For many years now, as I kneel before the tabernacle, I share an inside joke, if you will, with my Lord.  A smile on my face, a twinkle in my eye, and overflowing love in my heart, I share my secret thought with Him who needs no explanation:  “You know, because of You, I am head over heels in love with a box!”

He gets it.  He knows exactly what I am talking about.  It’s not just any old box and it’s not even just one box.  Truth be told, it’s not the box itself that is the object of my love; rather what is found inside the box.  Walking into any Catholic chapel, church, basilica, or cathedral–anywhere in the entire world–I find my box and finding my box brings me to my knees every time.  Sometimes it can be hard to leave my box behind and venture out again into the light of day or dark of night, but I know that although my Lord is there, dwelling in the box, He is not contained by it.

About 20 years ago, the Lord gave me a gift, a confirmation of His true presence in the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle.  It is a gift I would like to share with you.  The gift is the picture you see below.  It is a picture I took of the tabernacle in the Church of Our Lady’s Assumption in Široki Brijeg, Bosnia-Hercergovina.  I took the picture because it was a beautiful tabernacle, and I knew my Lord was present within; the light that is clearly visible in the developed photo was NOT visible to my eye when I took the picture.  I remember thinking as I looked at the sanctuary light, “Jesus, the sanctuary light flickers like a heartbeat.  You are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle—in all tabernacles throughout the world!  I am so in awe of You!”  I snapped the picture quickly, continued praying, and thought nothing more about it—until I had it developed.  Jesus, the Light of the World, is literally bursting out of the tabernacle for, while He is truly present there, He cannot be contained!

May our Lord and Savior bless you abundantly during this holy season!

My dearest Lord and Savior, my King and my God,

When I am angry, grant me a change of heart.

When I am impatient, grant me a change of heart.

When I am sorrowful, grant me a change of heart.

When I am indifferent, grant me a change of heart.

When I am ungrateful, grant me a change of heart.

When I am selfish, grant me a change of heart.

When I am self-centered, grant me a change of heart.

When I am unkind, grant me a change of heart.

When I am proud, grant me a change of heart.

When I am gluttonous, grant me a change of heart.

When I am jealous or envious, grant me a change of heart.

When I am mean-spirited, grant me a change of heart.

When I am greedy, grant me a change of heart.

When I am lazy, grant me a change of heart.

When I am afraid, grant me a change of heart.

When I am critical or judgmental, grant me a change of heart.

When I am unforgiving, grant me a change of heart.

Lord Jesus, only You can change my heart.  May it resemble Your Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary more and more each day.  Amen.

This summer I joyfully became a “Purgatory Oblation Warrior.”  I came across the Purgatory Oblation Warrior (POW) Prayer Group Apostolate on Michael K. Jones’ website:  http://www.medjugorjeusa.org.  With nearly 3,000 members worldwide, the POW prayer group is probably the largest Purgatory prayer group in the world.  The prayer group was created in response to the message given by Our Lady on July 21, 1982, to the seers in Medjugorje:

“There are many souls in Purgatory. There are also persons who have been consecrated to God – some priests, some religious. Pray for their intentions, at least The Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be seven times each, and the Creed. I recommend it to you. There is a large number of souls who have been in Purgatory for a long time because no one prays for them.” 

The goal of the prayer group comes from the words of St. Padre Pio:

“Holy Souls are eager for the prayers of the faithful which can gain indulgences for them. Their intercession is powerful. Pray unceasingly. We must empty Purgatory.”

As November is the month the Church dedicates to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, let us increase our prayers and offerings for them.  The Holy Souls released from Purgatory, in turn, become powerful, joyful intercessors for us on our journey to eternal life.

If you feel called to join the POW prayer group, I encourage you to do so.  Membership is free and it is very easy to join.  You will find everything explained in detail at http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/purgatoryroom.htm.  You can also send an e-mail to:  info@medjugorjeusa.org.

