Dear  brothers  and  sisters,    Ave  Maria!      After   explaining   the   truth   about  marriage   and   the   error   in   divorce,   Jesus   on   Sunday’s   Gospel   (Mk.  

10:17-­‐30)   tells  us  how  “to   inherit  eternal   life.”  This  Life   is  not  attained  simply  by  performing  religious  obligations,  but  by  coming  into  an  intimacy  with  him.  Thus,  his  invitation:  “Come,  follow  me.”  

To  help  us  follow  Jesus  and  enter  into  a  close  relationship  with  him,  he  gave  us  his  mother:  “I  am  the  way   along  which   you  must   travel   if   you  want   to   reach   your   Lord   and   Savior”   (398   i).  We  will   read  Message  398:  “I  Am  Bringing  You  to  Jesus”  from  the  book  “To  the  Priests  Our  Lady’s  Beloved  Sons.”      I.      GOSPEL  READING  (Mark  10:17-­‐30)  

As  He  was  setting  out  on  a   journey,  a  man  ran  up  to  Him  and  knelt  before  Him,  and  asked  Him,  “Good   Teacher,  what   shall   I   do   to   inherit   eternal   life?”   Jesus   said   to   him,   “Why   do   you   call  Me  good?  No  one   is  good  except  God  alone.  You  know   the  commandments:  Do  not  murder.  Do  not  commit  adultery.  Do  not  steal.  Do  not  bear  false  witness.  Do  not  defraud.  Honor  your  father  and  mother.”  And  he  replied,  “Teacher,  I  have  kept  all  these  things  from  my  youth  up.”  Looking  at  him,  Jesus  felt  a  love  for  him  and  said  to  him,  “One  thing  you  lack:  go  and  sell  all  you  possess  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  you  will  have  treasure  in  heaven;  then  come,  follow  Me.”  

At   these   words   he   was   saddened.   He   went   away   grieving,   for   he   was   one   who   owned   much  property.   Jesus,   looking   around,   said   to   His   disciples,   “How   hard   it   will   be   for   those   who   are  wealthy  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God!”  The  disciples  were  amazed  at  His  words.  Jesus  answered  again  and   said   to   them,  “Children,  how  hard   it   is   to  enter   the  kingdom  of  God!   It   is   easier   for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.”  They  were  even  more  astonished  and  said   to  Him,  “Then  who  can  be  saved?”   Looking  at   them,   Jesus  said,  “With  people  it  is  impossible,  but  not  with  God;  for  all  things  are  possible  with  God.”    

Peter  began  to  say  to  Him,  “Behold,  we  have  left  everything  and  followed  You.”  Jesus  said,  “Truly  I  say  to  you,  there  is  no  one  who  has  left  house  or  brothers  or  sisters  or  mother  or  father  or  children  or  farms,  for  My  sake  and  for  the  gospel’s  sake,  but  that  he  will  receive  a  hundred  times  as  much  now   in   the   present   age,   houses   and   brothers   and   sisters   and  mothers   and   children   and   farms,  along  with  persecutions;  and  in  the  age  to  come,  eternal  life.”  

28th  Sunday  in  the  Ordinary  Time  (Year  B)  October  11,  2015    

No.  46  

2014  -­‐  2015    

SUNDAY  REFLECTION  On  the  Word  of  the  Lord  and  the  Message  of  Our  Lady    

A  Guide  on  Living  Our  Consecration  to  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary    

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 Points  for  Reflection    1. “What  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?”    

For  most  Jews,  “eternal  life”  meant  prosperity  and  contentment,  lived  not  only  in  this  life  but  also  thereafter   in   eternity.   But,   though   material   possessions   are   indeed   blessings,   they   cannot  guarantee   eternal   life,  which   is  what   the  man  was   looking   for.   However,  mortal   as   he  was,   he  could   not   obtain   it   by   himself   by   doing   laudable   deeds   like   following   the   commandments.   God  alone,  who  is  eternal,  can  give  this  Life.  We  hear  the  Psalm  (Ps.  90:12-­‐17)  say:  “Let  Your  work  be  seen  by  Your  servants,  Your  glory  by  their  children.”  Real  prosperity  and  contentment  comes  from  God!  Thus,  we  pray  in  response.  “Fill  us  with  Your  love,  O  Lord,  and  we  will  sing  for  joy.”      

2. “Come  and  follow  Me.”    

Probably,  the  man  did  not  know  this.  Having  adhered  to  the  commandments  since  his  youth,  he  approached  the  Lord  with  his  question  and  to  his  consternation  was  told:  “One  thing  you  lack:  go  and   sell   all   you  possess  and  give   to   the  poor,   and   you  will   have   treasure   in  heaven;   then   come,  follow  Me.”  

