Jan/February 25, 2021
MESSAGE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
January 25, 2021
February 25, 2021
"Dear children! I am calling you at this time to prayer, fasting and renunciation, that you may be stronger in faith. This is a time of awakening and of giving birth. As nature, which gives itself, you also, little children, ponder how much you have received. Be joyful bearers of peace and love that it may be good for you on earth. Yearn for Heaven; and in Heaven there is no sorrow or hatred. That is why, little children, decide anew for conversion and let holiness begin to reign in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call."
EXILE
I got a Chaplet (Rosary) of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and I began praying the Chaplet after Mass. The second mystery (meditation) is the exile of Mary and Joseph into Egypt, which became my favorite mystery. The meditation is about how, after the baby, Jesus, was born in Bethlehem, an angel came to Joseph in a dream and directed him to flee with Jesus and Mary into Egypt. The angel explained that King Herod would seek the child to destroy him, and that Joseph should not come back until the angel told him too.
I imagine what it must have been like to be in that situation, the pain the Holy family endured from their long journey, the difficulty they faced from the elements, the constant fear of being found, and the loss of the home's peaceful security in exchange for an anxiety-filled sojourn through a foreign and hostile land. In the mystery, Mary and Joseph followed this path of exile together. She encouraged him as he pressed on. The poverty of their treacherous flight never tore them apart. Instead, it bonded them more tightly as each the other's consolation. They prayed together and adored the child together.
When I think of marriage, I think of Mary and Joseph. It amazes me that a woman could choose a man who was poor, seeing the values of inner strength and hidden virtue paramount to worldly success or prestige from frame. Those qualities in Joseph were exactly the ones Mary would need most in her husband.
As I continue to pray, I like contemplating Joseph taking care of Mary. His will is set at her safety, at protecting her, at sacrificing his bread for her. The glory of a man comes from a woman who is God's masterpiece. Without Mary, Joseph would have been less, for she drew the best from him, as all wives can from their husbands. She inspired him and lit his heart on fire, while he honored her with his spousal devotion. Joseph wasn't made to accomplish the mission alone. He was made for Mary, and together they shared the mission in raising the child, Jesus, in exile, until they could return to the warmth and safety of home.
The friendship and love between Mary and Joseph is something we can only imagine and wonder about. As they walked through Egypt against harsh bitter winds, they served God's holy will. They glorified Him by their teamwork. Hell failed to stop that team, as hard as it tried to let loose the hammer on them, for Herod eventually died.
If you find yourself in an impoverished situation, or threatened by hostile culture, or suffering the loneliness of single life, then look to Mary and Joseph in the Chaplet of Our Lady's Seven Sorrows for Comfort. Be consoled as you journey with them, and in the end, while others reject you too, know that we will be called back from exile to our true home in Heaven, where the Holy Family and all the Angels and Saints are waiting and cheering for us to keep going! Thy Kingdom Come! By Ryan Hansen LEADER
“There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us, and does not bear with us. And on the far side of every cross, we and the newness of life in the Holy Spirit, that new life, which will reach its fulfillment in the Resurrection. This is our faith. This our witness before the world.” -St. John Paul II
On December 8, 2020, Pope Francis announced a Year of St. Joseph. As a means of entering most fully into this time of grace, I encourage you to revisit the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter Patris Corde in preparation for the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19).
Let's reflect for a moment on St. Joseph's marvelous docility to the mystery of God's Plan. He finds God's will nestled in unlikely and sometimes even undesired circumstances, embracing it with a courageous and proactive surrender.
Being docile to the mystery of God's plan is not for the faint of heart. Yet, in His Providence, God entrusts us with encountering the mystery of His Will. Many times this encounter drops us to our knees, and takes our breath away. Precisely at times like these we need to "Ite Ad Joseph" (Go to Joseph), asking him to help us to embrace the mystery of God's Will.
In Patris Corde, Pope Francis writes: "Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them and make them part of his own history. Unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable to take a single step forward, for we will always remain hostage to our expectations and the disappointments that follow."
Do you rebel because of the unexpected or the painful? Ite Ad Joseph! Do you struggle to accept the course of events unfolding in your life? Ite Ad Joseph! Are you unsure what your next step should be? Ite Ad Joseph! Are you a hostage to your own expectations? Ite Ad Joseph! Are you overwhelmed by the mystery of God's Will? Ite Ad Joseph!
Family, St. Joseph will be a Spiritual Father to you and an Intercessor. He will teach you how to trust the Eternal Father. Simply, "Ite Ad Joseph!”
Fr. Joseph Mary Wolfe, MFVA (EWTN Chaplain).
February 25, 2021 Dear Children! God has permitted me to be with you also today, to call you to prayer and fasting. Live this time of grace and be witnesses of hope, because I repeat to you, little children, that with prayer and fasting also wars can be suppressed. Little children, believe and live this time of grace in faith and with faith; and my Immaculate Heart does not leave any of you in peacelessness if you have recourse to me. I intercede for you before the Most High and I pray for peace in your hearts and for hope for the future. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
A Great Prayer for Lent --- Immaculee Ilibagiza
I have seen many miracles happening through the 7 Sorrows Rosary devotion, and I can't think of a better time to say it and benefit from all the many graces Mary promised to St. Bridget and Marie Claire of Kibeho, than this time of Lent.
