Message Feb/March 2020

Message of the Blessed Virgin Mary

February 2 2020

“Dear Children"! By the act of decision and love of God, I am chosen to be the Mother of God and your mother. But also by my will and my immeasurable love for the Heavenly Father and my complete trust in Him, my body was the chalice of the God-man. I was in the service of truth, love and salvation, as I am now among you to call you, my, children, apostles of my love, to be carriers of truth; to call you to spread His words, the words of salvation, by your will and love for my Son: that with your actions you may show, to all those who have not come to know my Son, His love.

You will find strength in the Eucharist-my Son who feeds you with His Body and strengthens you with His Blood. My children fold your hands in prayer and look at the Cross in silence. In this way, you are drawing faith to be able to transmit it; you are drawing truth to be able to discern; you are drawing love that you may know to love truly. My  children, apostles of my love, fold your hands in prayer, look at the Cross. Only in the Cross is salvation.  Thank you"

'Nothing Is Impossible for God'

"Gathered today for this morning prayer at the Shrine of Lichen at the feet of Our Lady of Sorrows,' the Holy Father said during his homily, "let all of us implore her to intercede for us with her Son, seeking to obtain for us: a living faith that will grow from a mustard seed to the tree of divine life; a faith that is nourished everyday by prayer, is strengthened by the holy sacraments and draws richness from the Gospel of Christ; a strong faith that shrinks before no difficulty, suffering or lack of success, because it is sustained by the conviction that 'nothing is impossible for God'." 

 St. John Paul II

Mary's First Communion

In a closing reflection on those sacred moments of Holy Communion, let us turn to John Paul II, who once pondered what it would have been like for Mary to receive the Eucharist for the first time.

First, John Paul II noted a profound connection between Mary carrying Jesus in her womb and the person receiving communion. In a sense, we become like Mary every time we receive the Eucharist. "Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God's Word." For nine months, Mary had the body and blood of Jesus within her. At Mass, we receive the sacramental Body and Blood of our Lord. "At the Annunciation Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the sign of bread and wine, the Lord's body and blood."

Second, John Paul II pondered how Mary would have felt when she first heard about the Eucharist. She was not present at the Last Supper and presumably would have learned about what happened there from the apostles.

What must Mary have felt as she heard from the mouth of Peter, John, James and the other Apostles the words spoken at the Last Supper: 'This is my body which is given for you'. The body given up for us and made present under sacramental signs was the same body which she had conceived in her womb!

John Paul then beautifully drew out the unique meaning Holy Communion would have had for the Blessed Virgin: "For Mary, receiving the Eucharist must have somehow meant welcoming once more into her womb that heart which had beat in unison with hers..."

What a profound insight! Imagine Mary preparing herself to be reunited with her Son in this way. Imagine the loving attention she gave to Jesus in every Holy Communion. What a joy it must have been for her to have her Son dwelling within her again! May Mary be a model for us in the way we receive the Eucharist.

"I was the support of the Early Church at its beginning. I shall be her support until the end of time. My embrace will be to all who wish to come to me."  Mother Mary to Fr. J. Colins, founder of the "Marists" Society of Mary

THIS LENT I FOUND GOD

This Lent has been a revelation to me and I bask in the wonder of it, in the total joy of having found God.

As I look back through the years, of the growing up period, the religious training through both grammar school and high school, through marriage with all its ups and downs, through the death of a child I wasn't prepared to lose, the blessings given to me, especially two children given to me in my later years, the realization hits me that through all this time, I have been avoiding God.

From little on, I was taught that I was made in His image, yet that in itself was a scary feeling. He is perfection. I am far from it. How much easier it has been to concentrate on His Son. Though He is perfection, too. He also took human form, suffered and died to save my soul. He has never been that shadowy figure of the Old Testament that judged sinners justly but sternly. Jesus walked the same earth that 1 walked. He felt the same injustice that I feel at the cruelties of the human race. He cried. He laughed. He hurt. He even felt anger. I could really relate to Him. More times that I can count I've prayed to Him, in petition, in thankfulness, in sorrow. He has always been there for me.

The Holy Spirit has been fairly easy to relate to, also. I can see Him coming down to fill the apostles with added grace. Often in the light of temptation, He has been there for me, too. He seems to have a special place in my conscience that generally tells me right from wrong, though I don't always listen.

But the Father, He's always been that illusive anonymity that has seemingly watched all my faults and condemned me for them. There never seemed to be any way that one, lone, imperfect woman could compete with Abraham, Noah, or the many saints that God has loved-and rejoiced in. In my own eyes, I was a failure before I ever started.

Almost always at lent, I followed the rules, not eating meat on Fridays, fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, generally trying to give up something special such as sweets. Once I even tried to give up smoking though after a few days my husband convinced me that God would rather have me smoking than totally unlivable. Sad to say though, I had never really given of myself.