This  is  the  “wisdom  of  the  heart”  which  we  hear  from  the  Psalm  (Ps.  90:12-­‐17):  “Return,  O  Lord!  How  long?”   It   speaks   of   a   longing   for   the   Lord,   Jesus   –   the   Living   Word   of   God,   who   can   “discern  reflections  and  thoughts  of  the  heart,”  as  the  Second  Reading  (Heb.  4:12-­‐13)  tells  us.  Thus,  probing  the  heart  of  the  rich  man  in  the  gospel,  and  seeing  the  “one  thing”  lacking  in  him,  Our  Lord  looked  at   him   with   love   and   invited   him   to   give   up   everything   in   order   to   follow   Him.   Observing   the  commandments,  which  was  God’s  path   to   life,   could  only  get  us   so   far.  Only  by  wholeheartedly    following  Him,   the  eternal  God-­‐made-­‐man,  over   and  beyond  everything   and  everyone  else,   can  man  “inherit  eternal  life.”  But,  instead  of  rousing  the  man  to  joy,  this  “wisdom  of  the  heart”  made  him  “sad,”  for  his  heart  was  full  of  other  riches.      

3. “For  all  things  are  possible  with  God.”  

After  this  encounter,  Jesus  told  His  disciples  how  difficult  it  is  for  the  rich  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  were  startled  because  they  considered  material  possessions  per  se  to  be  a  sign  of  God’s  favor  on  “good  people”,  who  therefore  should  be  the  first  to  enter  the  Kingdom.  If  that’s  not  the  case,  then  “who  can  be  saved?”  Jesus’  reply  was  plain  and  simple:  ““With  people  it  is  impossible,  but  not  with  God;  for  all  things  are  possible  with  God.”      Here,  Jesus  was  presenting  to  them  another  “wisdom  of  the  heart”  from  the  First  Reading  (Wis.  7:7-­‐

11).  It  is  wisdom  that  responds  to  God’s  call  with  seeing  “all  gold  a  little  sand”  and  “silver  accounted  as  mire.”  Wisdom  is  greater  than  the  good  things  money  can  buy;  “yet  all  good  things  together  came  to  me  in  her  company,  and  countless  riches  at  her  hand.”    Responding  to  the  call  will  look  at  material  possessions  as  nothing  if  they  are  separated  from  the  goal  of  obtaining  eternal  life  in  Christ.  

Jesus  assures  his  disciples  that  those  who  have  given  up  everything  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  would  be   rewarded  as  a   result  of   their   renunciation.  They  would   receive   for  all   eternity  what  material  possessions  could  only  provide  imperfectly  and  temporarily.  Emptying  themselves,  their  lives  will  be  full,  now  and  for  all  eternity.  

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   II. OUR  LADY’S  MESSAGE:  “I  AM  BRINGING  YOU  TO  JESUS”  (Message  398)    

 February  2,  1989  

Feast  of  the  Presentation  of  the  Child  Jesus  Milan,  Italy  

 

a. Beloved  sons,  live  with  joy  the  mystery  of  the  Presentation  of  the  Child  Jesus  in  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  with  docility  let  yourselves  also  be  carried  in  my  motherly  arms.    

b. Forty  days  after  his  birth,  in  fulfillment  of  the  prescriptions  of  the  Law,  together  with  my  most  chaste  spouse,  Joseph,  I  go  up  to  the  temple  both  to  offer  to  the  Lord  my  first-­‐born  Son  and  to  carry  out  the  sacrifice  prescribed  for  his  ransom.  With  what  love,  I  clasp  the  Child  Jesus  in  my  motherly  arms!  And  with  what  docility  and  filial  abandonment  the  little  Babe  allows  Himself  to  be  carried  by  me,  as  I  press  Him  with  boundless  tenderness  to  my  Heart.    

c. And  carried,  presented  and  offered  by  the  Mother,  Jesus  enters  into  the  glory  of  his  temple.    

d. Jesus  enters  into  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  because  for  Him,  the  Messiah,  Lord  and  Redeemer,  it  was  built  and  sanctified.    

e. Jesus  comes,  in  the  splendor  of  his  glory,  and  takes  possession  of  his  divine  dwelling  place.    

f. Jesus  is  manifested  in  the  splendor  of  his  light  for  revelation  to  all  the  gentiles.    

g. Jesus  is  announced  in  advance  as  a  sign  of  contradiction,  for  the  salvation  and  ruin  of  many  in  Israel.    

h. Jesus   is   received   into   the   arms   of   old   Simeon   as   the  Messiah   awaited   for   centuries   and   as  Savior  of  his  people.    

