Padre Pio's Christmas Meditation

Author Frank M. Rega's Homeplate is a wonderful site where you can read one of Padre Pio's Christmas Meditations and other great articles. Check it out!

Our Lady of Good Help

Here is more information on Our Lady of Good Help, the 1st Marian apparition to be approved in the U.S. - DO APPARITIONS INDICATE FUTURE EVENTS? and TEXT OF DECREE

The 1st Marian Apparitions to be Approved in the U.S.

You can read about Our Lady of Good Help here -http://www.gbdioc.org/newsevents/news/857-worthy-of-belief.html

Medjugorje - Nov. 2nd message to Mirjana

Here is Our Lady's latest message from Medjugorje:

"Dear children! With motherly perseverance and love I am bringing you the light of life to destroy the darkness of death in you. Do not reject me, my children. Stop and look within yourselves and see how sinful you are. Be aware of your sins and pray for forgiveness. My children, you do not desire to accept that you are weak and little, but you can be strong and great by doing God's will. Give me your cleansed hearts that I may illuminate them with the light of life, my Son. Thank you."


Interesting wording. It brings to mind the biblical passage,  "Where, O death, is your sting?" Jesus is the light of the world and this light destroys all darkness...including the darkness of death. We can be so filled with Christ's light that even death has no hold on us. Mother Mary longs to bring this light to us and continues to call us back to her Son. I pray that each of us will listen to these words of love.

Why Pray the Rosary?

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. Why should we pray the Rosary? I could give a number of personal reasons why Catholics (and non-Catholics) should arm themselves with this powerful weapon but instead I defer to the great "Cloud of Witnesses" that have gone before us. Here are a few of their thoughts on the Rosary:

"Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today."- St. Padre Pio
"The power of the Rosary is beyond description." - Archbishop Fulton Sheen
"Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance."- St. Louis de Montfort
"The Rosary is the scourge of the devil." - Pope Adrian VI
"The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary." - St. Francis de Sales
"The Holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the results."- St. Josemaria Escriva

There are 15 promises given by Our Lady to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roch which are attached to the recitation of the Rosary. In the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae ,  Pope John Paul II goes into great detail on the importance of praying the Rosary and calls it his favorite prayer. "The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in it's simplicity and it's depth."

Here is one of my favorite quotes on the Rosary:
"No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary. Either he will give up sin or he will give up the Rosary."     Bishop Patrick Boyle

Wise words, indeed.

St. Therese - Little Rose Queen

O Little Flower!
Even now I hear the ringing of bells and angelic applause which greeted your arrival at the narrow gate.
In your little way you slipped right through the eye of the needle with a childlike grace.
Plucked from the world in the tenderness of your youth, a flower in full bloom, petals raised to the Son, the odor of your sanctity reaches us still. A shower of roses...a heavenly bouquet. We ask for your intercession and help. May we learn from you, St. Therese, that little acts done with great love are more pleasing to the Father than great acts done with little love. Pray for us, that when we pass into eternity, we, too, may slip easily through the narrow gate.

Our Lady's message to Mirjana - June 2nd

I decided to write this one in full because I felt that it had a lot to say:

"Dear children, today I call you, with fasting and prayer, to clear the way by which my Son will enter into your hearts. Accept me as a mother and a messenger of God's love and of His desire for your salvation. Free yourself of everything from the past which burdens you and gives you a sense of guilt; of everything that brought you to error - darkness. Accept the light. Be born anew in the justice of my Son. Thank you."

You can find out more about this message at MARY, OUR MOTHER.

"Behold thy mother"

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of your mother. Through the power of the Holy Spirit may all humanity see the beauty of Our Heavenly Mother. May they understand that loving her takes away nothing from you but glorifies you instead. In her is a treasury of wisdom and through her yes... salvation entered the world.

Happy Mother's Day, O Mystical Rose!

 For each Hail Mary well said, a crown of roses for your head!

Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death.   Amen

Never be afraid to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She only wants what's best for her children. Just as she was Jesus' mother, so she is ours because we are part of the Mystical Body of Christ.

"..so that the thoughts of many made be laid bare."

