Reflection on the Message of April 25, 2009

PRAY FOR PEACE AND WITNESS IT

“Dear children! Today I call you all to pray for peace and to witness it in your families so that peace may become the highest treasure on this peaceless earth. I am your Queen of Peace and your mother. I desire to lead you on the way of peace, which comes only from God. Therefore, pray, pray, pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Message of April 25, 2009

In her message of 25 April 2009 Our Lady calls us to pray for peace and to witness it at the same time, first in our families and then in the whole world. It is a fact that our time is marked with peacelessness in its many various forms. Having that in mind, we must not remain indifferent, but must make every effort to create peace. The Church, which has been announcing the Joyful News since its very beginning, has been called to announce and always realize peace. In His message written in the occasion of the World Day for Peace Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, says: «We do not claim to find in the Gospel text ready-made formulas for making today this or that advance towards peace. But on every page of the Gospel and of the history of the Church we find a spirit, that of brotherly love, powerfully teaching peace.» We Christians are called to announce and witness peace with our own lives. Establishing peace is not a question of choice, it is an obligation. Peace is never established once and for all, but needs to be created all the time because the deepest longing of man’s heart is actually for peace. In his book Fast with the Heart the departed Fr. Slavko Barbaric writes about peace: «How often we lose peace because we are arrogant, selfish, envious, jealous, avariciuos and consumed by power and honour. Experience confirms that through fasting and prayer evil, arrogance and selfishness are overcome; the heart is opened and love and humility, generosity and goodness grow. Thus, true conditions for peace are realized. Whoever has peace because he loves and forgives also remains spiritually and physically healthy. He remains capable of shaping his own life in a manner worthy of man, who is the most exalted of God’s creatures. Through fasting and prayer, human needs are also diminished and brought to proportion. Also by this, conditions for peace along with a proper relationship with others and material things are being created. In everything we do, whether good or bad, we seek peace. When a person loves, looks for and experiences peace, or even when he stays sober or fights against addiction, he seeks peace. When he becomes drunk, he also seeks peace. When he fights for his life and the lives of those he loves, he realizes peace.»

The Queen of Peace wants to lead us to true peace, which is her Son and our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true king of peace. Prayer is the safe path leading to Jesus and Heaven. In her last message she urges us three times to pray for peace as prayer is the only right way. Let us respond with all our heart and soul to the call of Our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, and she will lead us to the true peace, the love of God, closeness and joy.

Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/04/2009

Reflection on the Message of May 25, 2009

PRAY FOR THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Dear children! In this time, I call you all to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon every baptized creature, so that the Holy Spirit may renew you all and lead you on the way of witnessing your faith – you and all those who are far from God and His love. I am with you and intercede for you before the Most High. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Message of May 25, 2009

Before his Ascension Jesus told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem , but to wait for the promise given by his Father that they would receive the strength of the Holy Spirit and would be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem , but to the ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up to his Father (cf. Acts 1:4-9). The disciples and apostles were preparing for this coming through prayer. They were not alone. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was with them. Among those present she was the only one who had the fullness of the Holy Spirit that had come upon her at the conception of Jesus. She must have encouraged the disciples to abandon fear and to take practice of fervent prayer. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit the apostles and disciples were timid, fearful. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, they changed. From timid disciples they were transformed into fearless witnesses of Christ. They witnessed what they had seen and heard when they were with Jesus. The flame of love and truth lit inside them encouraged them to immediately start announcing the Joyful News.

In her message of 25 May 2009 Our Lady calls us also to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon every baptized creature. We have become the children of God through baptism and have entered into communion with Jesus and his act of redemption. Our Lady calls us to pray because prayer is a means that opens our hearts so that the Spirit of God can operate in it. Opening up to the Holy Spirit leads to a renewal of spiritual life encouraging us to bear witness to our faith. We, Christians, have been called to be carriers of the message of God in this world, of the Word of God and to spread the acts of the love of God. Mary, our mother and intercessor, the teacher of prayer to the Holy Spirit helps us to do this. Together with Mary we pray that the Spirit of the Truth and Love operates in us and around us, that it teaches us and makes us stronger in order for us to live a new life doing the will of God.

