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Official Commentary on the
monthly message of May
25th 2007
Also a commentary from Fr. Jozo OFM
Below
is the official English translation of this month's commentary on Our Lady's
message to the world through the visionary Marija, provided by The Medjugorje Information Centre
~ Acknowledgements information and
links
COME,
Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, your well beloved spouse.
Most
Holy Spirit, open my heart, soften it, and fill it with light and love so that I
may understand clearly what I read below and act on it for my own spiritual
benefit and for the delight of my Heavenly Mother, Your Beloved Spouse. May I
read each word under Your guidance so that, free of all worldly desires and
distractions, I may grow in wisdom and prudence enough to follow perfectly the
wishes of the Most Blessed Trinity. Amen
"Dear
children! Pray with me to the Holy Spirit for Him to lead you in the
search of God's will on the way of your holiness. And you, who are far
from prayer, convert and, in the silence of your heart, seek salvation for
your soul and nurture it with prayer. I bless you all individually with my
motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call." Monthly message
to the world, May 25, 2007
TIP
Our
Lady has regularly said the messages are for each one of us individually so try reading them as if your own name was
there; "Dear .........." - it can
make them so much more personal, challenging and effective.
O
Blessed Mother, help us hear your words to us. Teach us to listen ever
more carefully to the words of your Son. Pray that our hearts will be
transformed into the hearts he wants us to have, and that we will
always be open to His call. Amen.
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message commentary:- SEARCHING
FOR GOD'S WILL
The
Virgin Mary calls us to pray with her to the Holy Spirit in order for us
to draw strength and force from above, to be wrapped in the power coming
from God. Together with the apostles she was perseverant in her prayer
waiting for Jesus' promise - the Holy Spirit. She is the fiancée of the
Holy Spirit and full of mercy. She is the one who knows best the
mysterious power of the Holy Spirit and therefore knows how much we
still need His strength today. We received the Holy Spirit in the
Sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation, and we have heard that he exists.
And yet, it seems as if all other spirits are around us but the Holy
Spirit. That is why Our Lady's call is serious and so much needed to all
the hearts, families and to this world. The only way towards the
experience of the strength of the Holy Spirit is prayer.
The first thing we should do is to convert. In other words, it means to
stand before God in prayer over and over again, to confess our sins,
forgive to others, renounce everything that prevents us from embracing
the will of God, disown all idols, renounce dependence, and our false
images of God. To convert means to take God as the master of our lives,
to let it be His will. It is only the Holy Spirit that may enlighten our
hearts so we can find God's will and live by His will. Only the moment
in which we renounce our will, our plans, designs and intentions may we
start praying for God's design, God's plan for our lives. By having
given up our plans, we in fact remove the ties and become free,
capable of accepting God's will. That is why Jesus says: "If anyone
would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily
and follow me!" (Luke 9, 23). To be Jesus' disciple does not
mean receiving information or schooling of any kind from Jesus. It means
to be the one who can receive Jesus' grace and strength, his miracles
and his kingdom. A disciple is the one who becomes like his teacher.
That is why Jesus was able to say that anyone who had faith in him would
do what he had been doing, and even greater things (cf. 14:12).
While in the search of God's will on the way of one's holiness, one
should thank God for every single moment of life, either good or bad.
Accepting everything that happens in our lives means entering the will
of God thus receiving His strength to conquer evil we have
entered. We shall always recognize God's will while in prayer getting
closer to Him. We also observe ways of life, as well as pathways to work
and vocation that God opens or closes for us. If we constantly surrender
ourselves to the will of God, God will close those ways He does not want
us to take and those doors He does not want us to enter, whereas he will
open the ones He wishes us to embark upon. Rarely does God lead one from
the inside by speaking to him/her where he/she must go. It is not in our
mind, imagination or feelings, but in the bottom of our souls where God
dwells in us and where we are inspired, enlightened and led by the Holy
Spirit. God will use signs to reveal His will to us. We should recognize
these signs with our spiritual senses that grow sharper and stronger in
those who take these motherly words more seriously, in those who have
been following them throughout all these years of her appearing and
being close to us. Let us listen to the words of our heavenly Mother
with our hearts so that we can find a new life that only God may give.
