1. On August 25th 2020, the visionary Marija Pavlovic received the following monthly message:
"Dear children! This is a time of grace. I am with you and anew am calling you, little children: return to God and to prayer until prayer will be a joy for you. Little children, you do not have a future or peace until your life begins with a personal conversion and a change to the good. Evil will cease and peace will begin to reign in your hearts and in the world. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray. I am with you and intercede before my Son Jesus for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
2. The high places of true power. A few days ago we welcomed here at home a long-time priest friend who has a wonderful ministry: he opens up chapels of perpetual adoration in various parishes. Father Justo Lofeudo is an "itinerant" priest of the Diocese of Toulon (France), traveling from country to country and city to city in response to his ardent desire to ensure that the Savior is present in the Eucharist among His people, to be loved and adored day and night by those who are willing to stand watch with Him for the world (PS1). The true power, of course, is the power of love: love for the living Christ! When the apparitions began here, the blessed Mother expressed her wish that a chapel of perpetual adoration to be set up in all the parishes. We are still a long way off, but there is hope! Those who get involved in this effort are delighted, given the graces that flow from this accomplishment in their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. How could it be any other way?! Who better than the Creator of the world to bless His children and spread upon them the beautiful gifts they thirst for!
Father Justo has dozens of concrete examples, for he has seen with his own eyes the unexpected transformation of so many people who have become "adorers", sometimes without even knowing Christ very well. He has seen Jesus working on the inner emptiness that afflicts so many people today, not to mention the terrible disease of despair!
Here is one story he told: "A woman was going to end her life because she saw herself as a complete failure. At 4 a.m., on a winter's night, she left her house, determined to throw herself off a bridge into the river. But in the darkness, she went the wrong way and turned right instead of left. Suddenly she was drawn by a light that she saw. All she could see was a tiny light and she couldn't tell that this was a chapel. Something moved her toward it, and when she got to the door, she saw that it was open. She walked in, and suddenly found herself standing before the Lord! She collapsed, fell to her knees, and began to cry. In her heart, she understood everything: The One who called her, the One who stood before her, is the Resurrection and the Life! Far from committing suicide, she found hope again, because she was no longer alone. This happened in 2008 in Prato, Italy, where there are now two chapels of Perpetual Adoration."
Why is this transformative power of the heart so evident in the lives of those who adore Jesus? Why do they obtain so many graces and so many benefits for themselves and for others? Someone walking into a chapel of perpetual Adoration sees nothing special there, nothing to attract the senses. People sit, kneel or stand, motionless, in deep silence. The only peculiarity is that everyone is staring at a monstrance placed on a small altar or in an open tabernacle, and Jesus is there, very humbly, in the form of the Eucharistic Bread. But His entire divine person, all his power, all his immense love is concentrated in this living host... For the whole world, this simple place becomes a place of healing, liberation, outpouring of the Holy Spirit, peace, conversion and reconciliation! Also a place of reparation, so dear to our Lord.
My favorite testimony is that of Trieste, a story that has become famous in Italy. This city had the highest rate of suicides in Italy and in all of Europe for that matter. In 2005, Father Justo launched his first chapel of perpetual Adoration in the heart of the city. According to official City Hall reports published in the local newspapers, within just one year, the number of suicides dropped dramatically, by more than half! Yes, these chapels are indeed an oasis of peace in our stormy and restless world.