i. And   within   the   mystery   of   his   mission,   there   is   intimately   engrafted   the   unfolding   of   my  motherly  function:  ‘As  for  you,  O  Mother,  a  sword  shall  pierce  your  soul’  (Lk.  2:35).  Because  my  duty  as  Mother   is  that  of  bringing  Jesus  to  you  and  of  bringing  you  all  to  Jesus.   I  am  the  way  along  which  you  must  travel  if  you  want  to  reach  your  Lord  and  Savior.    

j. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus.    

k. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Truth.  This  is  why  in  these  times,  when  many  are  leaving  the  faith  to  follow  errors,  I  am  intervening  with  my  numerous  and  extraordinary  manifestations,  in  order  to  lead  you  all  to  the  full  truth  of  the  Gospel.  You  must  be  only  the  lived-­‐out  Gospel  so  that  you  too  may  be  able  to  give  the  light  of  the  truth.    

l. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Life.  This  is  why  today,  when  many  are  falling  into  the  darkness  of  sin  and  of  death,  I  am  helping  you  through  my  strong  presence  in  your  midst,  to  live  in  the  grace  of  God,  so  that  you  also  can  share  in  the  very  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus.    

m. In  these  dark  times  of  the  great  tribulation,  if  you  do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be  carried  in  my  arms,   with   filial   abandonment   and   with   great   docility,   it   is   difficult   for   you   to   succeed   in  escaping   the   subtle   snares  which  my  Adversary   sets   for   you.  His   seductions  have  become  so  dangerous   and   subtle   that   hardly   anyone   any   longer   succeeds   in   escaping   them.   You   are  

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running  the  great  danger  of  falling  into  the  seduction,  which  my  Adversary  is  setting  for  you  in  order  to  draw  you  away  from  Jesus  and  from  me.    

n. All  can  fall   into  his   trap.  Priests  and  even  bishops  can  fall   into   it.  The  faithful  and  even  those  consecrated  can  fall  into  it.  The  simple  and  even  the  learned  can  fall  into  it.  The  disciples  and  even  the  masters  can  fall  into  it.    

o. Those  will  never  fall  into  it  who  –  as  little  children  –  consecrate  themselves  to  my  Immaculate  Heart  and  allow  themselves  to  be  carried  in  my  motherly  arms.  As  of  now,  it  will  become  ever  clearer  and  clearer  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world  that  the  little  flock  which,  in  these  years  of  the  great  apostasy,  will  remain  faithful  to  Jesus  and  to  his  Gospel,  will  be  entirely  protected  in  the  motherly  enclosure  of  my  Immaculate  Heart.    

p. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Way.  You  are  thus  led  by  Him  to  your  Heavenly  Father.  Jesus  is  the  perfect   Image  of   the   Father;  He   is   his   only-­‐begotten   Son;  He   is   the  Word   consubstantial  with  Him;  He  is  the  reflection  of  his  beauty;  He  is  the  revelation  of  his  love.    

q. Jesus  and  the  Father  are  one  single  being.  From  the  Father,  through  the  Son,  there  is  given  to  you   as   gift   the   Spirit   of   Love,   in   order   that   you   too   may   be   able   to   penetrate   into   the  stupendous  mystery  of  this  divine  Unity.    

r. If   Jesus  becomes  your  way,  you  come   into  the  arms  of  his,  and  your,  Heavenly  Father.   If  you  walk  with  Jesus,  you  carry  out  the  divine  Will  in  your  life,  with  that  love  and  that  docility  with  which  Jesus  has  always  done  the  Will  of  the  Father.  And  thus  you  live  with  the  confidence  and  the   abandonment  of   little   children  who  expect   and   receive   everything   as   a   gift   of   love   from  their  Father  who  is  in  heaven.    

s. And   then   I,   your   heavenly   Mother,   am   able   to   carry   you   each   day,   upon   the   altar   of   my  Immaculate  Heart,  to  the  temple  of  the  glory  and  the  light  of  the  Lord.  Thus  I  am  able  to  offer  you,  in  life,  to  the  perfect  glorification  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  and  by  means  of  you,  I  am  able  to  spread  everywhere  the  light  of  its  divine  splendor.    

t. When  this  light  will  have  illumined  and  transformed  the  whole  world,  Jesus  will  come  to  you  in  glory  to  restore  his  kingdom.  