Fra. Ljubo Kurtovic. Medjugorje, 26th
May, 2007 ~ Official
English Translation.
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Apparition
to Mirjana on June 2nd, 2007 "Dear children! Also in this difficult time God's love sends me to you. My children, do not be afraid, I am with you. With complete trust give me your hearts, that I may help you to recognize the signs of the time in which you live. I will help you to come to know the love of my Son. I will triumph through you. Thank you."
Our Lady blessed everyone present. Once again She reminded us to pray for priests and that a priest's blessing is a blessing from Her son, Jesus.
More
Mirjana Apparitions
Fr Jozo's
May Reflection:
Fr. Jozo's commentary on the monthly message of 25th May, 2007.
My
dear brothers and sisters, When our Mother, on the vigil of Pentecost,
called us to pray with her, I felt an immeasurable joy. Yes, that call
is like the one in the Hall of the Last Supper. St. Luke pronounces
those who respond to the call and enumerates them by name: Peter, John,
James, Thomas, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, and
Judas the brother of James. They were all persevering and of one spirit
in prayer, together with the women, with Mary the Mother of Jesus and
with His brothers (Acts 2: 1).
The fruit of prayer together with Our Lady is the miracle of Pentecost -
it is the gifts that were necessary to the Apostles and to the people
gathered from all nations in Jerusalem. They all understood the
proclamation of the first Pope. They all felt the same grace in their
hearts, " What must I do?" Peter told them: "Convert and
be baptized." In this way, the community of the Church, with some
three thousands newly baptized members, was born.
Our Lady's call: "pray with me to the Holy Spirit" is a clear
image to us of the first prayer with the Mother in Cenacle. To pray with
Our Lady is a special grace. I am pleased when St. Luke enumerates the
names of those who prayed. Clearly, the one who prays with the Mother is
not anonymous or insignificant. Such a person is always the one on whom
She and Heaven count on. To pray with the Mother means to pray with the
Church and for the Church. Through that prayer, everyone received such
important and necessary gifts which made them capable of proclaiming and
witnessing to bloodshed what they had lived, seen and heard. I am
pleased to hear these words of our Mother who has called us, in
particular, from among so many pilgrims and those who are inclined to
Medjugorje, that we may be members of this family which perseveres in
prayer and in living Her messages, together with Her.
Through prayer, the Holy Spirit leads the one who prays to discover
God's will and then, through His grace and gifts, enables him to say and
to respond with his life: "Here I am." This means, to daily,
and in all circumstances say as the Blessed Virgin "Here I am,
behold the handmaid of the Lord." That 'Fiat' of the Blessed Virgin
is the 'Creed', the 'I believe'. I believe that my God is all powerful
and that everything is possible to my God. When I reflect on such a
concrete and clear call to holiness I see us as a child enrolled in
school by his parents. Everyday there is a new lesson, everyday there is
a new step in education. All this, so that at the end of the school year
an entire mosaic of knowledge can be recognized as a fruit of our work
in school and of the teachers with the children.
The goal is to teach and educate a child and to realize a given school
program. In the same way, our life which we receive as a gift and our
Christian vocation, have a final goal of holiness. Everyday there is a
new step, everyday a new prayer, a new plan of God and a new response.
Holiness is accomplished in the daily effort and sacrifice, in prayer
and in Sacramental life. We discover God's will through Revelation,
through example, through positive inspiration of the saints, through the
Church and through Her proclamation. We also discover God's will through
our conscience through which the Lord speaks to us. Our weakness is very
often concealed and opposed to God's will. It is often our experience to
be in conflict with God's will. To renounce oneself and one's will, and
to accept God's will, is true wisdom and a victory of grace in us. This
is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us.
It has never been heard that someone managed to become holy without
prayer. It has never been heard that someone has renounced his will and
accepted God's will without the help of the Holy Spirit. To pray with
Our Lady is a privileged call to pray with those whom She has invited,
who felt the grace and who have responded. Our prayer group, THE
VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY TO ST. ELIZABETH - our PRAYER
PARTNERSHIP - is, in particular, a grace given to us. I see all of our
prayers and the many thousands of those who are pure and faithful to the
Mother, the Queen of Peace, as a link to Medjugorje.