3. Just a simple gaze... When an "adorer" looks at Jesus, he should know that the rays of life and love that emanate from the host touch his heart, but do not stop there! They go far beyond the heart, reaching out to God's children present in the city and all over the world. Jesus is always active, always creating, and creating anew. Hence the well-known phenomenon that is still true today: Set up a chapel of perpetual adoration in a city, and within a few years, the good gains ground over evil which melts away little by little, like snow in the sun: a significant decrease in divorces and all kinds of divisions, abortions, drugs, thefts, suicides, crimes, Satanism, occult practices, rapes and other sexual assaults... Where the Evil One divides, where the homicides reign, on the contrary God gathers His children and invigorates them. In Medjugorje, the Mother of God gives the ultimate key to true ecumenism by recalling that Christ is the central hub of our unity: "Dear children, today I invite you to become lovers of the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar.Adore it, little children, in your parishes, and thereby you will be united with the whole world." (09.25.95)
It's important to note that it's not about going there to "feel something." Of course, Jesus sometimes allows us to feel His presence, but not feeling it does not mean that nothing is happening. If we go to a Holy Hour with the sincere desire to spend time with Jesus, to keep Him company (actually, he is in fact the One who is keeping us company!), even if we end up there by chance, when we leave we are changed and enriched with a new peace. In many cases, a light is shed on a decision we need to make. However, with God, there is nothing magical or automatic. As is the case in any truly loving relationship, every exchange is new and creative, it is about two souls that mysteriously unite, with moments of sweetness and moments of struggle. "Watch and pray with me," said Jesus to His disciples, "so that you will not fall into temptation... (Matthew 26:41). It would take many pages to tell you here about all the benefits of a Holy Hour for those who commit to it, and also its healing power for the world.
Saint Faustina tells us: "Nocturnal Adoration today. I couldn't attend because of poor health, but before I fell asleep I united in spirit with the sisters at Adoration. When I immersed in prayer, I was transported in spirit to the chapel, and I saw Jesus in the monstrance, but instead of the monstrance, I saw the glorious face of the Lord, Who said to me, "What you are seeing in reality, these souls see through faith. Oh, how pleasing I find their great faith. You see that, although ostensibly there is no trace of life in me, yet in reality the fullness of that life is there, contained in every Host; but if I am to work in a soul, it must have faith." (Diary, ยง 1419 and 1420)
Faith and trust... 2 major keys to move God's heart toward his children and unleash His power of love in their lives!
4. Multiplications keep happening! A worry that disturbs the peace of so many people today is the fear of lack of food, or a famine. The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus has exacerbated poverty for the poor, and diminished the wealth of many rich people. Far be it from me to provide an analysis of the current situation. I simply wish to remind everyone that the Lord's arm has not become any shorter, and that fear should have no place in our hearts as believers. Two small instances, among many others, from the One who multiplied the loaves and fishes...
In the spring of 2002, my sister Florence had to take care of our house in Medjugorje while I was away on a prolonged mission. Before leaving, I showed her some thirty audio cassettes that were stored in a display window, and told her "If pilgrims want any cassettes, you can offer them these." I left for my mission, and when I got back, I found the exact same number of tapes in the window. "No one came to get any tapes," I said, "too bad!" "Actually, she said, "many pilgrims came, and I sold some almost every day! I also gave many away for free." I smiled in silence, for after so many years of consecration, I had begun to know the One who is my divine Bridegroom... She added: "Every time I went to get a tape, I found the same number!" No comment!
During the same period, her daughter had rented a room in the city for a fasting and prayer retreat with a friend for 9 days. They had bought a loaf of bread for the first day, and in the evening there was some left. But the next day they didn't have to buy another loaf of bread. To their surprise, they found the previous day's bread whole, intact, as if it had just come from the bakery. In short, during their entire retreat, they never had to buy bread! It reappeared every day. This being said, they were not so poor that they could not afford to buy their daily bread. So I asked the Lord, "Why are you doing this?" And Jesus gave me to understand that He simply wanted to prepare us for the difficult times in the future, should significant shortages occur, for He is as alive today as he was 2,000 years ago. He reminds us of His own words, inviting us to ask with faith in order to receive in abundance and - especially - be able to share.
