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Fr. Stephen Shin’s Reflections on the Messages
Fr. Stephen Shin’s Reflections on the Messages
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January 25, 2019
"Dear children! Today, as a mother, I am calling you to conversion. This time is for you, little children, a time of silence and prayer. Therefore, in the warmth of your heart, may a grain of hope and faith grow and you, little children, will from day to day feel the need to pray more. Your life will become orderly and responsible. You will comprehend, little children, that you are passing here on earth and you will feel the need to be closer to God, and with love you will witness the experience of your encounter with God, which you will share with others. I am with you and am praying for you but I cannot without your 'yes'. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Dear children! Today, as a mother, I am calling you to conversion.
Saint Monica prayed relentlessly for 29 years for her son Augustine’s conversion, and her prayers, filled with tears and sacrifices, were eventually answered. As a result, Augustine was baptized, became a Christian, and later a priest, bishop, and one of the greatest Catholic theologians. Because she truly loved her son, she prioritized praying for his conversion above all else, and through her son, many others were led to the path of salvation. In this month’s message, the Blessed Mother says, “Dear children! Today, as a mother, I am calling you to conversion.” The Blessed Mother loves us even more than our earthly mothers. She knows who we are and how we are living. Therefore, we must take her words of calling us to conversion seriously. Some may say, “I have already converted, so there’s nothing more to convert.” However, even that person is included in the ‘you’ when the Blessed Mother says, “I am calling you to conversion.” In other words, no one is exempt from the Mother’s call to conversion. The Blessed Mother calls us to conversion not to condemn us for our sins and faults but to lead us to salvation. She awakens us, who often live in sin and error without recognizing it, sometimes without any sense of guilt, or trapped in justifying or rationalizing our sins. Moreover, she helps us to escape from sin and evil, leading us to Jesus for life and salvation. The Blessed Mother always calls us “Dear children!” out of her motherly love. Her call to conversion comes from that very love.
This time is for you, little children, a time of silence and prayer.
Children are pure but lack discernment, which is why they need the guidance and direction of adults. Even though we may feel grown up, in the eyes of the Blessed Mother, we are still her little children. Therefore, we absolutely need her guidance and direction. The Blessed Mother says, “This time is for you, little children, a time of silence and prayer.” She teaches us how we should accept and live in this moment. When we recognize that the time we are living in is for us, we begin to realize how precious it is. We start to feel the importance of using this time wisely. How can we make the best use of this time to truly make it ours? The answer is silence and prayer. We understand the need for prayer, but why is silence so essential? It is because silence is the birthplace of prayer. To truly pray with the heart, there must be silence in our hearts. Modern people live in a noisy world, both inwardly and outwardly. Our hearts are distracted by the many sounds of the world and the clever whisperings of Satan, instead of hearing God’s voice. As a result, our desire to pray fades, and we become distant from listening to God’s voice. Furthermore, we often talk too much, leaving little room for silence in our hearts and continuously missing opportunities to pray. That’s why the Blessed Mother said, “You talk and talk but do not pray. Therefore, little children, decide for prayer” (December 25, 1993). Let’s resolve to make silence and prayer a regular part of our lives starting today.
Therefore, in the warmth of your heart, may a grain of hope and faith grow and you, little children, will from day to day feel the need to pray more. Your life will become orderly and responsible.
What warms and fills our hearts with warmth is love. When God’s love, the greatest love, enters our hearts through prayer, our hearts not only become warm but also blaze like fire. Only those who hold God’s love in their hearts will hope for and believe in Him. Even if the hope and faith are as small as seeds at first, if God’s love is in us and our hearts are warm, that warmth will cause the seeds to sprout, grow, and eventually bear fruit. When we begin to feel the seeds of hope and faith sprouting and growing in our warm hearts, it is only natural to want to nourish and water them. Prayer is what feeds and waters our hearts and souls, and so we feel the need to pray more each day. Those who hold God’s love in their hearts, hope and believe in Him, and pray daily, strive to rid their lives of unnecessary things and keep only what is essential. Naturally, their lives become more orderly, and they approach even the smallest things with sincerity and responsibility.
You will comprehend, little children, that you are passing here on earth and you will feel the need to be closer to God, and with love you will witness the experience of your encounter with God, which you will share with others.
Those whose hearts burn with God’s love, who hope for and believe in Him, who thirst for prayer daily and actually pray, understand that they do not belong to this world but only to God. They know that their true home is not on this earth but in the eternal kingdom of heaven. Therefore, they can live as pilgrims in this world. They do not cling to worldly things because they know that everything on this earth is passing away. Like St. Teresa of Avila’s prayer, “All things are passing; only God does not change. Those who possess God possess all things. Only God is enough,” they realize that only God is to be desired, and they try to draw closer to Him. Moreover, they practice true love by sharing their experience of encountering God with others, so that others, too, may yearn for Him and draw closer to Him.
I am with you and am praying for you but I cannot without your 'yes'. Thank you for having responded to my call.
The Blessed Mother is doing her utmost for us. She is with us and praying for us. How do we compare to her? Are we always grateful to her and trying to live according to her messages? Do we feel her earnestness when she says, “Without your ‘yes,’ I cannot do anything”? An old proverb says, “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” Let us respond with a ‘yes’ to the Blessed Mother so that she can help us. Let us fully entrust ourselves to her and try to live according to her messages. Even now, we can still say ‘yes.’ This time is for us, but it is passing. No matter how many times we say ‘yes’ after the time has passed, it will be too late then.
