How to Use Words From Heaven

How to Use Words From Heaven

Taken from the book Words From Heaven

Our Lady has told us countless times in Her messages that She wishes to lead and guide us. She said She wants to teach us and that it is to Her voice that She desires us to listen.
 

February 14, 1985

“…I want you, dear children, to listen to me and to live my messages…”
 

October 24, 1985

“…I wish to guide you…”
 

On December 25, 1989, Our Lady told us:

“…little children, read everyday the messages I gave you and transform them into life…”
 

There is much to discover within the messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje. Within these messages we can find the answers to all our questions, problems, and difficulties. Through these messages, man can discover once again how to make the Gospels come alive in his everyday life. The Community of Caritas of Birmingham discovered this, more or less, by accident. Our Lady said to read Her messages everyday and so they began to end their morning prayer each day with a message from Our Lady. One community member would open up Words From Heaven and randomly choose a message to read aloud.

For Our Lady to speak, it sometimes is important for us to build into our lives openings for Her to do so. St. Francis’ whole mission of poverty was confirmed, encouraged, and, to a large degree, launched through opening the Missal, after praying. Bernard had just confessed to St. Francis that he wanted to live like him and wanted to know what he must do. Bernard was the first to join him, but St. Francis felt of himself that he was too insignificant to make a decision like that, so he decided to go to Our Lord for help. Bernard and St. Francis went to church for Mass and then talked to the priest. The following account of this was taken from the book, The Perfect Joy of St. Francis, published by Image Books.
 

He (the priest) went with Francis to the altar, where the Missal was. Then Francis motioned to Bernard to approach and said to the priest: “Open the Holy Book three times in honor of the Blessed Trinity, and each time read a verse!”(in regard to Bernard joining Francis’ life of poverty).

The vicar did so. The first time he read: “If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor. And come, follow Me.” The second time: “Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money.” And the third time – with a sigh: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

The priest’s tears were dropping onto the page, and he was trembling like a reed. Bernard showed his acceptance by kneeling down. And then Father Peter also fell on his knees, and holding out his hands toward Francis, he begged: “Me too – me too!” (The priest joined also).

Many other saints, including St. Teresa the Little Flower, have found concrete guidance and direction from the Bible and other spiritual books in the same way.

In regard to the Caritas Community, they soon discovered using Words From Heaven in this manner surprised and moved them. Often times in morning prayer they have very specific things they are praying about. They began getting very specific answers to their problems and specific direction regarding certain paths to follow through the messages they opened up to each morning. Time and time again this would happen until all doubt that this was “coincidental” faded away and the community was astonished to find that Our Lady was truly fulfilling Her words to them “directly” through Her messages. She was indeed, leading and guiding them, teaching and directing them in the most amazing way. The following are just a few out of hundreds of examples they could share with you about their experience with the messages of Our Lady over the past twenty-two years.

The community had received several confirmations in prayer that it was God’s Will for them to begin a certain project. But everything they did to get the project off the ground was blocked. Believing that this was due to satan’s interference, they decided to offer a special sacrifice to God that He would break this hold satan had upon this project. They fasted nine days on bread and water. On the ninth day, the day the novena was to end, they opened up Words From Heaven for a message to finish the novena. They opened to:
 

December 18, 1989

“The prayers and sacrifices that you decide to offer in these days when I asked you were not done with love. I ask you to offer them with love as during the first days of the apparitions. What you have decided to do and to offer for my intentions during the novena was not enough. You have to choose to give more because you are able.”

This message had a very sobering affect on the community. Over the next few weeks they reflected on how they had not lived this novena from the heart, and they all realized that they truly didn’t do it from the heart, nor with the love they should have. After a period of time, they again repeated the nine-day fast on bread and water, emphasizing doing it with real love and from the heart. At the end of the novena they opened to this message:
 

September 27, 1984

“Dear children, you have helped me along by your prayers to realize my plans. Keep on praying that my plans be completely realized. I request the families of the parish to pray the Family Rosary. Thank you for your response to my call.”
 

Shortly after this, they were able to easily proceed with their plans for the project, the success of which went beyond anything they could have imagined.