But that isn't all! Jesus sometimes also multiplies gasoline in cars, or change in one's pocket... We see in the Gospel that He was very laid-back with respect to earthly goods. When He did not have enough money to pay the tax for himself and Peter, He did not make any big calculations because, working with all His might for the Kingdom of God, He knew that His Father would not fail to provide for His needs. His trust in the Father and His active goodness inspired Him to find the necessary coin in a fish (Matt 17:27). There is a reason this story is told, because it confirms the words of Jesus: "But seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well." (Matt 6:33). This does not only happen in Medjugorje, but in the life of every true believer. Jesus dreams of giving more and more, for He loves us so much! Why then underestimate His goodness, why behave like orphans and fall into the slavery of fear? To believe means to adhere in Hebrew, and adhering means to be united with the One to which one adheres. Faith in God is demanding, but a source of such joy! You have to ask for it.
God provides not only for our needs with humanly inexplicable signs, but more often than not through simple events where one can discern His hand as a loving and merciful Father... If only the Church lived with the faith of our fathers, like in the early Church, moved by the Holy Spirit! They had nothing, but they had everything!
5. Vicka celebrated her 56th birthday on September 3rd and on this occasion the Blessed Mother prayed with her and kissed her, as she does every year. Vicka told me that the Gospa kisses "like everyone else," and she mimicked it. She does what Croatian moms do, a simple kiss on each cheek. But for Vicka, the joy she receives is so extraordinary that she begins the countdown a whole month before her birthday. We will all experience this joy in Heaven... Just be patient! Don't miss the beautiful photos on the YouTube video https://youtu.be/8ZN-HNthSdI
6. Don't miss these videos!
- Devour the Book Which Tells the Truth! (27:44)
With Sr. Emmanuel and her guest, Ralph Martin, NEW!
(Don't miss to walk in God's Light in this time of confusion!)
Dearest Gospa, we do not know what the future holds! But we are in peace, for our only true future is your Son Jesus, our only true refuge is His Heart, united with your Immaculate Heart. And you are preparing for victory over evil.
Sister Emmanuel +
Community of the Beatitudes
(Translated from French)
PS 1. Father Justo's website https://goo.gl/ZJrJWEwill offer you treasures in books, videos, DVDs commentaries of daily gospel. Most of them are in Spanish and Italian, but some are in English too.
PS2. The DVD on Garabandal was released on September 8th! This film was released at the beginning of the year in movie theaters, and has already been a great success. Please click DVD Garabandal.
Fatima - the movie is available in English. This film beautifully portrays the apparitions of Our Lady to Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia in Portugal from 13 May - 13 October 1917. Click the link to watch the movie:
PS 4. Make friends in Heaven! Pray to the Saints before their feast day!
On Sept 23th, Feast of Padre Pio (Novena from 15 to 23 Sep.)
On Sept 29th, feast of the 3 Archangels, Saints Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, (novena 21 to 29 September)
On October 1st, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus (novena from 22 September to 1 October)
On October 5th, St. Faustina Kowalska (novena from 27 September to 5 October)
On October 15th, St. Teresa of Avila (novena from 7 to 15 October)
On October 16th, St. Marguerite Marie Alacoque, from Paray le Monial, (novena from 8 to 16 October)
October 22nd, St. John Paul II, (novena from 14 to 22 October) etc.
PS 5. On September 1st, the parish evening program moved to its winter schedule: Rosary at 5 p.m., international Mass at 6 p.m., healing prayer and 3rd rosary at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament immediately after Mass, so at 7 p.m., and on Friday evenings, veneration of the Cross at 7 p.m. The English translation can be found HERE
PS6. During this time of restricted movement to other countries, some of you may want to read one (or more) of my books. They can be purchased from whichever continent you live on! If you would like to buy one for yourself or for a friend you can buy the paperback or e-book at the following links:
PS12. Our Lady is hoping to hear from you! Give joy to her heart, write to her your gratitude and your needs at "Queen of Peace", BP 2157, F-06103 Nice Cedex, France. Your letter will be given to a visionary, and Mary will answer you in prayer.