Fr. Danko Perutina
Međugorje 26/05/2009

Reflection on the Message of December 25, 2008

SURRENDER YOUR LIVES INTO THE HANDS OF JESUS

“Dear children! You are running, working, gathering – but without blessing. You are not praying! Today I call you to stop in front of the manger and to meditate on Jesus, Whom I give to you today also, to bless you and to help you to comprehend that, without Him, you have no future. Therefore, little children, surrender your lives into the hands of Jesus, for Him to lead you and protect you from every evil. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Message of December 25, 2008

On Christmas Day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. On 25 December Our Lady gave us a message, which is a reminder and a call. She says: Dear children! You are running, working, gathering – but without blessing. These words are true. They touch us even deeper because they come from the mouth of Our Lady. If we just look around, we can notice how anxiously worried about material things we all are. We work hard and have no blessing. There is no blessing because we do not put God first. One was able to notice that these few days before Christmas when wholesale stores, shops and hair salons were more crowded that confessionals. A great attention is paid to appearances, whereas we do not strive towards the inner beauty of the soul that much. If we were so concerned with our salvation and spiritual life as much as we are concerned with external things, Paradise would soon start blooming on Earth.

In her message Our lady continues by saying: You are not praying! In the morning, before going to work, most Catholics just make the sign of the cross, without any other more profound prayer. In the evening, already tired from work, we fall asleep at the second Hail Mary. And it goes on in this way day by day. Our body is getting tired, but our soul is getting even more tired. Then we ask ourselves: Why there is no blessing? Why does not God hear us? He does hear us, but it is us that do not hear Him. Whenever He comes, we are not at home.

Our Lady calls us to stop in front of the manger and to meditate on Jesus, Whom she gives to us today also, to bless us and to help us to comprehend that, without Him, we have no future. Christmas, the birth of Jesus, is a holiday of the eternal and infinite love of God that has entered history in the form of an innocuous child. While we are meditating and thinking of the birth of Jesus, we must bear in mind that it is not merely a nice story of a little child, shepherds, angels and kings who lived a long time ago. It is a holiday that speaks about the incessant connection between God and man. It is not an event that occurred a long time ago. It is a reality that should be happening in us every day. God becomes embodied and becomes God with us every day. We encounter Him at Holy Mass, in sacraments, in prayers and in good deeds. Jesus wants to keep on being born in us, His beloved sons and daughters, as well as in the community of His believers, in the Church, which is His mysterious embodiment.

Our Lady offers us a solution to all our fears and anxieties – it is Her son Jesus. She says: Surrender your lives into the hands of Jesus, for Him to lead you and protect you from every evil. Only in the hands of Jesus, only in His heart shall we have true protection from every evil. Let us bear witness to the Joyful News and let us be happy feeling that primordial joy St. Paul calls us to:«Brothers! Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!» (Phil 4:4). Let us not be gold diggers who struggle their entire lives searching for gold, finding it, digging it, but remaining the poorest although holding gold in their hands. Let the newly born Jesus bless our whole life and all our noble strivings.

Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/12/2008

Reflection on the Message of January 25, 2007

PUT SACRED SCRIPTURE IN A VISIBLE PLACE

“Dear children! Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it. In this way, you will come to know prayer with the heart and your thoughts will be on God. Do not forget that you are passing like a flower in a field, which is visible from afar but disappears in a moment. Little children, leave a sign of goodness and love wherever you pass and God will bless you with an abundance of His blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Message of January 25, 2007

The Virgin Mary loves and keeps on calling her children to a life with God. She does that once again in her message beginning with the following words: “Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your families and read it.” We have already become familiar with these motherly words and calls from her previous messages in which she invited us to read Sacred Scripture. Just as she spoke in January last year: “Do not forget, little children, to read Sacred Scripture. Put it in a visible place and witness with your life that you believe and live the Word of God. ” In her message of 25th June 1991 Mary said to us: “Little children, pray and read Sacred Scripture so that through my coming you discover the message in Sacred Scripture for you .” In her message of 25th August 1993 she spoke: “Dear children, read Sacred Scripture, live it, and pray to understand the signs of the times.“ In her message of 25th August 1986: “Put, little children, Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your families and read it and live it.“ On 25th January 1999 she spoke to us: “Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your families, read it, reflect on it and learn how God loves His people. His love shows itself also in present times because He sends me to call you upon the path of salvation.” In September of 1999 she said: “I call you to renew prayer in your families by reading Sacred Scripture and to experience joy in meeting with God who infinitely loves His creatures.”

