Fr.Jozo's reflection of November 25, 2007 Message from Our Lady

( Photo taken from http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.org.uk/com50/sharing.shtml)

“Dear children! Today, when you celebrate Christ, the King of all that is created, I desire for Him to be the King of your lives. Only through giving, little children, can you comprehend the gift of Jesus´ sacrifice on the Cross for each of you. Little children, give time to God that He may transform you and fill you with His grace, so that you may be a grace for others. For you, little children, I am a gift of grace and love, which comes from God for this peaceless world. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
~ Message of November 25, 2007


My dear brothers and sisters,I invite you to profoundly immerse with me into this message which, atfirst sight, seems simple and seems to us that we have understood it.However, it is very demanding and encompassing because it embraces theessence of the Gospel and the fundamental existence of an individualand of the Church. Namely, it is necessary to awaken faith in Jesus,who is the King of all that is created. The almighty Word of Godcreated everything and then became Man. All Creation is redeemed. “InHim we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins…by him all thingswere created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all thingswere created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in himall things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the Church;he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that ineverything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have allhis fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself allthings, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peacethrough his blood shed on the cross.” {Col 114-20)Yes, as a Christian I know who my Creator is. I know who my Redeemer is, and to whom I belong. Therefore, Christ the King, by His power andDivine Love destroys all idols and false friends and redeemers. I knowthat He alone is my God and my all. I know that my heart will never beat rest or at peace if it does not rest in Him. For this reason, mylife will serve Him alone, and for Him alone my soul shall live. Forthis reason, I have only one longing – to completely give myself to Himand to belong to Him. He has shown His love by His sacrifice andcomplete self-giving; by His surrender for my peace, my salvation andmy eternal life. With all of my being I desire to enter into the very core of that Loveand to respond to the greatest challenge of love. How am I to do this?It is through my surrender. Our Lady tells us that only through givingwill we be able to comprehend the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Crossfor each of us. Yes, we are to respond to Love, with love. And there isno greater love than this - to give one’s life for one’s friends. OurLord says so simply, “You are my friends”. How are we then to respondto this grace with our life and how are we to live it? The Queen ofPeace tells us that it is through giving. Our giving is the beginningof this way of faith and love. She also tells us what it is that wehave to give, “ Little children, give time to God.” Today I must begin with the basic step: I must find time for God. Sooften we hear the most frequent and most empty excuse, “I don’t havetime.” The family is persecuted through television programs which areadvertised as offering something for everyone.After their successful and persevering manipulation we feel enslaved: Ihave to follow this or that program or series. Unnoticeably we becomeenslaved, glued to the television, the newspapers or the like.How are we to be freed form this bondage? By giving time to God. Myfirst step must begin with a firm resolution – to find time for prayer,to find time to listen to the Word of God and to find time to meet withHim alone, in the silence of my heart, in the Sacraments, in my crossand in my trials. Without giving this time to the Lord, today and everyday, without time spent with Him, I cannot advance in holiness. I willturn my faith into a debate, a criticism and an anguished calculationof how much I have served and invested as opposed to how much I havereceived