[Maryh]

“Dear children!

Love, pray and witness my presence to all those who are far away.

By your witness and example you can draw closer the hearts that are far from God and His grace.

I am with you and intercede for each of you so that, with love and resoluteness, you may witness and encourage all those who are far from my Immaculate Heart.

Thank you for having responded to my call.

[bluecross]

From today’s First Reading (Wednesday, Second Week of Easter):

“TELL THE PEOPLE ALL ABOUT THIS NEW LIFE” (Acts 5 : 20)

[ActionReq]

This week, I said to my wife:
What a resolute love and
passion for Jesus. This
happened while we watched
a movie called AD. Maybe you
have seen it. I did cut out the
scene for you, for you to see
and to know what I am talking
about. just click on the
link above in blue. I think
bluecross also undestands
because he recites acts.
AD is a movie about the
book of Acts.
It is a part about St Paul.
He was just baptized, and he
did what nobody would do
today, he showed resolute love.
Better this hour then the next,
he says. Now. Now.
That is resolute.

Now my wife, a licensed
psychologist, she says: yes,
but it is not good to do this.
Why not? I asked. She said,
he is not respecting the people
in the synagogue. All this looks
very romantic and logic, however
it is not in accordance with
secular society. In our society
you will have to respect others
and respect what they believe.
YOUR Religion in between YOUR
four walls and inside YOUR church.
She continues: Well if somebody
wants Jesus, he will have to go
and search in the church, and
find him there. That is civilized.
Then she says: If it is good what
Saul did, then try yourself in a
mosque or a synagogue and
find yourself in a psychiatric
institution, jail or in the news-
paper in the obituaries section.

I thought:
Maybe not so much has changed
in all those years. Is our
lady asking me to violently enter
a mosque, and preach there,
in stead of before the choir of
my own church?
Just like Saul and the apostles
did in the synagogues?
Do you think that it would be
different to enter a mosque or
a synagogue, like Paul did?
Do you think our lady wants us
to become martyrs? Will the
pope declare me a martyr if I
would enter a mosque en
testify the kingdom of Jesus
and then be killed? Or would
he declare me simply a crazy?
lunatic. Does that matter at all?

[bluecross]

By your witness and example you can draw closer the hearts that are far from God and His grace.

In Saul’s case his witness to his Jewish faith became a persecution of Jesus until he was thrown off his horse and saw the error of his ways.

Even Christians are capable of persecuting Jesus by the way they persecute others, be they other Christians or anyone else of faith and belief in God.

Personally, I have alway felt that Our Lady’s messages are directed at Catholics more than any other group. Didn’t JPII say, “Before the Church can evangelise, it must first evangelise itself.”

So it starts with ourselves: We can only evangelise if we become a good example to others and treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves – with or without Medjugorje.

[Maryh]

In our society
you will have to respect others
and respect what they believe.
YOUR Religion in between YOUR
four walls and inside YOUR church.

This I'm finding increasingly difficult to do; respect what others believe; because i really don't because I've realised some people are living a lie but what is
most important is to respect the people themselves, as made in the image and likeness of God. They're his people and he loves them.
I'm seeing people believe some pretty heinous callous things these days; My conclusion is that they've been deceived.
If i'm to witness Our Lady; i can't just reject them & discount them or accuse them of not knowing any better.
Why? Well, if i reject them; That's not very encouraging; If i tell them to go to hell?- they think they only belong in the dark side; when they don't. God can redeem us all.
I'm sure I've blind spots and weaknesses of my own also. It would also be smug to reject them because
am i really any better than them in every way? No.

When Our Lady says to witness her presence; it automatically reminds me of her title 'Queen of Peace'.
So i'm to be a peace-maker; but this doesn't mean a walk over or to accept things that are not right or true.
Another way to witness could be to make our lives an offering to God; so that he gets all the glory. Overcome all our problems with God's help and give him all the glory.
I want to obey & work for him to make life better for others. There are enough people in this world making life a living hell for others.
And Jesus said that people will know them as his disciples if they have love for each other. That's the sign of Gods presence.
So we are only credible witnesses if we have true & sincere love for others.

Is our
lady asking me to violently enter
a mosque, and preach there,
in stead of before the choir of
my own church?

I think maybe Our Lady may not expect us to actually preach but to witness her presence by our peace and love for our Muslim brothers and sisters in the way we relate to them. Not by trying to get any kind of advantage or power over them-by intellectual arguments and the like.
God wants us all to love and serve him freely after all!
This is just my guess or else i never felt called to preach in a mosque.