So many times in her motherly messages the Virgin Mary has confirmed to us and said the following: “Dear children, live my messages and put into life every word that I am giving you. May they be precious to you as they come from heaven. Dear children, joyfully live the messages of the Gospel that I am repeating in the time I am with you.“

Maybe somewhere deep inside of us we expect the Virgin Mary to explain her messages in more detail and make them more clear. However, Our Lady’s messages do not provide us with ready-made recipes for happiness. She has come to direct our look at Christ who is our only Saviour and the aim of life. She helps us with her presence, calls and love so that we can walk on the path of conversion and salvation. She does not come to tell us tales, play with us or entertain us. She has come to call us to the truth, to the light and high demands of the Word of God. She invites us to read and live Sacred Scripture so that we may discover the life-giving power of the Word of God that speaks to us. As the Holy Spirit has inspired Sacred Scripture, Sacred Scripture is permeated with it. We discover that by reading Sacred Scripture which encourages us to do good enlightening our mind and the feelings in our hearts. St. Gregory the Great asked himself: “What can a word of Sacred Scripture be compared with?” And he answered: “It is like flint and steel, like flint which is cold when we hold it in our hand, but when used to strike iron, it sparks and lights a fire. The words of Sacred Scripture remain cold if taken for granted. When, however, a person embraced by the Holy Spirit gives them a gentle knock, they make a mystical fire.”

Only if we rely on the truth of the Word of God shall we disclose the transience of our lives and the certainty of Jesus’ words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matt. 24:35). Let us listen to the Virgin Mary for the sake of our lives and our good.

Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic
Medugorje 26 January 2007

Reflection on the Message of February 25, 2007

OPEN YOUR HEART TO THE GOD’S MERCY

“Dear children! Open your heart to God’s mercy in this Lenten time. The Heavenly Father desires to deliver each of you from the slavery of sin. Therefore, little children, make good use of this time and through meeting with God in confession, leave sin and decide for holiness. Do this out of love for Jesus, who redeemed you all with His blood, that you may be happy and in peace. Do not forget, little children: your freedom is your weakness, therefore follow my messages with seriousness. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Message of February 25, 2007

God ceaselessly searches and calls men to His side, so they can live and find the fullness of bliss in Him. His merciful love was manifested when He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us and save us by His passion, death and resurrection. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3, 16)

“Open your hearts to the God’s mercy in this time of Lent”, Virgin Mary is saying to us. Where, if not in the God’s mercy, can a man find salvation and hope? We can ask ourselves: why is it so hard to believe in the God’s mercy? By believing in the God’s mercy, we return to the very roots of sin. The hardest thing for a man is to admit his own sins. When a man does not feel himself a sinner, he will not feel the need to beseech the God’s mercy. On the other hand, the world and every single human being wail for mercy, forgiveness and love.

In the depths of the God’s heart there is a yearning and a desire to save His own creature from the slavery of sin. Although the awareness of the sin is decreasing, it nevertheless remains a reality which exists and whose consequences are damaging us and our families daily. Most often, a man is haunted by the very thing he denies, by the very thing he is running from. Only if he has enough courage to stand up to the thing which hurts him most, which is most embarrassing for him – only then does the process of healing and deliverance begin. However, it is also the hardest step for a man. For a drug, gambling or alcohol addict, the hardest thing is to admit his addiction. Only when he admits it, he becomes a winner fighting for his freedom, only then he becomes a free man.

Mother Mary, who invited us to confess more often, in this message invites us also to seek the shelter of the God’s mercy in the sacrament of the holy confession, through which God forgives our sins, and also gives us strength to fight and to persist on the path of peace, freedom and conversion.

“Your freedom is your weakness”, Virgin Mary is saying to us. The time of the Lent is the time which warns us we did not reach our goal yet. The Lent is telling us we are still in the desert. In this desert, we are not yet safe. We always have the possibility to fall, to lose our freedom or to sell it for a little happiness, pleasure and joy which the sin promises us. God does not want to give us just a little of something, he wants to give us everything, His own self. The freedom which God gives us is a gift, a burden and a responsibility. In such freedom, we are responsible in every moment, and we cannot be released from that responsibility.

On this road of life, we are not alone and deserted, nor are we left to ourselves. We should take sincerely the words of the Heavenly Mother, so we can meet Jesus and walk the path of holiness, peace and freedom.

Fra Ljubo Kurtovic
Medugorje, February 26th 2007