or didn’t receive. This is not to be my way. This is not theway on which the Mother directs me today in this teaching and message.I desire to gaze at my King and to come to know Him. The shortest wayis for me to look at Him and listen to Him as He speaks to me from Histhrone, the Cross,.Yes, finally, I must understand that God is the One who can transformmy heart and my life. Finally, I must realize that He, and He alone,can fill my heart with grace - with Himself. That gift of grace willopen the eyes of my heart that I may see and discern love from blindselfishness; that I may come to know humility and distinguish it frommy arrogance; that I may come to know goodness and distinguish it frommy cunningness. Finally, led by the Holy Spirit , I come to discoverthat the Cross is my freedom, my way, my life, my peace and mystrength.The power of God’s love which never ceases flowing from the Cross willnot only transform and change me, it will enable me to fulfill thebasic assignment of the Church – to be an apostle for others and togive good example to all, consciously and with love.My dear brothers and sisters, I must admit with sincerity that OurLady’s statement from her message struck me deeply when she said, thatshe is a gift of grace and love, which comes to us from God for thispeaceless world. The most holy and humble Mother is not afraid to tellus the truth about her mission. She is a gift of grace, a gift for us.She does good to all. She brings God and His graces to us. She is theArk of the Covenant. She, who is full of grace, gives us the gift ofher presence and by her example inspires us to all that is good.She is a gift that cannot be earned. She and her love are simply a giftto us, poor sinners. That is why her life is Noah’s rainbow proclaimingthat there will not be another flood. She is a sign that life ispresent on earth. Yes, she is a sign that man has a blessing on thisearth; that he has grace and salvation. She is a sign that man willnever again be cursed because there is the gift of grace and love thatcomes from God. Not only does she give and bring God to us but she alsoleads us to God. Inasmuch as she is a gift and sign to all, she asksthat I too be a grace for others.This is the strength of a Christian. He is not just a pale sign or mereinformation about God, but is a bearer of grace to others. For thisreason the mission of the Church is close to us - to make all peopleHis disciples. This message is most dear and close to me. It is yet anotherinspiration to Christian action and witness of the Gospel. With thismessage we begin the time of Advent. This is a time of preparation andexpectation of our Lord Jesus. Let us strive to give our utmost to be agrace to others and an inspiration to all to seek the Lord. Christmasis more than a custom or a traditional solemnity with candles anddecorations. Christmas is the acceptance of the Lord and His Mother.This message knocks on our hearts as on the doors of Bethlehem whichremain closed to this very day. Let us open our hearts through, prayer,fasting, good works and holiness of life. Without Jesus there is noChristmas. Without His Mother there is no Christmas or His gifts. Letus open ourselves and others to those gifts.This month we will pray for the following intentions:1. For all our Christian families that in this Advent they may becomeopen to the Lord and His Mother through Dawn Masses, prayer, and the Sacraments. For all the families who are in conflict, who do notpray, and who do not live Christmas joy and hope.2. For all the Bishops and Priests. For all the missionaries and thosewho proclaim the Gospel to prepare the way to the Lord, and show itwith their lives.3. For the visionaries and for our Prayer Family scattered like theseed throughout so many countries and among so many nations – thatat this holy time they may bear rich fruit by living the messages ofthe Queen of Peace.Most beloved brothers and sisters, as I write these thoughts andreflect on these words of grace and inspiration from the message, Ipray for each of you, holding you in the great heart of the ImmaculateVirgin. May God’s grace and peace accompany you during these days. Ipray for each of you and send you my brotherly greetings as I recommendmyself to your prayers.