Something a priest said recently was that Jesus having risen from the dead said 'Peace be with you' as some of his first words.
He didn't give any of the disciples a hard time for abandoning him or there was no recriminations for what he had to endure.
He just simply wished them peace.

So my lesson this month is to resolve to love no matter what -especially if i don't like them or respect their views & wish them peace.

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:5-7

[Prodigals]

So we are only credible witnesses if we have true & sincere love for others.

The mystery of witness requires an intense level of intimacy from us - intimacy with the very Word of life, as well as in intimate entering into His death. This kind of intimacy requires a compassion that is always strong and fresh, just like that of Our Lady.

We can be witnesses of Him only if His living fire purifies us to the point that we become wholly conformed to Him. Once that is achieved, that same purging fire can be seen - "witnessed" - by others and can do its holy work in them. And if we strive to hide our witness from all men - inside the four walls of our church - so that we do not encounter opposition, then we are false witnesses.

We are sent to be with men, but we cannot be like them. We can only be true witnesses if we are like Christ, i.e., "a sign that is opposed". [Luke 2:34]

[bluecross]

Every soul is a witnesses, but not always a witness to the love of God by its example.

A witness to faith and knowledge of God is not always a witness to the love of God. Certain pharisees demonstrated this. They gave witness to the laws of God (and even their own), but not always to the love of God.

There are many in this world “who do not know the love of God” but are able and do demonstrate the love of God in their hearts, “the unknown God as Paul explained to the pagan philosophers in Athens who he described as “very religious”.

Regrettably, the opposition I most find to the love of God appears to come from within the Church, and even within ‘Catholic’ families.

Many Catholics struggle to speak of God’s love, or even mention the word love when speaking about their religion or faith.

"I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner

I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I'm older

Now this mountain I must climb
Feels like a world upon my shoulders
I through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder

In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

I'm gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
I've got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me

In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
I can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is
And I know, I know you can show me

Let's talk about love
I wanna know what love is, the love that you feel inside
I want you to show me, and I'm feeling so much love
I wanna feel what love is, no, you just cannot hide
I know you can show me, yeah

I wanna know what love is, let's talk about love
I want you to show me, I wanna feel it too
I wanna feel what love is, I want to feel it too
And I know and I know, I know you can show me
Show me love is real, yeah
I wanna know what love is...

[ActionReq]

Maybe not so much has changed
in all those years. Is our
lady asking me to violently enter
a mosque, and preach there,
in stead of before the choir of
my own church?
Just like Saul and the apostles
did in the synagogues?
Do you think that it would be
different to enter a mosque or
a synagogue, like Paul did?
Do you think our lady wants us
to become martyrs? Will the
pope declare me a martyr if I
would enter a mosque and
testify the kingdom of Jesus
and then be killed? Or would
he declare me simply a crazy?
lunatic. Does that matter at all?

So that's done!
In a brave historic act,
Francis went there himself
and said:

history does not forgive those who preach justice, but then practice injustice," Francis said. "History does not forgive those who talk about equality but then discard those who are different.

[stunnedbyit]

I think maybe Our Lady may not expect us to actually preach but to witness her presence by our peace and love for our Muslim brothers and sisters in the way we relate to them. Not by trying to get any kind of advantage or power over them-by intellectual arguments and the like.
God wants us all to love and serve him freely after all!
This is just my guess or else i never felt called to preach in a mosque.


[/color]

Blasphemy and apostasy laws in Muslim lands makes evangelizing there an almost impossible task. Sharia makes Islamic lands an ideological fortress.
I hear that there are Protestants in Iran who are bravely converting Muslims "underground" - there doesn't seem to be a like-minded Catholic movement.
St Francis of Assisi famously tried to evangelize the Caliph of Egypt but did not succeed.
More about the underground Church in Iran:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/11/28 ... forts.html

[Maryh]

I think trying to tell Muslims about Jesus would all depend on our intention & our 'spirit' of doing it.
If there were any hint that we thought ourselves superior or the guardians of the truth or tried
to denounce all their ideologies it would turn into something very troubling.
It reminds me of that British group 'Britain First' who marched with a cross through well known fanatical Muslim
areas; sort of like an act of defiance.
All it did was kind of throw down the gauntlet. I don't know the best way to approach it but
i think it would be a very delicate operation.

I read this article today in the Irish times titled 'Irish Catholics resent relentless Condemnation' and it reminded me of Our Lady's message when the archbishop says:

“The response of the Christian to criticism is reform and conversion; it is the call to renew the Church to be more effectively a witness to the God of love.

Wonder if he follows news from Medjugorje.