September 7, 2016 A.D.
Our Lady tells us that nothing is by chance, joys and suffering alike. In reality, they are preparing us for the work God wants to do with us.
Mirjana, on the day Our Lady gave the September 2, 2016 message on the Day of Nonbelievers.
After receiving daily apparitions for one and a half years, since June 1981, Our Lady appeared to Mirjana on Christmas Day, December 25, 1982 and said that this would her last daily apparition to her. Mirjana confessed that she could not accept this for a very long time. She was devastated and could only find peace in prayer. But through this dark trial, Our Lady taught Mirjana many things.
“As long as I stay close to God [Our Lady] promised She would help me. The meeting with the Our Lady was so hard for me I can still remember my pain. I felt it in my soul. It was such a great emptiness. It’s similar to the feeling you have when you realize that the most beautiful thing in your life is gone. Our Blessed Mother was keenly aware of my torment and my pain. She prayed with me to cheer me up. She prayed that I would be happy. She asked me to sing, to praise, and to glorify God. She taught me that when I’m sad, if I sing and praise and glorify God, I won’t be sad anymore. [This is] because some of God’s joy falls on me too.”
Mirjana came to understand the words Our Lady spoke recently, on September 2, 2016, “…Nothing is by chance: neither pain, nor joy, nor suffering, nor love. All of these are graces which my Son grants to you and which lead you to eternal life…” Through this trial Mirjana learned that even without the daily apparitions, Our Lady is always at her side. This has become her testimony to all those who are bent under the burdens of life. Through her pain and loss, Our Lady led Mirjana to deepen her faith and trust in God, and this now serves her as she carries the cross of being a witness to Our Lady to multitudes of people who come to her seeking hope for themselves as they live through the most difficult and painful of situations in their own lives.
A Friend of Medjugorje wrote of lessons Our Lady taught him at the beginning of founding the mission of Caritas of Birmingham.
“In looking at the Holy Scriptures, we began to see so many parallels between the events that took place 2,000 years ago when Jesus walked the earth and Medjugorje today. The Holy Scriptures, indeed, help us to understand the profoundness of Medjugorje. One of the lessons we learned involves St. Paul, and it helped us to make the best decision concerning our formation at Caritas. St. Paul, after being knocked off his horse and converted to Jesus, did not go out immediately to the people to begin preaching, rather he went into prayer and formation for eight or possibly twelve years. Evidently he did this because he realized that a spiritual formation was necessary before he would adequately be able to spread Christ’s messages of love, peace, and reconciliation. St. Paul had to learn and experience the ways of Christ on a personal level before he could teach others this new way of living. When it came time for St. Paul to speak, he did so with authority, strength, and conviction because he was living what he preached. He had more than just words to offer the people. He gave, with his life, proof that Jesus truly is the Way because St. Paul’s life witnessed to the authenticity of Jesus’ own words and example.”
A Friend of Medjugorje
From his epistle, “How the Early Church Learned”
As Our Lady increasingly shares bits and pieces from Her own life through Her monthly messages, we are able to grasp more deeply the power behind Her words, as A Friend of Medjugorje just wrote of St. Paul,
“When it came time for Our Lady to speak, she did so with authority, strength and conviction because she was living what she preached. She had more than just words to offer the people. She gave, with her life, proof that Jesus truly is the Way because her life witnessed to the authenticity of Jesus’ own words and example.”
Persevere in every joy and trial of life, for when the time comes for you to speak Our Lady will give you the words to say.
Medjugorje.com
Caritas of Birmingham
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P.S. The experience of prayer matures our hearts. Fasting added to the prayer is a turbo-boost that carries our hearts to a new level of holiness. Do not miss out on the opportunity to join in the worldwide 9-day bread and water fast with a Friend of Medjugorje and the Community of Caritas, Oct. 6 – Oct. 14, 2016. More information here…
More for your spiritual nourishment:
How the Early Church Learned, by a Friend of Medjugorje, free download
Erase It, Sept. 2, 2016 Medjugorje Headline epistle from a Friend of Medjugorje