Most sincerely yours,Fr.Jozo Zovko, ofm.

"Dear children! God sent me among you out of love that I may lead you towards the way of salvation. Many of you opened your hearts and accepted my messages, but many have become lost on this way and have never come to know the God of love with the fullness of heart. Therefore, I call you to be love and light where there is darkness and sin. I am with you and bless you all. Thank you for having responded to my call."

Dear Prayer Family,Once again, the Queen of Peace explains to us in her message the goal of her apparitions. The ultimate goal and source is the love of God, which sent the Mother to us to lead us towards salvation. Salvation is a grace and a call to which we need to respond. We can either accept or reject it. God has an immeasurable respect for man whom He created in His own image. He always respects his freedom and his free will. According to our decision, we are then rewarded or rejected.This is why we have the great men, our saints, who even in the most difficult moments or situations knew how to respond to God's call and to His will. They knew how to persevere on that way despite frequent and difficult trials. Everything God did or said is out of love. When we look at the Cross, that greatest sign is only out of love - the death and reconciliation with the Father are only out of love. When we look at the Church, the Sacraments, the Revelation, and people who are happy, all of this is out of love. All creation that gives glory to God is a fruit of that immeasurable love of God. Salvation is the meaning of the Incarnation and the goal of the life of Our Savior, of His preaching, and of His works. All of that is only love and out of love.This message so clearly speaks to me about different kinds of people - about those that have accepted Our Lady's apparitions and messages and those who have rejected all of them or have not recognized them at all. When the Mother tells us that many have opened their hearts and accepted her messages, we recognize and hear her speaking directly to us. She is speaking to our Prayer Community and Family of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Elizabeth. It is not easy to have an open heart to our Mother and her messages.The opening of our hearts is much more than a pilgrimage in which we fulfill our promises. There is no alternative to the opening of our hearts. With the help of God, we have decided to open our hearts to her every message and to live it. Our Lady's messages leave us free, but she continuously urges us to live them. How immeasurably important it is to put every message into practice. The one who lives the messages is not disposed to debating about the messages and the apparitions - instead he strives to bear all the more abundant fruit.Without us, Our Lady cannot realize her programs and plans. For this reason, everyone is important. To respond to the call and to live the messages today is similar to a life of a religious community which has its vows, its goals, and its mission. To fulfill this, all the gifts and means are used as a source of grace, helping in the realization of that goal. Our prayer group has set out to follow Our Lady so that, at any cost, with our life and our heart, we can accept the message in today's world. The fruits are immeasurable. They are daily conversions. Especially this year, there has been a great multitude of Croatian pilgrims who, like the prodigal son, have set out to return to the Father. How many pilgrims are new, coming for the first time! In my heart, I don't see them as being late, but as standing before the same responsibility and call of the Mother to start to live what the Mother is saying today and now. There must be those who pray the Rosary and the Novenas. There must be those who fast for all the pilgrims, like we do, so that they can hear the message and respond to it. There must be those, who with their prayers, accompany the conversions, the confessors, and the confessions, so that every penitent may remove the old self and be clothed in the new- so that every penitent can return joyful to his family and community. Once again, we are called to be love and light to all those who have been overcome by darkness and sin. Imagine how cunningly Satan used a plastic Rosary as a target, saying that it has evil signs. Dear brothers and sisters, I am obliged to tell you the complete truth about this. Satanic signs and symbols exist. Those who belong to him and to his projects exist. His goal is always to destroy prayer and everything that is from God. There is no satanic Rosary or a factory that makes satanic Rosaries. Every Rosary that is blessed receives a blessing and becomes a certain sign in the hands of one who prays it. The right question in prayer is 'how we pray' and not on 'what kind of a Rosary we pray on or what material it is made of.'The Chalice, the vestments for Mass, the Church, and the Altar all must be blessed and consecrated because they are to serve only God and His programs. A consecrated and blessed object can be abused, just like a blessed Rosary can. You must not have fear or doubt. Every blessed Rosary is a call to prayer and a means in our hand which we use in prayer. Through some, Satan succeeded in focusing the discussion on the type of a Rosary in order to stop people from praying and to confuse the faithful. Do not be afraid. Do not throw away the Rosaries that you received in Medjugorje which have been blessed for prayer. Our Lady often calls us to have a blessed object or sign with us. The Rosary is a sign of your faith and your reliance on God. It is a sign of your prayer and love for Our Lady. Do not permit the enemy to disturb you. You just pray. Be a sign to those who have not come to know the God of love.Our Lady says that many have become lost on the way of faith and love and have never come to know God. Why is this? It is in the nature of man to seek love, to be loved and to love. How is it that there are those who have not come to know the God of love? God is not a theory, a shallow discussion, or a fruitless study. We do not come to know vain thoughts of God. God became man. The one who does not love man can never love God. The one who does not love and accept Jesus, His teaching and His Church can never come to know the God of love. So many religions are full of fear and uncertainty. They have never received confirmation from God of their way. Your faith has, and your Church is your certainty. Therefore, you help the pagans of today to find God. Some have rejected Medjugorje without observing the fruits and the graces. Why? Many try to cover up their fear, weakness, and poverty of arrogance in various ways and through various excuses - such as waiting for the final decision of the Church. Others find the excuse that they are not obliged to believe private revelations. Our Lady does not analyze the weaknesses which have closed the hearts of many. She just says that many have become lost on this way and have never come to know the God of love with their heart. She calls us to be the love and the light where there is darkness and sin.