The following is a description of Purgatory as revealed by the Blessed Mother to the seer Mirjana Soldo:

“There are several levels in Purgatory. The more you pray on earth, the higher your level in Purgatory will be…The lowest level is the closest to hell, where the suffering is the most intense. The highest level is closest to Heaven, and there the suffering is the least. What level you are on depends on the state of purity of your soul. The lower the level the people are on in Purgatory, the less they are able to pray and the more they suffer. The higher the level a person is in Purgatory, the easier it is for him to pray, the more he enjoys praying and the less he suffers…The Blessed Mother has asked us to pray for the souls in Purgatory. They are helpless to pray for themselves. Through prayer, we on earth can do much to help them. The Blessed Mother told me that when souls leave Purgatory and go to Heaven most go on Christmas Day.”

 

Let us pray that our prayers and sacrifices for the Holy Souls in Purgatory will help to release as many as possible this Christmas Day!

May God bless you always!

I love November.  I love the autumn hues of the leaves that are beginning to fall from the trees.  I love huddling under a warm blanket, sipping hot coffee, cheering on a favorite football team.  I love the brisk air outside and the glow of a warm fire in the fireplace.  I love to feel in a very real way, our communion with saints of all time and history.  I love to pray for our beloved dead and the holy souls in Purgatory.  But mostly I love November because it is a time to slow down from the hustle and bustle of life and, as a nation, to turn our thoughts to God in order to give Him thanks.

About three years ago, in November, I was asked to write about why I am thankful.  This is what I wrote:

WHY I AM THANKFUL

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God.  And the PEACE of God, which SURPASSES all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

~St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians 4:4-7

 The alarm clock went off at 6:30am as usual, but it was no ordinary day.  It was Friday, July 1, 1999, and my 15-year-old nephew went in to see if his mom was awake yet so she could drive him to his job at the local golf course where he caddied for the summer.  What he found instead forever changed our lives.  Donna, my brother’s wife, had passed away unexpectedly in her sleep at the age of 36, leaving behind her husband and four children ages 5 to 15.  The events that followed are a blur but the lesson learned from that day is and forever will be:  BE THANKFUL!!

Be thankful for each and every day.  Be thankful for each precious moment you share with your loved ones, your spouse, your children, your coworkers, your extended family, your friends, yes, even with your enemies.  Each moment of life is a gift given from God and how we live it is our gift to Him.  Rejoice in the present moment for it could very well be your last!

While tragedies may test our faith, being thankful, whatever the circumstances, puts everything in its right perspective.  God exists!  He is the fullness of life!  He delights in us and He knows what He is doing.  Will eternity be long enough to give Him thanks?!

Why am I thankful?  I am thankful because if we look hard enough, God’s love and beauty can be seen all around us.  Being thankful brings us peace.  My prayer each day is “Lord, grant us joyful, thankful hearts.”  We are not alone.  Saints and angels watch over us and intercede for us.  Our God is awesome and almighty and one day we will all be together again.  Let us remember to give thanks always and everywhere.  All thanks, glory, and honor belong to God!

Getting to Medjugorje was grueling.  Our pilgrimage group flew from JFK to London where we were supposed to board Croatia Airlines for a flight to Zagreb, but instead we were told that the Zagreb flight was overbooked.  Volunteers were needed to give up their seats and take an “alternate” route arranged by Croatia Airlines.  Not many in our group seemed interested in giving up their seats, so I was the first to volunteer.  By God’s grace, my trust in Him was strong and I was fearless.   I was determined to get to the place I had heard and read so much about in order to beg God for an end to the fighting and to pray for His peace in the region.  One by one, others volunteered as well, including my roommate for the trip, a wonderful woman who quickly became a life-long friend.

Our “alternate” route took us from London to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Ljubljana, and then a three hour minivan ride from Ljubljana to Zagreb where we met up with the rest of our group.  But we still had two more legs to our journey!