This Lent I vowed to do something different. I didn't give up anything at all except maybe time and that time has been returned to me a thousand fold. Instead of giving up sweets with the secret hope that in the process I would lose a few pounds (which never worked anyway) I made myself take the time every morning to get on my knees and pray. Prayers that had often time either been forgotten in the daily rush of caring for my family or had been quickies said with one eye on the television and the other on my two little ones, now became discussions with God. I told Him of my joys, my fears, my hopes, my sorrows and always ended with, "Your will Lord not mine." Almost immediately, I felt peace come over me. Somehow, I knew that He was listening and had the feeling that with Him watching over me I had the ability not only to conquer the world but to conquer all of my own inadequacies.

Each evening I took the time to read the daily devotions provided in a little booklet from our parish and to read the Scriptures listed in it. Ironically, when I first start, I would rush through, hurrying to be finished so that I could enjoy a good television program or a book, but now I often read much more of the Scripture than is listed and take the time to contemplate the effect of the devotions on my own life. They are a true source of comfort to me.

It has been through my taking time to look for Him that I found God. He's always been there, not the stern, forbidding God I had tried to avoid but loving, kind, and forgiving. He sent His only Son to certain death to save my soul. Then, to insure my faltering steps, He sent the Holy Spirit to me to guide me. How great His love truly is!

This Lent I've been truly blessed. I've been privileged to feel God's over whelming, incomprehensible love. Unlike the sweets gobbled up on Easter Sunday, my hope in God will remain with me the rest of my life. I will keep taking the time for prayer, along with daily devotions and Scripture reading and on the Easter Sunday I will say a special prayer of thanksgiving to God for giving me such a joyous Lent.  Marlene Bejger;  Marian Helpers Bulletin 12 February-March 1990 Stockbridge, MA 01263.

FROM  SICKNESS TO HEALING                  RETURN TO GOD

FROM HEALING TO A CALL                          THE CHURCH  

IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT     A VOCATION  

(excerpts)

Healing Is Demonstrated and Motivated for Spirit, Soul, and Body:

Often we see and read the historical reality that the fame of Jesus Christ, for those in helplessness and in need of compassion (never indifferent sympathy), spread rapidly. Persons from all walks in life were healed from all sorts of infirmities. Jesus was "moved with compassion," we are told. Our Blessed Lord, in His tender compassion of healing concern, touched these dreadful loathsome suffering creatures. For them, this was the happy restoration from the eleventh hour of their hopelessness. He brought them life; He gave them healing where disease and corruption had made life for them an existence of one long torment.

The Tender Heart of The Divine Physician:

Our dear Blessed Lord, in His healing ministry, essentially by what He Himself called the "works of the Father," was leading persons to the "Conversion Gospel."

At this very point, my dear ones in God, is where the Holy Spirit stirs our minds. He activates our hearts to come home to the wounded open heart of Christ, so that He may offer us a new chance to live and to help another person in need. This is what is called Church. The Holy Spirit, the agent of Healing, invites all of us, be we healed in spirit, soul, or body, to first become prayerful, and then active disciples in what is the most beautiful mission of the Lord - SOULWINNING! As this joy is for a priest, so it is with you for others, dear friends!

Sharing the Mission with The Holy Spirit:

The great and special favors which God has bestowed upon His Church find, so to speak, the counterparts in His dealings with the individual soul. As the mission of the Holy Spirit was to the Church, so to each of us individually, the same Holy Spirit has a mission, also.

We remark here that there are two things in His coming — first, He came to teach all truth; second, since the Church was to be for all ages, He is to remain with her forever.

God and This Wounded World of Mankind Need Generous Souls — A CALL TO VOCATIONS:

Your vocations are sleeping giants camouflaged in this material world of excitement. God is calling! God is inviting! He says to all of us as He called to Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-10 — Ecce, Domine, quia vocasti me? – "Here I am, Lord, why have You called me here?")And in the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews 10:9 we all should proclaim our Altar Call: "Behold, I come to do Your will, 0 God" — (Ecce venio, ut faciam, Deus, voluntatem tuam).

It is my hope that by these thoughts, those who come to the Lord know that He will be looking for your soul. May you be Jealous of your Soul!

May this article from my desk, yes, speak to all who call for The Divine Healer, to open up their hearts just as He did with the Woman at The Well. There our dear Lord was thirsting for her faith, and her love. What He offered her in return was the Living Waters — which is the gift of The Holy Spirit. In Spiritu Sancto!

Bless you,

Your friend and priest

Father Ralph A. DiOrio Ph. D. M.Ed.

Father Ralph who is in retirement continues to offer his sufferings to Jesus for our spiritual and physical healings. It is our turn to pray for him. His books still 'brings hope to millions worldwide.'

"We do not see God because we are so busy looking at ourselves. But we must seek the Spirit of the Lord, because without His Spirit there is no holiness, there is no happiness, there is no contentment, there is no realization of a mission in life." Mother M. Angelica

February 25, 2020

"Dear children! In this time of grace, I desire to see your faces transformed in prayer. You are so flooded by earthly concerns, you do not even feel that spring is at the threshold. You are called, little children, to penance and prayer. As nature fights in silence for new life, also you are called to open yourselves in prayer to God, in Whom you will find peace and warmth of the spring sun in your hearts. Thank you for having responded to my call."

