Open Your Hearts

"The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us—as one of us—give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned. 1

God, in His Supreme Mind, knew the faults mankind.

He saw our weakness, and loving Father that He is, still sought the way of our redemption.

He could have chosen any means to do this; however, He chose a spotless womb, a new Eve to aid humanity from falling, to lead us on the path of holiness, purity, charity and virtue. She would be the God-Bearer, the perfect temple, the Ark of the Covenant. Her name would be Mary, conceived without sin, the Immaculate.

From the moment she said “yes” to God, she has been our Co-Redemptress, tirelessly working to lead us toward her Son, continually asking us to open our hearts to Him.

Today she is still calling us to open our hearts, to become the change we seek in the world. She has given us a way to do this through prayer, fasting, the Holy Bible, confession, and attending Holy Mass .

"Dear children; Today I am praying here with you that you may gather the strength to open your hearts and thus to become aware of the mighty love of the suffering God. Through this His love, goodness and meekness, I am also with you. I invite you for this special time of preparation to be a time of prayer, penance and conversion. My children, you need God. You cannot go forward without my Son. When you comprehend and accept this, what was promised to you will be realized. Through the Holy Spirit the Kingdom of Heaven will be born in your hearts. I am leading you to this. Thank you."BVM 12/02/2010 to Mirijana

“May this Advent season be a time for bringing hope, transformation and fulfillment into the Advent of our lives."2  

1,2  CONNECTIONS, 11-28-93

reprint from the archives 

Recognizing Greatness

  We like Bethlehem, are too tiny to imagine the greatness within us: 1

You Bethlehem-Eprathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule my people Israel.  Micah 5:1-2

Be alert,

stay awake,

be prepared,

for grace flows down from above.

Will my heart be open,

will my eyes bear witness,

or will I fail to even see.

A simple yes from one who loves,

this heart will know great sorrow.

She reaches down into the manger bed

and cradles our hope for the morrow.

Oh Bethlehem, town so small,

in you salvation came to sing.

And, forever will history recall  that

you cared for Christ our King.

May we recognize the greatness and love of Christ in our small everyday life during this Advent season and always.

God bless

1. Radical Grace, Daily Meditations by Father Richard Rohr

Prepare the way of the Lord.

   “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
   make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
   every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
   the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’” Luke 3: 4-6

Advent is a time of preparation as we wait for the coming of the Christ Child. During this time we will  decorate our homes and prepare our  shopping lists, we will prepare our special projects select our favorite recipes to share with family and friends. From all outside appearances everything will look as it should. But, will we have taken the time we needed to prepare our hearts and our souls for his coming. Will we have used this time for prayer and reflection? Will we have prepared the way of the Lord? Will we be ready to receive his grace?


Joy, hope, peace and love.
May these be the gifts we give and receive this advent season.

 "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." BVM, Medjugorje,Message of November 25, 2011

Today let us give praise and honor to the Lord

 In God's Company 2

Honor Your Father And Your Mother

I came across this video clip today and it spoke volumes to me because there have been a few times recently where I have witnesses adult children speaking harshly to their aging parents either at a mall or at the grocery store.Perhaps they don't realize how they come across. Perhaps they harbor resentment from the past. On occasion I have wanted to voice my opinion, but have not wanted to cause the elderly parent any further embarrassment. Rather, I have offered up prayer for both of them, remembering Christ's words "Father forgive them for they know not what to do". 

 "Dear children! Today, in a special way, I invite
you to take the cross in the hands and to meditate on the wounds
of Jesus. Ask of Jesus to heal your wounds, which you, dear
children, during your life sustained because of your sins or the
sins of your parents. Only in this way, dear children, you will
understand that the world is in need of healing of faith in God
the Creator. By Jesus' passion and death on the cross, you will
understand that only through prayer you, too, can become true
apostles of faith; when, in simplicity and prayer, you live faith
which is a gift. Thank you for having responded to my call."

BVM, March 25, 1997, Medjugorje

I Will Not Leave You Orphaned

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. John 14: 15-21

These sweet words of Jesus speak directly to our hearts, for he knows our deepest fears, our deepest challenges, our loneliness and our areas of vulnerability.  Through these trying times, these many seasons of our lives, he promises “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you”

What immeasurable love the Father has for us; a love freely given and undeserved.

 Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M. says it perfectly when he says, “God doesn’t love us because we are good, God loves us because God is good.”1  His love is a gift of pure grace poured out and overflowing for all of  us.  And he asks so little of us in return. He just wants us to love him and to share our love for him to a world that neither sees him nor knows him, to a world that has lost its way. 

True love cannot be kept to itself, it must be shared in order to grow. Our love of God must be the same.It must be shared with others, it must shine so brightly that it illuminates the way for others.

Lord, let our love for you burn so brightly that it might lead others to your goodness. Let our voices join in with the Psalmist, inviting others to, “Taste, and see, the goodness of the Lord “(Psalm 34:8). 

"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." BVM, Medjugorge,11/02/2011

1Fr. Richard Rohr

At least 532 have been healed in Medjugorje

At least 532 have been healed in Medjugorje
by Jakob Marschner on Nov 3, 2011

On the average, next to one million Holy Communions were distributed per year in each of Medjugorje’s first 30 years of apparitions. More than 500 people think of Medjugorje as the place where they were healed from oftentimes incurable or even terminal disease, and about as many priests ascribe their vocation to a visit.

Key statistics of Medjugorje’s first 30 years of apparitions are revealing a parish not quite like most other parishes about the size of 4,000 parishioners.

27 million Holy Communions were distributed.

540,000 visits were registred from Cardinals, Bishops, priests and nuns.

532 healings were medically documented.

520 men became priests as a result of a visit.

123 women became nuns as a result of a visit.

First passed on by a Franciscan priest during the Medjugorje conference in Irvine, California, on October 21-23, last week these numbers were published on websites and blogs, and the numbers are indeed correct as of the 30th anniversary, Medjugorje parish archivist Marija Dugandzic confirms to Medjugorje Today.

With the number of clerical visits and distributed Holy Communions being the surest and most exact ones, an unknown number of healings and vocations have gone un-reported, and so the real number in both categories would be bigger, was it possible to know them.

The measures of the fruits of Medjugorje's
 first 30 years are now being confirmed
 by parish archivist Marija Dugandzic.

 Photo: childrenofmedjugorje.com

Barbara Camenga reported from Medjugorje
http://is.gd/9cXHey

Thank you Ed Sousa Sr. for sharing this post