After a short flight from Zagreb to Split, located on the Croatian coast, we finally boarded a bus about midnight to make the three hour drive to Medjugorje.  This last leg of the journey will forever be etched in my memory.   They were three of the most beautiful, peaceful hours in my life, as I sat staring out the bus window at the shadows of the Adriatic Sea and the hints of pebbled inlets along the winding coastline of Croatia.  At the same time, the reality of the situation was startling.  The absolute beauty and tranquility of God’s creation, illuminated by a magnificent full moon on a star-filled night was juxtaposed with the atrocities of the war waging in Bosnia Hercegovina just over the mountainside.  The choice before each one of us couldn’t have been clearer.  Do we choose a culture of life or a culture of death?  Do we choose God’s unfathomable love and forgiveness or the intense hatred among men?  It is no wonder that God, in His infinite mercy, sent our Blessed Mother to this troubled land as “Queen of Peace.”

Medjugorje is often referred to as an “oasis of peace,” and during the war years in particular, it was–literally.  In those days, while praying the mysteries of the Rosary on Podbrdo or making our way up the steep ascent of Križevac, praying Stations of the Cross along the way, we could hear the sounds of shelling in the nearby area of Mostar.   But in the village of Medjugorje, it was absolutely peaceful.  Our Lady was present and there was grace in the air we breathed.  I learned to pray as I had never prayed before, real prayer from the heart.  I learned to love as I had never loved before.  Mary had brought me back to her Son Jesus and enrolled me in her School of Love and Prayer for life.  For the first time in my life, I was truly at peace.  (Funny how God works–I had to go to a war zone to find inner peace!)  I took great comfort in Our Lady’s message that “war can be stopped by prayer and fasting.”  She had been preparing us, her “dear children” to do just that.

Nineteen years later, Our Lady still appears to the seers.  The Yugoslav civil war has long since ended, but the message is still very much the same, and just as urgent.  We are called to fast and pray in order to stop war, all war—the war against sin and evil in all its form, the war against our fallen nature, the war against “principalities and powers, against the rulers of this present darkness, against the spirits of wickedness.”  (Ephesians 6:12)

Our Blessed Mother, Queen of Peace, Our Lady (Gospa in Croatian) has spoken to us in an extraordinary way innumerable times throughout these thirty years of physically appearing to the six seers in Medjugorje (or wherever they happen to be).  I would like to conclude with just a sampling of some of her messages (translated from Croatian into English) regarding fasting and prayer:

December 18, 1986

“Dear children! Once again I desire to call you to prayer.  When you pray you are much more beautiful, like flowers, which after the snow, show all their beauty and all their colors become indescribable.  So also you, dear children, after prayer show more before God all that is beautiful to please Him. Therefore, dear children, pray and open your inner self to the Lord so that He makes of you a harmonious and beautiful flower for Paradise. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

 

April 25, 1992

“Dear children, today also I invite you to prayer. Only by prayer and fasting can war be stopped. Therefore, my dear little children, pray and by your life give witness that you are mine and that you belong to me, because satan wishes in these turbulent days to seduce as many souls as possible. Therefore, I invite you to decide for God and He will protect you and show you what you should do and which path to take. I invite all those who have said ‘yes’ to me to renew their consecration to my Son, Jesus, and to His heart and to me so we can take you more intensely as instruments of peace in this unpeaceful world. Medjugorje is a sign to all of you and a call to pray and live the days of grace that God is giving you. Therefore, dear children, accept the call to prayer with seriousness. I am with you and your suffering is also mine. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

January 25, 2001

“Dear children! Today I call you to renew prayer and fasting with even greater enthusiasm until prayer becomes a joy for you. Little children, the one who prays is not afraid of the future and the one who fasts is not afraid of evil. Once again, I repeat to you: only through prayer and fasting also wars can be stopped — wars of your unbelief and fear for the future. I am with you and am teaching you little children: your peace and hope are in God. That is why draw closer to God and put Him in the first place in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

December 2, 2006

“Dear children, in this joyful time of expectation of my Son, I desire that all the days of your earthly life may be a joyful expectation of my Son. I am calling you to holiness. I call you to be my apostles of holiness so that, through you, the Good News may illuminate all those whom you will meet. Fast and pray, and I will be with you. Thank you.”