In one of their first experiences with the messages, Our Lady made it perfectly clear that She desired them to read Her messages each day to receive Her direction. It was Wednesday. The community had decided to begin a novena the following Tuesday for a specific need for their mission. The next morning they opened to:
 

December 15, 1989

“Prepare yourselves spiritually and physically for the Christmas Novena. In your prayers say one prayer especially for my intentions. Renounce [give up] something that you like the most.”
 

From this message it was felt that Our Lady was directing and advising them to add to the novena to give up something that they liked the most. Friday morning they opened to this message.
 

June 2, 1984

“Dear children, tonight I wish to tell you during the days of this novena to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on your families and on your parish. Pray, and you shall not regret it. God will give you gifts by which you will glorify Him till the end of your life on this earth. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
 

Real excitement began to build in their hearts as these words were read. On Monday morning they again opened up Words From Heaven.
 

November 21, 1983

“Tuesday, that is tomorrow, the whole group will find peace in prayer. All its members will be invigorated in prayer, as it is the wish of Jesus. He entrusts something to each one, and wishes something from each one. It is necessary to make them come back to their promises, which were made at the beginning and to pray.”
 

Needless to say, their motivation to pray this novena had increased one hundred fold, knowing they had established the previous week that Tuesday would be the beginning of the novena and for every day’s message to lead up to that day so clearly left them without words!!

There have been many, many times that the community has discovered the path Our Lady desired them to take just through this method. The danger, of course, is to go to the messages every time you want to hear an answer from God and expect it to be there without personal prayer, fasting, and sacrifices. Sometimes God expects us to struggle to find our answers. Sometimes He tests our faith by remaining silent for long periods of time. Our Lady has said that there are those who listen to Her messages out of curiosity and not with the desire to change their hearts. The attitude She desires from us is that we put Her words into action. The community members do not open Words From Heaven if they are not prepared to follow through with Her requests, whatever they may be. Prayer and fasting prepares their hearts to hear and follow Our Lady’s words in their lives. Living this way, they have found great comfort in realizing how close Our Lady is to each one of them – when She has said so many times:
 

February 25, 1993

“…I am with you…”

She is always there whenever we need to hear Her voice.
 

A friend, who often visits the Caritas Community, adopted this method in her own prayer. She too was amazed at the intimacy She felt with Our Lady through Her messages. She wrote:
 

Our Lady shocked me last week. I was praying morning prayer outside, overwhelming myself with the trials that sometime surround me. I opened to the message:

“Sing more joyfully. Why are you so pensive?”

It just takes a few words from Her to set me straight. Especially after I learned from you the story about how Our Lady leaves quickly whenever the visionary Marija’s child needs her (during her apparition time). I think – how quickly Mary must come to us when we need Her!

One last example will show that the community goes to Our Lady not only for direction in their mission – but in their personal and family life as well. No matter seems to be too trivial for Our Lady when we search for answers out of love. The community mothers and children went out of town for a few days on a field trip. They fasted on Wednesday, but on Friday the question came up if Our Lady would mind them not fasting since they were on a field trip. No one wanted to take the liberty to say it would be alright, so they decided to go to the messages. They prayed, “Mary, we ask if you would help us to know if you would like us to fast today?” The mothers and children prayed the seven Our Father’s, Hail Mary’s, and Glory Be’s, then opened up to pick a message. The message of November 26, 1983:

In answer to a question, Our Lady said:

“Prayer and fasting”

Their disappointment in not being able to eat was overshadowed by the delight they felt in having Our Lady answer them so directly. Not only did the message touch them, but also the explanation that preceded the message, as it placed them in an identical situation to hear Our Lady’s words. It was a moment of real joy shared between the mothers and children with Our Lady.

We offer you this explanation for the purpose of encouraging you to turn to the messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje in your times of struggle, loneliness, distress, sorrow, and even in times of joy. However, don’t even attempt this if you are not sincere or only curious. You cannot expect the Holy Spirit to be active out of curiosity and insincerity, rather with a childlike heart, full of faith and hope, will Our Lady be able to guide you. We hope and pray that you will discover an intimacy with Our Lady that you have never known before through these messages that you hold in your hands.