Yes, I see us together with the Mother, in prayer, in Adoration and in
living the messages. In this message, she clearly separates those who
pray from those who do not "and you who are far from prayer,
convert." She does not hesitate to say that there are those who do
not pray, those who are far from prayer. We are also aware of this. This
is why, I so often emphasize that our call is specific and that we are
different from the pilgrims and those inclined to Medjugorje who come
for a visit, who pray their prayers and carry out their promises - and
then return home without changing anything in their daily life or work.
Our family has a promise of living Our Lady's messages perseveringly,
humbly, surrendered to the will of God, watching vigilantly over our own
life and example and keeping away from all criticism, judgment, conflict
and rejection.
Our Lady calls us to conversion. Namely she calls us to begin praying
everyday and to set aside time in our day which we can call a time of
silence in our own heart, and to seek salvation for our souls in it. The
Mother tells us that our soul is nurtured by prayer. To me, these are
such warm motherly words. I feel that prayer is like mother's milk that
a child is nursed by to feed his soul. Yes, the soul needs food, care
and concern - and this is what prayer is. In fact, these are the
messages with which we nurture our faith, our love and our soul. How
easy and simple it is for people to abandon family prayer. There are so
many temptations. In these days, I listened to a priest with a doctorate
in Pastoral Theology in the United States, who said that he never prayed
the Rosary in the Seminary or as a priest. He told me that he came to
love the Rosary in Medjugorje through the prayer group of our Prayer
Partnership in the States. I cried with joy, and at the same time I was
sad because of the Semiary in which the prayer of the Rosary is lacking.
Our prayer group has an immeasurably great meaning and mission. Daily I
am convinced of the fruit of so much prayer. If we were to stop praying,
in Medjugorje and throughout the world there would be fruitless trees.
There would be a desert. There would be extinguished lanterns which
would help no one and would serve no purpose. With these thoughts, I
desire to call you to an even more preserving and fruitful prayer with
the Mother of the Lord. Without prayer there is no Pentecost. There is
no rebirth or renewal of the Church and a healthy Christian family. Our
generation needs the Church as a witness, the Church that prays and
through which the Lord accomplishes His works and gives signs to the
world. Be humble and grateful for the great grace that has been given to
us. Especially let us be vigilant and of one spirit in our prayers and
fasting during these weeks preceding the 26th Anniversary of the
Apparitions. The enemy will do everything to stop the Church and
individuals on their way to convesion and on the way to the Mother in
the Cenacle. The enemy will write, name, criticize and attack. You just
be at peace and preserve in prayer for all the pilgrims and those who
suffer because of Medjugorje. Let us never forget that every pilgrim is
a fruit of prayer. He is a gift. He is a fruit of prayer and sacrifice.
May every pilgrim find the much necessary graces for himself, for his
soul, for his family, for his parish, for his Church and his home-land.
This month we will pray for the following intentions;
1. For all pilgrims who have been in Medjugorje or who will come for the
Anniversary, that in peace with God and themselves, they may find the
necessary graces for their soul, their body and their families. That
they may experience a grace-filled meeting with Our Lady who is calling
us. That they may readily respond to the call to conversion and accept
the messages.
2. For all the Confessors, that especially at this time the Lord may
give them the gift of humility and of joyful service to the brothers who
seek the grace of forgiveness and healing. That every penitent may feel
the good and merciful Father and His embrace in every priest.
3. For all the sick and burdened in soul and body, for all the wounded
and destroyed families that, through the intercession of the Queen of
Peace, the Lord may help unite, heal and convert them.
Dear brothers and sisters, for this great and grace-filled Anniversary I
send you my greetings and prayers as I recommend each of you to the
Queen of Peace.
With
brotherly greetings, Yours sincerely Fr. Jozo Zovko O.F.M.
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updated 21st
July,
2007 - Praised be Jesus and Mary - His Peace to all! - ê¿ê
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