The Spirit of Medjugorje

"Dear children! I am with you to tell you that I love you and to encourage you to prayer; because Satan is strong and every day his strength is stronger through those who have chosen death and hatred. You, little children, be prayer and my extended hands of love for all those who are in darkness and seek the light of our God. Thank you for having responded to my call."

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Holiness and Virtues

By Fr. Ray Donohue

     Our Lady tells us often: "My dear children, today I call you to holiness." But what does "holiness" mean? What is our Beloved Blessed Mother asking us and calling us to do, or not to do?
     I am sure I do not have to remind us what is going on in the entire world today. First, the good news: God! God is everywhere. He is in this world, He is with us wherever we are - in our hearts, minds, souls, spirits, and actions. Now, the bad news: God see's the evil in this world everywhere, in our hearts, minds, souls, spirits, and actions.
     I am reminded in my heart of the early days in Medjugorje, when the visionary told the people that Our Lady was present in a gathering, and the people there wanted to touch Her. Our Lady said: "Let them come forward, there will always be Judases." As they came forward and touched where the visionary said Our Lady was standing, she began to cry, saying that the sins of the people made our Blessed Mother's dress dirty and filthy with their sins!
     How very sad! This is why Our Lady, our dear Mother, keeps asking us to go at least to monthly confession. Sin doesn't just affect us, but it spreads like a filthy disease about us! The only vaccine for sin is to NOT sin! The only cure is Confession! Holy confession made from our hearts cleanses the soul and the very fiber of our being! It is a Sacrament, so God comes to us and remains in us.
     A person wouldn't invite someone they loved and cherished to a filthy house! No! They would clean it and make it look nice and welcoming. Why is it different with God? It isn't any different. Jesus said: "Cleanse your hearts, you backsliders!" He meant it! He said that to shake us up and to convert and be clean and pure. This is the start of holiness. You know how it is when you have been working outside and get all sweaty and stinky and yucky! You know how it feels to get in the shower with nice soap and water cleansing you and refreshing you and renewing you! This is Confession! Good for your soul, good for your body, good for everyone else! Go to Confession to get rid of all your sins, be contrite, mean it when you say you will do all in your power to avoid sin and all the near occasions of sin. If someone is causing you to sin, avoid that person. Make sure you do all you can to please God, not to please others first, but always God first! Mary always put God first! St. Joseph always put God first! WE must always put God first!
     At Holy Mass, we need to do as our Mother asked us: To Pray from our Hearts! Mass begins way before you leave for Church. It is your state of mind. Long to go to Holy Mass! Long to meet Jesus in your prayers, in the prayer of the Holy Mass! Put all the other thoughts aside and focus on Who you are coming to and Who is coming to you!
     Don't say: "I hope Father so-and-so isn't going to say Mass today; he is so long-winded!" Or, "The church is so hot, I hope he skips the sermon today and makes this a quickie Mass." Come to Holy Mass with your Heart! Come to meet Jesus - in the Holy Scriptures, in the hymns, in the reverence of the Holy Mass! We don't need to be perfect; the Mass itself is perfect because the ONE Who IS Perfect is the One we are coming to see and be in HIS Holy Presence! The Mass is Holiness! It IS Emmanuel! God IS with us! We become One with God! Think of this!
     We receive Him with reverence and awe. My Lord and my God! When you come to Holy Communion, come down the aisle reverently; don't tap people on the shoulder; don't talk. Come humbly and with reverence and awe; you are about to receive Jesus! YES! The actual Jesus Who lived on this earth, Who died for you and Who rose from death to Life for you! Focus! Focus on this. Make a very holy and loving Communion! Our Blessed Mother will be standing by Her Son, next to the priest, as you receive Him and become a living and holy Tabernacle yourself.
     After you receive the Lord in Holy Communion, go back in silence, eyes lowered, and pray in thanksgiving to God for such a Grace! Such a Gift! Ask Him to stay with you forever and ever. Ask that you be in HIS Holy Presence forever and ever! Thank God over and over again. Ask for blessings for you and your family and the sick and the Holy Souls. Then, thank Him again!
     This is Holiness!
     Virtue comes from the Latin word VERITAS, or TRUTH. To be a virtuous person is to live the truth. There is no such thing as a "little white lie". Oh, you can say that Miss Amy looks lovely instead of saying she looks like she is wearing a poorly fit potato sack with the potatoes still in it, but it IS a sin and untruthful to make up a lie if someone, for instance, invites you to go somewhere and you simply do not want to go. A simple, "Thank you so much, but not today" will do. Little lies lead to bigger lies. "Oh, I just don't feel like it today, thank you" is being honest. It is a truthful answer.