With all the graces given at this time, please if you have any problem, cry to Our Lady, think of Her pain through the Seven Sorrows Rosary and your own pain will heal. Some of those miracles, I see often, are people who prayed to be pregnant after trying for a long time or who were told it was impossible. I have heard many healing from cancer, for addictions, and I have heard many conversations through this rosary and many more. I encourage you to say it, for our own good, especially now during LENT. Honor Our Lady, console Her, she will console you.
SHE PROMISED:
-I will grant peace to their families.
-They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.
-I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.
-I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.
-I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
-I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.
-I have obtained from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors (sorrows), will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy. To order CD-Books-Rosary go to: Immaculee.com
On the Road to The Promised Land
I see pilgrims when they leave, carrying medallions and Lourdes water in large jars, are they not the bringers of hope for all the people who have not been able to come and who count on them? Because life is not one long calm river, but an everyday struggle where the only hope we have, sometimes, is not to fail. In this sense, who is not a pilgrim on the way to a promised land? And on the road, who does not need, whether today or tomorrow, the presence of a brother or a friendly sign?
Does the pilgrim know of all those who have allowed him to arrive as far as Lourdes, from the secretary at the railway station, the banker to the innkeeper, the bishop at the sacristan and how many other still, the whole creating a human chain that allows him to meet God and his brothers?
The Inner Pilgrimage
And do all those who have served, guided, fed and transported the pilgrims know that they too participate in the pilgrim's steps toward the communion of the saints, even without knowing it? Are we not all pilgrims, each on his own route and united together, wandering toward this best of homelands where Jesus leads us? Pilgrims of eternity, giving a helping hand in Church, the sick, able bodied and handicapped, the devout and sinners, all “in procession” to the call of our Lady who turns us toward God. Bernadette herself, from her “white chapel” in the infirmary of Nevers, pilgrimed all over the world by uniting herself to Masses celebrated in different parts of the globe. This inner pilgrimage is the most important: what would be the point of coming to Lourdes or going elsewhere, if nothing changes in us? The true pilgrimage is always that of the heart, that of prayer and conversion in the meeting with God and being open to our brothers; to return home, of course, into daily life but, like the magis, “by another path," guided by Mary, the star of hope, to build the community of men that God wants to gather in his love.
Excerpts Rev. Michel de Roton is Rector of Our Lady of Lourdes
Lourdes...A Foretaste of Heaven by: Edith Mouille
On Pentecost Sunday 1988, my youngest brother Bernard (8 1/2 years old) returned to his Maker after a battle with cancer for a year and a half.
A month later, I found myself leaving for Lourdes for the first time as a helper of the Pilgrimage of other sick people and I soon discovered that it was Bernard who accompanied me! It was Bernard who engendered within me a vocation to help others.
For me at least, Lourdes is not merely a sanctuary city. It is rather the city where we find ourselves enveloped within a realm of prayer...like the mist over the river Gave early in the morning.
This marks the third year that I have come to Lourdes with Nice Hospitality. I have never left Lourdes disappointed. On the contrary, each year I find my desire to return more intense than before. For me, Lourdes is everything. If I come with Nice Hospitality, it's because the sick people who come with us are an important part of the “cloud of prayer" that hovers over this place we call Lourdes. The sick who come with us are the ones who give us much. We may lend them our names, our support and much of our time but it is they who give us the gift of testimony of faith, the magnificent attitude in the face of suffering. And that's the main reason why I wish to come to Lourdes.
And then, of course, there is that family spirit among us, those friendships and friendship, that fraternal union we enjoy for five days that we live together. What a privilege to live in such an atmosphere with people of my own age...all inspired by the same vision, the same faith that I have been given.
And yet, for me, it is Lourdes at night that is most beautiful. During the night the Grotto becomes most “Prayerful". To pray with others in deep silence is far superior than to pray alone. In the final analysis when I come to Lourdes, I discover the fullness of hope, faith, and joy...to sustain me in my daily life after I have left. Lourdes thus a foretaste of Heaven.
It just goes to show you that veritable joy comes from what we give. Some easy fun can never measure up to the deep joy which only the love of God can give. At Lourdes, we learn to live the Gospel.
Lourdes Echoes
Be consoled as you journey with them, and in the end, while others reject you, too, know that we will all be called back from exile to our true home in Heaven, where the Holy Family and all the Angels and Saints are waiting and cheering for us to keep going! Thy Kingdom Come!
Poem to Christ Crucified
There He hangs pale figure pinned against the wood.
God grant that I could love him as
I already know I should.
I draw a little closer to share that love Divine
And almost hear Him whisper,
"Ah Foolish Child od Mine!
If I should now embrace you,
My hands would stain you red.
And if I leaned to whisper,
The Thorns would pierce your head."
And then I knew in silence that
Love demands a price
'Twis then I learned that suffering is but the kiss of Christ.
To hear Our Lady's Message, very early, by phone, call 1-814-787-5683 (LOVE). Usually available the 26th of each month. Prayer request received at this number are given to the visionary, VICKA, so that she may offer them to Our Lady. Prayer petitions can also be hand written and sent in a sealed envelope to: The Holy Family, Inc. P.O. Box 442, St. Marys, PA 15857-0442. They are forwarded to Vicka who presents them to Our Lady.