October 25, 2008

“Dear children! In a special way I call you all to pray for my intentions so that, through your prayers, you may stop satan’s plan over this world, which is further from God everyday, and which puts itself in the place of God and is destroying everything that is beautiful and good in the souls of each of you. Therefore, little children, arm yourselves with prayer and fasting so that you may be conscious of how much God loves you, and carry out God’s will. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

August 25, 2011

“Dear children! Today I call you to pray and fast for my intentions, because satan wants to destroy my plan. Here I began with this parish and invited the entire world. Many have responded, but there is an enormous number of those who do not want to hear or accept my call. Therefore, you who have said ‘yes’, be strong and resolute. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Sitting in a hotel café in Zagreb, Croatia, late into the night, we spoke, for the most part, in hushed tones. It was August 1992 and the war that tore apart the former Yugoslavia was raging. Foreign journalists and cameramen sat at nearby tables and I strained to catch bits of new information as I tried to follow the conversation at our own table. No one really wanted to talk about the war, but it was inevitable. Someone would change the subject saying, “but let’s not talk about that;” yet before long, we were right back on the topic. How could we not talk about it? Everyone had a story to tell; everyone was affected by the war in one way or another. Tension somehow lingered in the air. It was all so surreal. The atmosphere that night seemed right out of a novel set in Europe during the Second World War. But this was 1992! How could these atrocities be happening again? I couldn’t understand it.

The week prior to this meeting with friends in Zagreb, I had made my first pilgrimage to a small village called Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina.  Just days before departing the comfort of my parents’ home in Massachusetts for Medjugorje, news broke of the Omarska concentration camp in western Bosnia near Prijedor, with CNN showing scenes of shirtless emaciated Bosnian Muslim men herded like cattle behind barbed wire fences.  It was excruciating to watch the news reports, but I had to know what was happening in that part of the world.  About the same time, my future in-laws were living about 20 miles southeast of Omarska, trying to get out of Banja Luka, refugees fleeing for their lives. My heart was breaking but, more than ever, I was determined to make this pilgrimage to pray for peace in my fiance’s war-ravaged country.

(All these years later and memories of the war still make me cry. My apologies.  I will continue later.)

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.  Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”                     ~Psalm 37:3,4

Dearest Lord and Savior,

You know me better than I know myself and You know the longings of my heart.

What are the longings of my heart?

I long to love and be loved. I long to share my faith and grow in wisdom and faith.  I long to serve You and to make a difference in the world.  I long to leave the world a better place for having passed through it.  I long for You.  I long for Heaven.  I long for beauty in all its forms.  I long for true, everlasting love.  I long for all the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit.  I long for Your Mother, my Mother.  I long for Your Glorious Return.  I long for peace on earth.  I long for an end to abortion and killing of any kind.  I long for Truth.  I long for Mercy.  I long for Justice.  I long for You.  I long for sanctity and holiness.  I long for goodness and kindness.  I long for righteousness.  I long for cures for all illnesses and addictions.  I long for the angels and the saints.  I long for the peace only You can give.  I long for a heart that is completely joyful and thankful, tender and compassionate, meek and humble, but strong and brave.  I long to be completely united to You.  I long to be a saint.  I long for my loved ones to know You, love You and serve You.  I long for their happiness and joy.  I long for You.  I long for You.  I long for YOU!  O my Lord Jesus Christ, I love You and need You.  I do trust in You and so I shall not fear.  You gave Your all for me and now I would like to give my all to You.  Please let it be so.  Christ the King, You are King of my heart now and forever.  ~Amen

O, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for us!

“When we open our heart to the love of God and to others, it makes us capable of shaping history according to God’s plan.”  – John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, 2000.

My Evening Prayer of Surrender

Lord Jesus, remain the Lord of my heart forever and ever.  I joyfully anticipate Your Glorious Second Coming and I pledge to work diligently for peace and understanding in our time.  I surrender my life, my joys, my sorrows, my good works, my sufferings, and most of all, my free will.  With Your grace, and only through Your grace, I pledge to surrender completely to Your holy will.

