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Fr. Stephen Shin’s Reflections on the Messages
Fr. Stephen Shin’s Reflections on the Messages
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February 25, 2009
"Dear children! In this time of renunciation, prayer and penance, I call you anew: go and confess your sins so that grace may open your hearts, and permit it to change you. Convert little children, open yourselves to God and to His plan for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Dear children! In this time of renunciation, prayer and penance, I call you anew.
On this Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, Our Lady says, “Dear children! In this time of renunciation, prayer and penance, I call you anew." With these words, she clearly teaches us what we should focus on during Lent: renunciation, prayer, and penance. So, what should we renounce? The list is endless—our selfish desires, greed for wealth, the desire for power, pleasures, pride, hatred, and so on. We need to reflect on what separates us from God and leads us to sin and make concrete efforts to renounce those things. Renouncing something means choosing something better in its place, so we must choose God Himself, His will, and whatever leads us to salvation and holiness. If we truly love God, we must renounce anything that hinders that love. If we genuinely desire salvation and holiness, we must give up whatever leads us away from the path of salvation and holiness. If we sincerely long for eternal life, for heaven, we must not set our hearts on earthly things. Only those who know how to make true renunciations can obtain what is truly good.
Prayer helps us love God and realize how much He loves us. When we deeply experience God’s love through prayer, we come to desire only Him and to be filled with the longing to do only what He wills. A person who realizes that nothing is more important than God's love can live a life of true renunciation and freedom in God. Through constant prayer, one can come to understand the magnitude of God's love, leading them to echo St. Paul’s words: "What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?... No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us” (Rom 8:35, 37).
Jesus endured all kinds of suffering and ultimately gave His life on the cross to forgive our sins and save humanity. Through His sacrifice, He offered a penance of love. Our Lady reminds us that Lent is a time of penance, inviting us to follow the path that Jesus walked. Unlike Jesus, who was without sin, we are sinners and must offer penance for our sins, the sins of the world, and for the salvation of all humanity.
The way we offer penance may differ for each person. Some may fast on Wednesdays and Fridays; others might pray the Stations of the Cross every day, not just on Fridays. Some may joyfully accept their suffering and illness, offering it up as penance, while others might engage in acts of love by caring for the sick or those suffering for various reasons.
Go and confess your sins so that grace may open your hearts and permit it to change you.
The first step in our repentance is to go to confession. The Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples and established the Sacrament of Confession by saying, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:23). Our Lady directs us to go to confession, leading our steps toward the confessional. While we have the free will to sin, we cannot remove our sins on our own. Only a priest, acting in the name of Jesus and with the authority to forgive sins, can absolve us. Jesus explicitly told His apostles, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." The seven sacraments of the Church are visible signs through which God’s invisible grace is conveyed to us. Thus, when we enter the confessional and confess our sins to a priest, Jesus, through the priest, forgives our sins, and we regain the state of grace lost through sin. The grace we receive through confession reopens our hearts to the Lord. Our Lady invites us to entrust ourselves to this grace so that it may change us, not by our strength or efforts, but by the grace of God. To fully surrender ourselves to God's grace and allow it to change us, we must pray daily, as Jesus did, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will" (Mt 26:39).
Convert little children, open yourselves to God and to His plan for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call .
As mentioned earlier, going to confession is the first visible sign of our conversion. However, going to confession during Lent does not mean our repentance is complete. Conversion is a lifelong journey. A truly repentant person is one who, every day, turns their heart and life toward God, avoids sin, and entrusts themselves to God’s mercy and grace.
Parents often make plans for their children's future, solely for their well-being and benefit. Similarly, Our Lady tells us that our Heavenly Father also has a plan for each of us. But how amazing is it that, compared to our earthly parents, God has a plan for us? He is the great God who created the universe. As the Bible says, "Then the LORD God formed the man*out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Gn 2:7), we are just a small part of His creation. Yet, the Creator God has a plan for us—what an incredible blessing! The Psalmist sings, "When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place—What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (Ps 8:4).
Our Heavenly Father is truly good. "He makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust" (Mt 5:45). Let us deeply thank the good God for having a good plan for each of us and, as Our Lady says, open ourselves fully to God and His plan so that we may understand it more clearly.
Jesus, I remember how, before beginning Your public ministry, you went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and fasted for 40 days while praying. During this Lenten season of 2009, help us to follow Your example of true renunciation and prayer and to rely solely on our Heavenly Father. Jesus, just as You endured all insults and suffering for us and obeyed the will of the Heavenly Father to the point of death on the cross, may we, too, seek only the will of the Father in all things, no matter the difficulties or trials we face. Jesus, you said, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (Jn 15:13). You demonstrated this through Your death on the cross, and we will bear our daily crosses with love, following Your example.
Mother of Sorrows, just as you responded "Yes" to God's will for the salvation of humanity, we, too, wish to respond to your call to renounce, pray, and do penance. Immaculately conceived and free from any stain of sin, Mother Mary, during this Lenten season, help us to firmly believe in God's mercy and forgiveness, go to confession, live a life of true repentance, and fully open ourselves to God and His plan for us through your constant intercession.
