Fr. Martin’s reflection on - Our Lady’s Message

25^th November 2025

“Dear children! In this time of grace, I am calling you to follow me. Pray for those who do not pray and do not want peace and joy, which only the Most High can give. May your souls be united in the joy of expectancy and your heart will be filled with peace. You will be convinced, little children, that all will be good and that God will bless all; because the good that you give will return to you, and joy will enfold your heart because you are with God and in God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

(With Ecclesiastical approval)

Dear Brother’s and Sister’s of Medjugorje North East and beyond, Our Lady never stops loving us, Our Lady , Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of God is the Mother of us all, and she opens up the way to God for each of us. Let us believe in Our Lady’s love, let us trust in her love, and so walk the path of Faith and holiness she traces for us today.

Our Lady begins this message by reminding us that we are in a ‘Time of Grace.’ With Mary’s coming to Medjugorje , we entered into a special time , a privileged period in Church history , where we were invited into the school of Our Lady , and in that school , we received the gift of Praying with the heart, i.e. praying with faith and love at a deeper level. When Our Lady says we are in a time of Grace, it is the time of her presence with us, when she shows us the path to conversion.

We have also begun the season of Advent. A holy spiritual time of preparation and renewal, a time of vigilance and prayer to prepare us for the Nativity of our Saviour. Advent points us forward as we await the Blessed hope , for the coming of God’s kingdom. This too is the time of Grace, and Mary accompanies us along the way.

Then Our Lady says, “ I am calling you to follow me , pray for those who do not pray, and do not want peace and joy, which only the Most High can give.”

Our Lady asks us to follow her. Hers was way of humble faith and complete trust in God. Hers was the way of surrender and abandonment to the will of God, and was happy to do his will. She was the one who pondered and treasured the mysterious events of her Son’s life, death and Resurrection, and even at the darkest moment of Calvary, she never doubted. She was the first Disciple of the Lord, and whose heart was always saying ‘yes’ to God.

She calls us to follow her Faith and love for Jesus. To follow the path of humble service.

Then our Lady asks us to ‘Pray for those who do not pray.’

For those who have forgotten the love of God in Christ Jesus, for those who think they are too busy to pray, for those who have become overwhelmed by the cares and worries of life. Our Lady asks us to pray for them. To make intercession for them, that hearts will open to the gift of prayer, as a flower opens to the sun’s rays. We need to be generous and disciplined in deciding for prayer, because our Lady reminds us that there are some who do not want ‘peace and Joy’. Which come from God, the Most High.

“ May your souls be united in the Joy of expectancy and your heart be filled with peace.” Our Lady speaks of the ‘soul’ and ‘Heart.’ - the deepest place of the human person. It is at the deepest level of our being, that God wants to touch us. We should often pray for the gift of an ‘Expectant faith.’ A Faith that believes in the love and action of God in our lives, a Faith that helps us to see Gods presence in us and around us.

“You will be convinced little children, that all will be good, and that God will bless all, because the good that you give will return to you.”

God is the Father of goodness, and only desires to give to his children all that is good. Our Lady wants us to be convinced about this. This is the conviction of Faith, that does not disappoint. That means not allowing negativity or sadness to take root within us. It means walking the path of Faith , like Our Lady convinced of the love of God. For it is only through love, like the love of Our Lady, that we can do deeds for others that bring us great blessing’s. It is not the quantity of good deeds , but rather the inner sentiment with which the deed is done. Love is the inner strength and power that makes each accompanied deed immeasurable and eternally effective.

The ’Joy and peace’ , towards which Our Lady is calling us, is an expression and a fruit of divine love. St. Paul says, “God loves a joyful giver.” ( 2 : Cor: 9:7.). This means saying no to egoism, selfishness and possessiveness any wrong relationship towards oneself, towards others and towards God. Let us be like Our Lady, and follow her example who gave herself completely to God in joyful humility, as a gift to him for others. Jesus warns us in the Gospel, “What are you doing when you do something good for someone from whom you expect a favour in return ?” ( Matt: 6 :1-4)

So let us have the conviction of faith, during this Advent season and beyond, that all will be good, and that the good we do will come back to us, because we are following Our Lady, and so we are with God and in God.

A Blessed advent,

Fr. Martin Morris