Father, may Thy will be done on earth, now, at this time in history, just as it is done in Heaven.  Be gracious to us, O Merciful Father, Creator of the world.  Have mercy on us all and lead us all to Heaven to enjoy forever the vision of Your Glory.

Almighty and Awesome Father, Good and Gracious God, Loving Father of the whole world, renew our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our spirits, our souls.  Lead us into a new springtime of hope and forgiveness.

Thank You for Your universal, holy, apostolic, Catholic Church.  May it be renewed and may it bear witness to You throughout the world.  May the days of scandal be gone, never to return again.  May vocations to the priesthood and the religious life flourish as never before.  May all decide to live in peace and harmony with one another and may the hearts of those filled with hatred, doubt, and suspicion be changed forever into loving hearts through Your mercy and grace.

We are one nation founded under You, Lord.  May that never change.  May our love for You, trust in You, and our right knowledge of You flourish.  May Your Truth be known to all mankind.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and dear Mother Mary, you surround me and comfort me and fill my days with joy and purpose.  O blessed weakness that allows me to turn to the One who is my strength!  All glory and honor is Yours forever and ever!

~  Amen.

O, Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us,
Set our hearts on fire with love of You!

Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”             ~ John 13:34-35

And so begins a blog entitled:  “A Loving Heart–Dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”  What a perfect day to begin! Today, 10/13/11, marks the 94th anniversary of Our Lady’s 6th and final apparition to the three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, and the occasion of the miracle which, three months earlier, she had foretold would take place. The apparitions took place in the Cova da Iria , or the Cove of Irene (Irene is a name of Greek origin meaning “peace”), which was land belonging to Lucia Santos’ family.

In the first apparition on May 13, 1917, Our Lady asked for the Rosary to be prayed daily “in order to bring peace to the world.”

In the second apparition, Our Lady referred to devotion to her Immaculate Heart.

The following is an account of the second apparition of the Virgin Mary on June 13, 1917 at Fatima as told by the eldest of the three children, Lucia Santos:

As soon as Jacinta, Francisco and I (Lucia) had finished praying the Rosary with approximately 50 other people who were present, we saw once more the flash reflecting the light which were approaching (which we called lightning.) The next moment, our Lady was there on the holm oak, exactly as she was on May 13, 1917.

“What do you want of me?” I asked.

“I wish you to come here on the 13th of the next month, to pray the Rosary every day, and to learn to read. Later, I will tell you what I want.”   I asked for the cure of a sick person.

“If he is converted, he will be cured during the year.”  I would like to ask you to take us to heaven.

“Yes, I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon, But you are to stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”

(Blessed Francisco died, April 4, 1919; Blessed Jacinta died: February 20, 1920;  Sister Lucia died February 13, 2005.)

“Am I to stay here alone?” I (Lucia) asked sadly.

“No my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart, I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”

During the third apparition on July 13, 1917, Our Lady said:  “Continue to come here every month. In October, I will tell you who I am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle for all to see and believe.”  And “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”

As had been promised , on October 13, 1917, a crowd of an estimated 70,000 witnessed the now famous, “miracle of the sun.”  Here again is Lucia’s account:

After Our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady; it seemed to me that it was Our Lady of Dolor’s. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the child Jesus in one hand and the brown scapular in the other hand.

At the predetermined hour, the rain stopped, and the thick mass of clouds broke. The sun looked like a disc of dull silver, and began dancing wildly. The people shouted out: “MIRACLE!” It seems that the majority of the people saw the sun trembling and dancing, whirling around like a catherine wheel; it descended almost low enough to burn the earth with its rays. Many thought the end of the world had come, as the sun seemed to fall upon them. People reported color changes in objects on earth, caused by the rays of the sun. Some expressed sorrow for their sins aloud. Some who had come to ridicule now believed.

Heavenly Father, we ask for the grace to remain very close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!  ~ Amen.