January 25, 2009
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May prayer be for you like the seed that you will put in my heart, which I will give over to my Son Jesus for you, for the salvation of your souls. I desire, little children, for each of you to fall in love with eternal life which is your future, and for all worldly things to be a help for you to draw you closer to God the Creator. I am with you for this long because you are on the wrong path. Only with my help, little children, you will open your eyes. There are many of those who, by living my messages, comprehend that they are on the way of holiness towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May prayer be for you like the seed that you will put in my heart, which I will give over to my Son Jesus for you, for the salvation of your souls.
As we begin the new year of 2009, Our Lady says, "Also today I call you to prayer." Why does Our Lady continue to call us to prayer, even after so many previous messages urging the same? The first reason is that our prayer is still insufficient. Despite hearing Our Lady's call, some people do not pray at all, or if they do, they pray superficially or habitually without heart. Others may try to pray earnestly but do not place prayer at the center of their lives. Knowing these situations, Our Lady invites us to prayer once again because our prayer is not yet enough. The second reason is revealed in her words, "I will give over to my Son Jesus for you, for the salvation of your souls." This shows that our prayer is absolutely necessary for the salvation of our souls. If we desire the salvation of our souls, we must pray now and continually, with all our heart, soul, and strength. We cannot say, "I prayed yesterday, and I will pray tomorrow, so today I will skip prayer and focus on worldly matters." The prayer we offered yesterday is entirely different from the prayer we offer today. Just as we must eat daily to sustain our physical lives, we must pray daily to sustain our spiritual lives. Since prayer is crucial for the salvation of our souls, we must pray every day.
Our Lady, who is concerned for the salvation of our souls, desires that we pray not alone but together with her. As the Mother of the Savior, Our Lady wants our hearts to be united with hers in prayer. She also wishes to present our prayers, with her heart, to Jesus for the salvation of our souls. Therefore, Our Lady says, "I will give over to my Son Jesus for you, for the salvation of your souls."
Of course, we can unite our hearts with Our Lady's in every prayer we offer, but the Rosary is especially effective in uniting our prayers with hers. Like a child repeatedly calling out to its mother, when we continually invoke Our Lady's name through the Rosary, she offers our prayers, united with her heart, to Jesus and intercedes for the salvation of our souls.
I desire, little children, for each of you to fall in love with eternal life which is your future, and for all worldly things to be a help for you to draw you closer to God the Creator.
When we love someone, we naturally give our hearts entirely to them. Our Lady desires that we love eternal life so that our hearts are fully focused on it. She wishes that all her children in the world, without exception, will have a true future. Therefore, she tells us not to cling to this earthly life but to long for eternal life. Our Lady also desires that we do not become attached to worldly things but instead use everything in the world as a means to draw closer to the Creator God. As Our Lady said, "Don't forget that your life is fleeting like a spring flower which today is wondrously beautiful but tomorrow has vanished" (March 25, 1988), our earthly lives are transient, and worldly things will pass away. Therefore, worldly things should not be the goal of our lives. Instead, we must make every effort to draw closer to the Creator God, who grants us eternal life.
To help us use everything worldly to come closer to the Creator God, let's revisit a previous message: "Dear children! I am your Mother and I invite you to come closer to God through prayer because only He is your peace, your savior. Therefore, little children, do not seek comfort in material things, but rather seek God. I am praying for you and I intercede before God for each individual. I am looking for your prayers that you accept me and accept my messages as in the first days of the apparitions and only then when you open your hearts and pray will miracles happen. Thank you for having responded to my call" (September 25, 1993).
I am with you for this long because you are on the wrong path. Only with my help, little children, you will open your eyes. There are many of those who, by living my messages, comprehend that they are on the way of holiness towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Our Lady first appeared in Medjugorje on June 24, 1981. That day is the feast of St. John the Baptist, who called people to repentance to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Like St. John the Baptist, Our Lady has been appearing in Medjugorje for 28 years and 7 months, continuously leading humanity to Jesus. She says, "I am with you for this long because you are on the wrong path.” With these words, Our Lady urges us to examine ourselves, the Church, and humanity seriously and to repent once again. She also expresses her love for us, revealing her spiritual maternal love for humanity, who, though going in the wrong direction, is not abandoned but is being guided to repentance, the right path, and ultimately to salvation and peace.
The time is short. We will soon face the end of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje, which will be the last on this earth. While she remains with us, helping us and opening our eyes, let us take her messages seriously and put them into practice. May we join the many who realize that they are on the holy path towards eternity by living Our Lady's messages.
Jesus, we thank You for the gift of a new year. We want to fill this time with prayer, faith, repentance, and sacrifice so that these moments may be tools for our salvation. Jesus, help us always remember that all our time is in Your hands and that our true future is eternal life. Guide us to use everything You have given us according to Your will, for Your glory, and for our salvation.
Our Lady, we sincerely thank you for staying with us through Medjugorje to awaken us from the wrong path and help us so that our souls may be saved. As you said, without your help, we are too weak to open our spiritual eyes. We offer our hearts to you through daily prayer. Please open our eyes and lead us to Jesus, so that our souls may be saved and we may enjoy eternal life in Heaven with you.
"The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.” (Jn 12:35-36)
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