So from these few messages alone we can gather certain facts about Purgatory.
1. Purgatory exists.
2. Many souls go there – even priests!
3. A sense of time exists.
4. Souls in Purgatory are in need of our prayers.
5. Our prayers create joy for souls in Purgatory.
6. We can bypass Purgatory through receiving the Sacraments.
7. By praying for the souls in Purgatory we receive new intercessors.

Over the centuries there have been many despairing and horrific views promoted as to what the purifying method in Purgatory is supposed to be.

But I prefer to focus on the gentleness and healing touch of Jesus when reflecting on Purgatory and think of it as a stop-off on the journey home; a place of convalescence, where all the wounds and scars we have inflicted on ourselves and each other are healed in time with the power of love and prayer. I also envisage Our Lady as the gentle woman nursing our wounded hearts with her grace and intercession.

Another purgatorial image I find helpful is the parable of the Good Samaritan. He bandaged and poured oil and wine on the wounds of the man lying at the roadside, and carried him to a place of rest and healing, requesting and rewarding the innkeeper to look after him until he returned. Jesus, the Good Samaritan, taking care of the sick and wounded souls until they are fit and ready to return home.

Imprisoned souls...

When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Galatians 5 : 1

• I remember as a child, singing in church: Help Lord the souls that thou hast made, the souls to thee so dear, imprisoned for the debt unpaid of sins committed here. I was never entirely happy with the words but loved the melody. Even now I find it difficult to take on board any concept that suggests God has “created” a prison for the souls who are so dear to him.

A friend of mine was jailed for seven years – the sentence came as a shock because in the eyes and hearts of many, including my own, he is an innocent man. How he and his family have suffered; imprisoned, but not because of any unpaid debt.

I know of others imprisoned – but in a different sense, people locked in unhappy marriages, people tortured and imprisoned by their own anger and pride, people imprisoned by addiction... I don’t think there is a family on earth that does not experience imprisonment of the soul or body at sometime in life. Welcome to ‘purgatory’ on earth.

But what I have come to realise is that God is not a jailer, but a true friend with the key that unlocks all the doors to the self and imposed prisons in our lives. I understand and accept that Jesus served out sentence for all of us by his death on the Cross, and that through repentance we are pardoned and completely set free.

So what holds us back from accepting our freedom and God’s love for us? Is it own own perverse sense of judgement and guilt? Have the years spent in captivity institutionalised us? Who is this jailer that continually sends us back into our cells and tells us that we are not truly forgiven or worthy to be in God’s company?

Jesus came to set sinners free. Jesus is the key to freedom and love in our lives. We reach Jesus through prayer; that is why Our Lady continually implores us to pray, pray pray.

• Help Lord The Souls... by John Henry cardinal Newman, 1857.

Dear children! I am inviting you for years by these messages which I am giving you. Little children, by means of the messages I wish to make a very beautiful mosaic in your hearts, so I may be able to present each one of you to God like the original image. Therefore, little children, I desire that your decisions be free before God, because he has given you freedom. Therefore pray, so that, free from any influence of satan, we may decide only for God. I am praying for you before God and I am seeking your surrender to God. Thank you for responding to my call. November 25, 1989

THE CELL THEY COULDN’T LOCK...

• Fr Jozo Zovko, the Franciscan priest falsely imprisoned by the Yugoslav communist regime for his belief and support of the Medjugorje visionaries, experienced a most unusual and daily occurrence when he was in custody for three years – the prison guards were unable to lock his cell door!

In an interview with Sabrina Covic, Fr Jozo was asked: “Is it true that nobody could ever lock the door of your cell?”

“Indeed, that door would not lock,” replied the former parish priest of Medjugorje “it was always ajar. It is something I cannot explain. I did not consider it a special phenomenon. A big guard had a master key. When prison doors are opened, any door, the whole prison resounds; you hear a heavy, terrible, devastating sound. A terrifying sound. Something like on a shooting range when you hear shots fired. When a cell door opens the whole space resounds… Never did I manage to count how many cells there were in the prison. You hear the first lock, then the second, the third… These locks break the silence with such a blast that it has a frightening effect on a prisoner. There were days when my my lock could not be locked up. They were upset… Not me! I was in the cell all the time; only towards the end they moved me to another.”

Happy All Saints!

All the saints send you greetings.

2 Corinthians 13:13

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Little children, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on the way of truth and salvation towards eternal life.  May 25,1998

Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth as their heritage.
I want each one of you to be happy here on earth and to be with me in Heaven. May 25, 1987

Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.
Give me all your feelings and all your problems! I wish to comfort you in all your trials. I wish to fill you with peace, joy and love of God. June 20, 1985

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.
When you find unity with God, you will feel hunger for the word of God and your heart, little children, will overflow with joy.  January 25, 1997

Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.
God is merciful and gives special graces, therefore, seek them through prayer. May 25, 2008

Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.
Little children, may your hearts be pure and pleasing, so that love and warmth may flow through you into every heart that is far from his love. November 25, 2009

Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.
Do not talk about peace, but make peace. I am blessing each of you and each good decision of yours.  February 25, 1991

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of God.
Pray, pray, that you may comprehend and surrender with a spirit that is free, be completely transformed and, in this way, may have the Kingdom of Heaven in your heart on earth. July 2, 2010

Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Today, with a motherly heart, I call you to learn to forgive, completely and unconditionally. You suffer injustice, betrayals and prosecutions, but by that you are closer to and dearer to God. September 2, 2009