"Dear children, my little children, my beloved ones; you are chosen because you have responded, you have put into practice my instructions and love God above all else. Therefore, little children, pray with all your heart that my words may be realized. Fast, sacrifice yourselves, love out of love for God Who created you, and be, little children, my extended hands to this world that has not come to know the God of love. Thank you for having responded to my call." (With Ecclesiastical approval)

Dear children, my little children, my beloved ones; you are chosen because you have responded, you have put into practice my instructions and love God above all else.

Our Lady begins nearly all of her messages by calling us, “Dear children.” At times, she adds expressions such as “Little children” or “My little children.” Yet in this particular message, she addresses us three times in succession: “Dear children, my little children, my beloved ones!”—something she has never done before. Why would she repeat her call to her beloved children three times? Perhaps, if we recall that three is the number of perfection, it is to reveal the fullness of her love.

Throughout her messages, Our Lady repeatedly tells us how boundlessly she loves us. On March 18, 2009, during Mirjana’s annual apparition, she gave this message: “If you knew how much I love you, you would cry with happiness.”

Our Lady is not our earthly mother but our heavenly Mother. She loves us not with a human love but with a divine love—the very love of God. Therefore, her love is unconditional and without limit. Just as God the Father “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:45), so too does Our Lady love not only us, but every person in the world—even those who are in sin and far from her. How blessed it would be if we ourselves, and all the world, could only recognize this love! Truly, it is a misfortune if we fail to hear the call of the Mother who never ceases to summon her beloved children with love.

With immeasurable love, Our Lady reminds us that we have been chosen because we have responded to her call, put her teachings into practice, and, above all, loved God. The degree may differ from person to person, but what could be more important than responding to Our Lady’s call, living her words, and loving God? Who are we, that we should be chosen by God and by His Mother, Our Lady? What greater honor could there be in this world?

And yet, many are not chosen. The reason is clear. As the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1–14 concludes, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Heaven’s call is addressed to all, but many choose instead their own plans and concerns, turning away from that call. Though invited to be one with God and to live with Him forever, they refuse to respond.

Our Lady teaches us that the reason we have been chosen is, above all, because we responded. When she calls to us unceasingly, “Dear children, my little children, my beloved ones!” our response must be like that of the young Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sm 3:10). It is in opening our hearts to receive her message and responding with faith that our being chosen truly begins.

Our Lady further tells us that we are chosen because we put her teachings into practice. No matter how sincerely one may feel her call, opening one’s heart to listen is not enough if her words are not lived out in daily life. There is a proverb that says, “Even three bushels of beads are worthless unless strung together.” No matter how precious or excellent something may be, it gains its value only when arranged and put to use. Likewise, no matter how exalted and good Our Lady’s teachings are, if we do not put them into practice, make them our own, and grow spiritually through them, then her teachings remain without meaning or effect in us. In the end, obedience to her words and the effort to live them out are the true signs that we have been chosen.

Finally, Our Lady tells us that we are chosen above all because we love God. Yet to truly love God, we must first pass through the two steps already mentioned: opening our hearts to His word and call given through Our Lady, and putting those words into practice in our lives. In this way we draw ever closer to God, experience the boundlessness of His love, and, by His grace and strength, come to love Him above all things.

When we love God above everything, we will have nothing more to desire, and nothing will be able to steal away our hearts and our lives. Then we shall possess not only peace and eternal life, but truly everything. This is why, for the past forty-four years, Our Lady has unceasingly taught us to love God above all else and to place Him at the very center of our lives.

Therefore, little children, pray with all your heart that my words may be realized. Fast, sacrifice yourselves, love out of love for God Who created you, and be, little children, my extended hands to this world that has not come to know the God of love. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Everything begins with prayer and is brought to completion through prayer. Our Lady, who knows this better than anyone, says: “Therefore, dear children, pray with all your heart that my words may be realized.”

Just as the saying goes that perseverance will eventually bring results, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished through wholehearted prayer. The words of Our Lady, too, will surely be fulfilled. And if a doubt arises—“Can this truly be so?”—one must ask oneself: “Have I ever truly prayed with all my heart?”

There is no love without sacrifice. Through fasting in particular, we learn how to sacrifice in love, and we come to realize that God alone is the true Master of our whole being and of life itself. By fasting, we sacrifice ourselves in order to love the God who created us, and to love our brothers and sisters who have been created in His image. In this way, we are taught how to love in truth.

When we learn and practice this way of love, we naturally follow Our Lady’s final exhortation: “Be, little children, my extended hands to this world that has not come to know the God of love.” Our Lady reminds us that within God’s plan of salvation we hold an important place and role. To accomplish this work of salvation with us, she once again invites us and asks us to become her extended hands.

Whether or not we become Our Lady’s extended hands for a world that does not know the God of love depends entirely upon our choice and response. The very fact that we have been chosen and called to join Our Lady in this spiritual battle, where heaven and earth are united, is in itself a reality that fills us with gratitude and awe. Though it may appear outwardly ordinary, this opportunity is by no means common. Therefore, in thanksgiving for this grace, let us willingly become Our Lady’s extended hands and resolve to help the world come to know the God of love.