Many problems darken the horizon of our time. We need but think of the urgent need to work for peace, to base our relationships between peoples on solid premises of justice and solidarity, and to defend human life from conception to its natural end. And what should we say of the thousand inconsistencies of a "globalized" world where the weakest, the most Powerless and the poorest appear to have so little hope! It is in this world that Christian hope must shine forth! For this reason too, the Lord wished to remain with us in the Eucharist, making His presence in meal and sacrifice the promise of a humanity renewed by His love.

Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia

March 2, 2020

"Dear children, your pure and sincere love draws my motherly heart. Your faith and trust in the Heavenly Father are fragrant roses which you offer to me—the most beautiful bouquets of roses which consist of your prayers, acts of mercy and of love. Apostles of my love, you who sincerely and with a pure heart strive to follow my Son, you who sincerely love Him, you help; you be an example to those who have not yet come to know the love of my Son—but, my children, not only with words but also with acts and pure feelings through which you glorify the Heavenly Father. Apostles of my love, it is a time of vigilance, and of you! I am asking for love, that you not judge—anyone. Because the Heavenly Father will judge everyone. I am asking that you love, that you convey the truth; because truth is old, it is not new, it is eternal, it is truth. It testifies to God's eternity. Bring the light of my Son and keep breaking the darkness which all the more wants to seize you. Do not be afraid. Through the grace and the love of my Son, I am with you. Thank you.

Latest Medjugorje Message, March 18, 2020

The annual apparition of Our Lady to Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo

The visionary, Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo, had daily apparitions from June 24th 1981 to December 25th 1982. During the last daily apparition, Our Lady gave her the 10th secret, and told her that she would appear to her once a year, on the 18th of March. It has been this way through the years. The apparition lasted from 13:41 to 13:47.

“Dear children, My Son, as God, always looked above time. I, as His mother, through Him, see in time. I see beautiful and sad things. But I see that there is still love, and that it needs doing for it to be known. My children, you cannot be happy if you do not love each other, if you do not have love in every situation and at every moment of your life. Also, I, as a mother, am coming to you through love—to help you to come to know true love, to come to know my Son. This is why I am calling you, always anew to thirst all the more for love, faith, and hope. The only spring from which you can drink is trust in God, my Son. My children, in moments of peacelessness and renunciation you just seek the face of my Son. You just live His words and do not be afraid. Pray and love with sincere feelings, with good works; and help so that the world may change and that my heart may win. Like my Son, I am also saying to you: love each other because without love there is no salvation. Thank you my children."

On March 15, 2015 Our Lady gave this message to the visionary Vicka

"Dear Children! Once again I invite you to pray more and talk less, especially during Lent. Pray that you realize my plan that is still far from realized. I ask you, in particular, to pray for families and for young people who are in a very difficult situation: you can only help them with your prayers and your love. I bless you."

February 11, Our Lady of Lourdes, declared 'World Day of The Sick' by St. John Paul II

We remember St. Bernadette.

God never promised us a rose garden in this life, only the grace to cope with whatever we have to deal with. The Blessed Mother told St Bernadette, "I do not promise you happiness in this life, only in the next." (for eternity!) St. Bernadette suffered a great deal in her 35 years here on earth. In her notes she said she could not have coped without the grace of God she received in Holy Communion —The Eucharist'  

Marist Father Roland LaCass, dec.

For Lourdes water- ph. 617-536-2762 or email-lourdesceiter.org

The one who loves you will never leave you because, even if them are a hundred masons to give up, He will find one reason to hold on to you.

March 25, 2020

"Dear children! I am with you all these years to lead you to the way of salvation. Return to my Son; rein to prayer and fasting. Little children, permit for God to speak to your heart, because Satan is reigning and wants to destroy your lives and the earth on which you walk. Be courageous and decide for holiness. You will see conversion in your hearts and families; prayer will be heard; God will hear your cries and give you peace. I am with you and am blessing you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

"Pray fast and don't worry..."

St Padre Pio  Pray! `When we pray for others they feel loved!'

To hear Our Lady's Message, very early by phone, call 1-814-787-5683 (LOVE). Usually available the 26th of each month. Prayer requests at this number are given to the visionary, Vicka, so that she may offer them to Our Lady. Prayer petitions can also be handwritten and sent in a sealed envelope to: The Holy Family, Inc., PO Box 442, St. Marys, PA 15857-044. They are forwarded to Vicka who presents them to Our Lady.

"Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God's creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect." Pope Francis

On March 18, 2009 during Her apparition to Mirjana on her birthday Our Lady said, "...pray for the gift of love, because when the soul loves, it calls my Son to itself. My Son does not refuse those who call Him... My children, you be my Apostles, be my river of love. I need you. Thank you"