 Points  for  Reflection  

In  her  message,  Our  Lady  brings  us  to  the  scene  of  the  Presentation  of  the  Child  Jesus  in  the  Temple.  Contemplating  this  mystery,  Our  Lady  shows  how  her  maternal   function  unfolds,   intimately  grafted  within  the  mystery  of  the  mission  of  Jesus.  “My  duty  as  Mother  is  that  of  bringing  Jesus  to  you  and  of  bringing  you  all  to  Jesus.  I  am  the  way  along  which  you  must  travel  if  you  want  to  reach  your  Lord  and  Savior”   (398   i).   She  helps  us   to   look  solely   to  her  Son   Jesus  as  our  great  Treasure  and  enables  us   to  have  only  him  as  our  Way,  Truth  and  Life.      1. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Truth.  (398  k)  

“I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Truth.  This  is  why  in  these  times,  when  many  are  leaving  the  faith  to  follow  errors,  I  am  intervening  with  my  numerous  and  extraordinary  manifestations,  in  order  to  lead  you  all  to  the  full  truth  of  the  Gospel.  You  must  be  only  the  lived-­‐out  Gospel  so  that  you  too  may  be  able  to  give  the  light  of  the  truth.”  

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No   less   than  Pope  Benedict  XVI  confirmed  this  when  during   the  celebration  of   the  Year  of  Faith  (October  11,  2012  –  November  24,  2013):  “This  year  is  aimed  primarily  at  the  whole  Church  so  that  in  the  face  of  the  dramatic  crisis  of   faith,  she  will  be  able  to  show  once  again  and  with  renewed  enthusiasm  the  true  face  of  Christ”  (Porta  Fidei,  On  the  Declaration  of  the  year  of  Faith).  

To  lead  us  to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  Our  Lady  intervenes  with  her  numerous  and  extraordinary  manifestations.  She  exhorts  us  to   live  out  the  Gospel   faithfully  “so  that   (we)  too  may  be  able  to  give  the  light  of  the  truth.”    

 2. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Life.  (398  l-­‐o)    

Likewise,  she  is  intervening  to  help  us  to  live  in  the  grace  of  God,  our  intimate  participation  in  the  very  life  of  Jesus,  even  as  “evil  and  sin  are  spreading  more  and  more  throughout  the  world.”   It  is  difficult  for  us  to  succeed  in  escaping  the  subtle  snares  of  the  devil  that  draw  us  away  from  Jesus  and  from  her.  In  these  times,  hardly  anyone  succeeds  in  escaping  them.    

She  tells  us   that  all   can   fall   into  his   trap  –  priests  and  even  bishops,   the   faithful  and  even  those  consecrated,   the   simple   and   even   the   learned,   the   disciples   and   even   the  masters.   “Those  will  never  fall  into  it  who,  as  little  children,  consecrate  themselves  to  my  Immaculate  Heart  and  allow  themselves  to  be  carried  in  my  motherly  arms.”    

 3. I  am  bringing  you  to  Jesus,  your  Way.  (398  p-­‐t)  

Jesus   is  our  way  to  the  Father,  the  perfect   icon  of  His  beauty  and   love.  Through  him,  the  Father  gives   the   Spirit,   bringing   us   into   the  mystery   of   the   Divine   Trinity.   In   life,   he   becomes   our  way  when  we  walk  with  him,  living  in  the  divine  Will,  which  he  himself  has  lived  with  love  and  docility.  Thus,  like  him,  we  too  can  be  confident  and  abandoned,  like  little  children  who  expect  and  receive  everything  as  a  gift  of  love  from  their  heavenly  Father.    

 

With   this,  Our   Lady   is   able   to   help   us   each   day,   through   her   Immaculate  Heart,   to   give   perfect  glory  to  the  Most  Holy  Trinity.  And  by  means  of  us,  she  will  be  able  to  spread  everywhere  the  light  of  the  divine  splendor  of  the  Lord.    

“When  this   light  will  have   illumined  and   transformed  the  whole  world,   Jesus  will   come  to  you   in  glory  to  restore  his  kingdom.”  

 God  bless  you  all!      Yours  in  the  Immaculate  Heart,  Fr.  Omer    

Note:  This  reflection  is  shared  with  all  cenacle  and  other  prayer  groups  (priests  and  laity),  communities  and  Marian  organizations,  associations  and  movements  within  and  outside  of  the  Philippines,  with  Our  Lady’s  words  transcribed  verbatim  for  those  who  do  not  have  copies  of  the  messages.  This  may  also  be  shared  with  private  individuals  for  their  personal  use.    Our  Lady's  messages  are  taken  from  the  book:  "To  the  Priests  Our  Lady's  Beloved  Sons",  a  compilation  of  604  messages  in  the  form  of  locutions  given  by  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  through  Fr.  Stefano  Gobbi  of  Italy.  Imprimatur:    Bishop  Donald  W.  Montrose,  D.D.,  1998                                                  Archbishop  Francesco  Cuccarese,  2007