I have always been intrigued by Simeon's prophetic word to Mary at Jesus' Presentation in the Temple. Not many people even acknowledge or pay attention to this part of Scripture and yet we know that the Bible is inspired by God. Some of the newer Bibles quote it this way:
"...and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."  Lk. 2:35
I prefer the older version- "And a sword will pierce your own heart so the thoughts of many may be laid bare." Interesting statement made by Simeon, it never fails to fascinate me. The first part is easy to understand for Mary's heart was pierced by many sorrows. To watch your son being crucified is the ultimate sorrow a mother could bear. Mary lived in the Divine Will and once again, just as she gave her "Fiat" at The Annunciation so we see her do this once again beneath the Cross as she again accepts the will of the Father. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary were united in the Divine Will. It's the second part of the prophecy that I often find myself pondering on - "so that the thoughts of many may be laid bare."  In this prophetic word we see the power that God bestows on Mother Mary. Through her sorrow hearts will be laid bare. What powerful words! What an amazing mother and intercessor we have in Mary! She helps lay our hearts bare before the Lord! No wonder so many people have a devotion to her. Me included. She has helped me bare my heart before the Lord through her intercession and continues to do so. Gently and lovingly my spiritual mother is raising me just as she brought up Jesus. I am her child. Jesus gave her to us on the Cross, "Behold your mother." Everything in Scripture is divinely inspired and certainly every word spoken by Jesus on the Cross echoed into eternity. Who could doubt this?
I happen to believe that this prophetic word spoken by Simeon has an even greater significance. Over the years many saints and prophets have spoken about an "enlightenment of conscience" or a "mini-judgment". I believe that this will happen and is a grace obtained by Mary. A fulfillment of the prophetic word, "...so that the thoughts of many may be laid bare."

Just a thought :)

A link to the newest Medjugorje message

In God's Company 2

Ark of the Covenant

Why do Catholics sometimes refer to Mary as the Ark of the Covenant?

Because our Dear Lady is The Ark of the Covenant! An Ark is a container. Noah's ark became a saving vehicle; a precurser to the later Ark of the Covenant that contained the written word of God. Mary is the vehicle, or container if you will, that held the WORD MADE FLESH! The true Word of God. She is the salvific vehicle through which the Savior of the world was born. God stressed the perfection and the holiness of the Ark of the Covenant to point out the holiness of Mary - the New Ark of the Covenant. Jesus is the Covenant, Mary is the Ark. This may not go over well with a few of my brothers and sisters in Christ so I will try to explain it through Holy Scripture in my next post . Bear with me, please:)

Latest Medjugorje message

You can read Our Lady's most recent message and a reflection on it at In God's Company 2. Great site!

A link for Catholic bloggers

Check out this post at Catholic Fire on the Pope and Catholic bloggers :)

March 25th - Medjugorje message from Our Lady

You can read this month's message from Our Lady here: In God's Company 2

Medjugorje

I  like to read the messages that come out of Medugorje each month; they are always beautiful and touch my heart. I believe Mother Mary is really appearing there and has been for many years. Everyone that I have met who has been to Medjugorje has nothing but wonderful things to say about their visit there. My mom went when I was in my early twenties and came back on fire for God. She said the Holy Spirit is doing wonderful work there. One of my rosaries came from Medjugorje and it's my favorite pair. The Church has not ruled on Medjugorje yet and pilgrims are allowed to visit there, so I will continue to read the messages and take these beautiful words to heart unless the Church forbids it. A lady I know went to hear Ivan, one of the visionaries, speak in Massachusetts this past Sunday. The gist of the talk was:

-Pray every day
-Attend Mass as often as possible
-Read your Bible
-Confess your sins
-Spend more time with your family, especially your children. Teach them to pray and teach them about God. Live your faith so that your children may see by example. Our Lady is concerned about the young people in our world, we are failing to teach them how to live holy lives.
-Meditate on the Passion of Christ

Interesting link - Interesting site

http://christtotheworld.blogspot.com/2010/02/description-of-hell-medjugorje.html

Bitter Herb

When my heart is sad or I am hurting in some way, I know I can always turn to Our Lady for help. From childhood I have had a close bond with Mother Mary, even when I fell away from the Church I still asked for her intercession and help in my life. I have no doubt that she has obtained many, many graces and miracles for me. I trust her. She is my greatest role model, after Jesus. I often find myself meditating on Our Lady and the central role she played in her Son's life.

One of the things I noticed about Mary is the significance of her name. One of the meanings is bitter herb. This fascinated me because according to the Bible, during passover, the Jewish people dressed the passover lamb with bitter herb. During the passion of Christ, the true Lamb of God, Mary intimately shared in the Lamb's bitter passion. One might say: The One true Lamb of God was dressed with bitter herb [Mary] as, hearts united, they suffered together. As Simeon prophesied, her own heart was pierced by a sword, spiritually, as Jesus' heart was pierced, physically, by a soldier. How immense her interior suffering must have been!  Her name was not a coincidence. No way.

Thank you,  Mother Mary, for loving us so much. You withheld nothing from God and lived totally in His Will. Intercede for us, that we may also become utterly His. Amen