Confessionals on the right side of the church in Medjugorje

     Virtue is doing the right thing, especially when it is hard to do. The Apostles did this after Jesus was Resurrected. They lived for Him, and all but one died for Him! They spoke of Him. Do you bring God into conversations with your friends and families? Do you ever have a conversation about God? I am not speaking about that Father Smith is always preaching money, or that the choir sounds like a chorus of scorched cats, but about God. His love, what He has done for you and how you want to serve Him. Talk about God on occasions, about the Holy Catholic Faith with your family, with friends, and share the wealth of 2,000+ years of God's Graces. The world needs to hear this. The world needs to see your faith - in your face, your thoughts, and your actions!
     When I was a young boy, I remember my mom and dad talking about priests and sisters they had throughout their lives, and how these men and women helped them in their lives. They told me about an old priest they knew in the parish they were married in (back in 1940), who was an old Irish priest with an alcohol problem. They never focused on that problem, but instead that he was always poor because he helped the people on the streets, bringing them into the rectory to feed them, taking them down to a store to clothe them, paying for doctor visits for them, and so many other things. He didn't drive, so he would get my father to drive him and these people to this place or that place, and my father saw the love and charity this lowly priest had. My mother would make him something to eat, and I remember her saying so many times he gave that food to the poor and hungry, and let me tell you something: my mom was the BEST cook ever! (But to this day I still can't stand liver!)

     Holiness is about DOING! To be holy, we need to pray! To be holy, we need to do good works! To be holy, we need to ask God what to do and He will show us the many gifts He has given us so that we do good things with the good things He has given to us for others! God gave us ALL talents and gifts, and He expects nothing less than that we share what we have with others and allow them to share their gifts with us! To give is to receive! No matter how much we give, we will always receive back so much more than we gave!
     Remember the message from our dear Mother this past June: "Dear Children! My Heart is joyful because through these years I see your love and openness to my call. Today I am calling ALL of you: pray with me for peace and freedom, because satan is strong and by his deception, wants to lead away all the more hearts from my motherly heart. That is why decide for God so that it may be good for you on the earth which God gave you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
     To see our "love and openness" is to act, in holy prayer and in our actions, and our dear Mother from Heaven sees us responding and making a difference. Where there is love and charity, the devil cannot exist! To show virtues of kindness, holiness, truth, honesty, helpfulness, joyfulness, we extinguish the power of evil, and bring forth the Glory of God in innocent, holy love!
     We are now in September! How fast time goes by! A new season is here - that of the beauty of Autumn.

Autumn in Medjugorje

      We are also in different seasons in our lives. We are now in the season to really put into practice all our Heavenly Mother has asked of us these past 40 years of Her Presence. Pure love in action. Joyful charity in action. Holy prayer from our hearts in action. Respect and kindness and honesty in action. Humility and monthly confessions, and receiving Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, being reverent and respectful and completely open to God in the Holy Masses we attend in action! Fighters against all evil, and promoters of all that is Good and Holy! We are the Holy Church on earth. We need to be clean, wholesome, generous, loving, truthful, and glowing in the Love of God and our dear Blessed Mother, Mary!
     Love God with all your heart and being! Don't just read the messages of Our Lady, LIVE THEM, by putting them daily into action.
     If we fall, get back up, receive Grace we need through the Sacraments and the Holy Catholic Church, and keep moving forward and never look back.
     God bless you, one and all. You are always in my prayers. Please know that! Feel them! And pray for your priests and holy religious. Stand firm in your Catholic faith. Pray, Fast and be Converted, as our dear Mother asks us to do, and gives the grace abundantly so we can do just that!
     Enjoy the beauty and colors of Fall, God's creation in such splendor! The very Hand of God is upon you, so never be afraid to do and say what is right!
     In Jesus, Mary and Saint Joseph,
     ~Father Ray and his colorful little pal, Dublin 🙂