December 25, 2018
"Dear children! I am carrying to you my Son Jesus who is the King of Peace. He gives you peace and may it not be only for you but, little children, carry it to others in joy and humility. I am with you and am praying for you in this time of grace which God desires to give you. My presence is a sign of love here while I am with you to protect you and lead you towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Dear children! I am carrying to you my Son Jesus who is the King of Peace. He gives you peace and may it not be only for you but, little children, carry it to others in joy and humility.
The city of Jerusalem, meaning "City of Peace," was the capital of Israel and the center of everything. Humanly speaking, it seemed that the "King of Peace" should have been born there. However, Jesus was not born in Jerusalem but in Bethlehem, a small village 8 kilometers away with a population of only 300 people. Why was Jesus born in this tiny village? One reason was that it was the hometown of Joseph, the descendant of David, who was chosen to be Mary’s husband and Jesus’ foster father. But is there another reason?
Bethlehem means "House of Bread." Jesus was born in the “House of Bread” because this aligns perfectly with His identity. Bread symbolizes life, and Jesus came to give life to the world. As He said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world" (John 6:51). Jesus, the Bread of Life, demonstrated through His crucifixion and resurrection that He is the bread that gives life. He continues to come to us daily as the Bread of Life through the Eucharist. Thus, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem already foreshadowed the mysteries of the Eucharist, the Cross, and the Resurrection.
St. Paul speaks of the peace Jesus brought by offering His life as the Bread of Life through His death on the cross: “For He is our peace, He who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through His flesh... reconciling both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it” (Eph 2:14-17).
Today, Medjugorje is like a new Bethlehem. Our Lady is bringing Jesus to us again, reminding us that the King of Peace is alive. She emphasizes that because Jesus is alive in the Eucharist, we should not only attend Sunday Mass but also try to participate in daily Mass as often as possible. She also urges us to come before the exposed Eucharist on the altar, worship Him who is alive in the Eucharist, and entrust ourselves completely to Him, accepting the peace He offers.
Just as 2,000 years ago, when people’s homes were not open to welcome Jesus at His birth in Bethlehem, today many hearts remain closed to Jesus despite Our Lady’s continued pleas over the past 38 years. As the Lord said to the prophet Ezekiel, "Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear. They are such a rebellious house!" (Ez 12:2).
We are among those who have received Jesus as the King of Peace, opening our hearts and homes to Him, allowing His peace to overflow. But the peace we have received as a precious gift is not meant to stay with us alone; it must be shared with others, especially with those around us who have yet to experience His peace. Our Lady urges us to be her extended hands, her apostles, spreading the peace of Jesus to others.
When we hold onto the peace of Jesus within us, we cannot help but feel joyful. Joy is the fruit of peace. Our faces will naturally radiate happiness, and others will be drawn to that joy. Moreover, those who carry the peace of Jesus have a humble heart, like Jesus, not seeking to dominate others but lowering themselves to serve. It is in this humility that the peace of Jesus can be shared with others. We must always remember that humility is the foundation of peace, and joy is its fruit.
I am with you and am praying for you in this time of grace which God desires to give you. My presence is a sign of love here while I am with you to protect you and lead you towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Jesus is Emmanuel, meaning "God with us." Why is this? Because God is love. Wherever Jesus is, Our Lady is also present. As our loving Mother, she is always with her children, praying for us, protecting us, and leading us to eternity. However, because we often fail to recognize or feel her presence, she comes to Medjugorje to remind us.
The presence of Our Lady in Medjugorje is a sign of her love, a profound experience unique to that place. Medjugorje is like our spiritual home, our Mother’s village. Many pilgrims who visit Medjugorje and experience her love firsthand feel a deep desire to return. But some may visit Medjugorje and feel no change or inspiration, even seeing their time there as a waste. Why is this? Primarily because they approached the pilgrimage more as tourists than as pilgrims. Instead of focusing on prayer, they were distracted by human comforts or external phenomena like the sun spinning—seeking signs rather than spiritual renewal.
Since her first appearance on June 24, 1981, Our Lady has tirelessly called us to prayer. Mass, the rosary, adoration, the Stations of the Cross, reading scripture, and confession are central to Medjugorje, from morning to night. A Medjugorje pilgrimage is centered on prayer. The evening program at St. James Church, which includes rosary, international Mass, healing prayers, and adoration, is the heart of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims ascend Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain, pray the rosary, and participate in spiritual testimonies and teachings.
In this atmosphere of constant prayer, pilgrims naturally open their hearts to Jesus, experience conversion, and encounter peace and joy that the world cannot give. Therefore, if your goal is tourism, Medjugorje is not the place to go. But if your goal is prayer, it is the pilgrimage you must make. Just as athletes go on intensive training retreats to improve their skills, those who seek to become spiritual "athletes of prayer" should make a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. If you want to see the dazzling lights of the world, you should go on a tour. But if you want to meet the Light of Christ in prayer, you should embark on a pilgrimage. And the Medjugorje pilgrimage offers the most profound spiritual experience of all.
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