Our Lady's September 25, 2011 Medjugorje Message

The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org

Our Lady's September 25, 2011 Medjugorje Message

“Dear children! I call you, for this time to be for all of you, a time of witnessing. You, who live in the love of God and have experienced His gifts, witness them with your words and life that they may be for the joy and encouragement to others in faith. I am with you and incessantly intercede before God for all of you that your faith may always be alive and joyful, and in the love of God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

What is Prayer?

What is Prayer? Simply - Talking to God from your heart. Praising, thanking and asking.

The raising of one's mind and heart to God in thanksgiving and in praise of his glory. It can also include the requesting of good things from God. It is an act by which one enters into awareness of a loving communion with God. "Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God" (CCC, no. 2561).

My "Epiphany Moment" - The Miracle of Lanciano




We are defined not by who we are, but what we do.

Think back to a time when you overcame a great obstacle – you set a goal for yourself, you were faced with challenge and adversity, and through your own determination and perseverance, you overcame, conquered, and stood tall.


How did that challenge shape you into who you are today? What did you learn? What was that moment like when everything “came together”?


What about a time when you felt completely helpless? When a loved one passed away, when you-yourself were faced with an unfortunate and unforeseeable circumstance. How did it impact you? What did you do to embrace that change?

It’s these life-changing and often-times trying “moments” that define who we are and shape what we become. The Epiphany Moment is a time in your life when everything makes sense – when you have an “ultimate realization” when for, even for a brief moment, you “get it”.
Enter you…all of you. Each and every one of us have had one, or many of these moments throughout our life.


Have you had an “Epiphany Moment”?
What was it?

I wasn't a cradle Catholic. My Epiphany Moment was in the Eucharist. It was when I realized that Jesus is truly present as the Body and Blood of Christ. I always heard the words, “The Body of Christ”, “The Blood of Christ” – but I thought that it was a symbol of our faith.

I read about the Miracle at Lanciano and that is when I had my epiphany. I realized that the Eucharist is truly Jesus. Now I yearn for it.

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/lanciano.html (The information below comes from this website.)

Ancient Anxanum, the city of the Frentanese, has contained for over twelve centuries the first and greatest Eucharistic Miracle of the Catholic Church. This wondrous Event took place in the 8th century A.D. in the little Church of St. Legontian, as a divine response to a Basilian monk's doubt about Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist.


During Holy Mass, after the two-fold consecration, the host was changed into live Flesh and the wine was changed into live Blood, which coagulated into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size.


The Host-Flesh, as can be very distinctly observed today, has the same dimensions as the large host used today in the Latin church; it is light brown and appears rose-colored when lighted from the back.


The Blood is coagulated and has an earthy color resembling the yellow of ochre.

Various ecclesiastical investigation ("Recognitions") were conducted since 1574.


In 1970-'71 and taken up again partly in 1981 there took place a scientific investigation by the most illustrious scientist Prof. Odoardo Linoli, eminent Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy. He was assisted by Prof. Ruggero Bertelli of the University of Siena.


  • The analyses were conducted with absolute and unquestionable scientific precision and they were documented with a series of microscopic photographs.These analyses sustained the following conclusions:
    The Flesh is real Flesh. The Blood is real Blood.



  • The Flesh and the Blood belong to the human species.

  • The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart.

  • In the Flesh we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium.

  • The Flesh is a "HEART" complete in its essential structure.

  • The Flesh and the Blood have the same blood-type: AB (Blood-type identical to that which Prof. Baima Bollone uncovered in the Holy Shroud of Turin).


  • In the Blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood.


  • In the Blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium.


  • The preservation of the Flesh and of the Blood, which were left in their natural state for twelve centuries and exposed to the action of atmospheric and biological agents, remains an extraordinary phenomenon.



Prayer

(from LoyolaPress.com)

Merciful God, Thank You for calling me into Your family.
May Your Holy Spirit be with me as I learn to be a faithful follower of Your Son, Jesus.

Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, Wisconsin




"Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?" Those are the words spoken to St. Juan Diego from the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I recently chaperoned a trip for our youth to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I had been there on one other occasion so I was familiar with the location.

I had 5 girls that I was taking through the grounds and the Shrine. We started the day off with the coach bus ride and said the Holy Rosary on the trip as well as watched an informational video to give more information for the pilgrimage about St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

When we arrived at the location, the kids were eager to get off the bus and see the area. It is nestled in a hill area of the beautiful La Crosse area. When you get there, the visitor center is visible and the Votive Chapel just up the hill slightly.

The children didn't understand at first that the journey was to be a pilgrimage where they would be walking and meditating. They soon understood after many questions of WHY it would be on a hill and such a journey to the shrine. ( more info on the Votive Chapel )

After visiting the Votive Chapel and talking to them about the meaning of the numerous stained glass images of Our Lady, we went on to find the first outdoor grotto - Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Patroness of Native American Catholics.

Then we stopped and headed back down to the Visitor's Center to eat at the Culina Mariana Restaurant.

After eating we started off on the journey back up the hill on the Meditation Trail, past the Votive Chapel and past the first grotto, to the second outdoor grotto - Saint Joseph the Workman, Patron of the Diocese of La Crosse.

Soon we were back on the Meditation Trail and on our way to the Shrine. It was about a half mile up an incline to get to the Shrine. A beautiful bronze image of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the tilma of Saint Juan Diego in the presence of Bishop Juan de Zumárraga is in the plaza of the Shrine Church.

I left the children peek inside the Shrine Church, but since we would be back for Mass soon, I opted to take them further up the trail to the Memorial to the Unborn. The Memorial contains instructional plaques which explain the teaching of the Catholic Church on such topics as contraception, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and the dignity of life for all. The Memorial also contains several flower beds known as Mary's Garden - containing flowers named after the Blessed Mother. There is a beautiful bronze statue of Our Lady holding infants in her arms.

We followed the path to the top where all 20 Mysteries of the Rosary are depicted in blue and white tiles. It is a beautiful place to meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary in detail.

We proceeded back a short distance to the start of the Stations of the Cross. The Stations are along a walking path for prayer and meditation.

Now it was getting close to the start of Mass. We entered the Church and headed to the confessionals since the girls showed an interest in Reconciliation. I wanted to encourage that and made sure they were all able to go to Confession before Mass started.

After Mass we had a guided tour of the Shrine Church and were told about the artistry and Relics that are present there.

It was a wonderful trip and the kids enjoyed it very much. We got to the Shrine at about 10am and left about 3:30pm.

If you are ever in the area, I would strongly suggest going! God Bless...


For more information on the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, click here.


To learn more about Our Lady of Guadalupe click here.

The Ant and the Contact Lens

This is one of those great forwards that I got in an email from a friend. I don't know if it is true or not, but it is a great story none the less..... enjoy!









THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS: A TRUE STORY











The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us. Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff.


She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. 'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.'

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying.


She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found.


Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.' She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'


Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!


The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why you want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do; I'll carry it for you.' I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.'


God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him...I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Our Lady's September 2, 2011 Message to Mirjana

the Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
September 02, 2011 Message to Mirjana

"Dear children; With all my heart and soul full of faith and love in the Heavenly Father, I gave my Son to you and am giving Him to you anew. My Son has brought you, the people of the entire world, to know the only true God and His love. He has led you on the way of truth and made you brothers and sisters. Therefore, my children, do not wander, do not close your heart before that truth, hope and love. Everything around you is passing and everything is falling apart, only the glory of God remains. Therefore, renounce everything that distances you from the Lord. Adore Him alone, because He is the only true God. I am with you and I will remain with you. I am especially praying for the shepherds that they may be worthy representatives of my Son and may lead you with love on the way of truth. Thank you."