Dear children Rejoice with me because the Most High permits me to be with you, to lead you to Him Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Today marks the 45th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions in Medjugorje. On this day as well, Our Lady makes it clear that the true protagonist of these apparitions is not herself, but the Most High—that is, God. As Our Lady tells us, the Most High has sent her to be with us and to lead us to Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Everything about these apparitions has been planned, carried out, and accomplished by God. In a word, the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje are the work of God.

How, then, should we respond to this sublime and marvelous work that God is accomplishing through Our Lady? Our response should be one of gratitude and joy. Together with the psalmist, we should cry out, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and a son of man that You care for him?” (Ps 8:4), giving praise, thanksgiving, and glory to God who invites us to salvation, and rejoicing with all our hearts.

For the past forty-five years, God has not missed a single day in sending Our Lady to us through Medjugorje. Through this, we can experience how immense and profound the Father's love is for His children. God, who declared, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you” (Is 49:15), has never forgotten us—not even once—throughout these forty-five years. As a sign of His love and mercy, He continues to send Our Lady to us.

We must always remember this God. We must never forget Him. We are called to love Him, to give Him thanks, and to return to Him. Our hearts and our lives should always be directed toward Him. To help us do this, Our Lady comes to us with God's permission, continually inviting us to prayer and fasting, the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the reading of Sacred scripture, so that we may awaken spiritually and grow in holiness.

The coming of Our Lady is itself another joyful proclamation that the Good News of salvation is meant for us. God loves us. He never forgets us but holds us forever in His loving remembrance. To lead us to Himself, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, He sends Our Lady to us. How could this not be Good News? Therefore, we should open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to receive this joyful message and strive to live according to Our Lady's messages. In doing so, God's plan of salvation for each one of us can be brought to fulfillment.

Our Lady does not come to bring us a new revelation or a new truth. Rather, as the messenger of God the Father, the Most High, she reminds us of everything that Jesus Christ—true God and true man—has revealed and taught through the Church in the Holy Spirit. Now is the time to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to His word and to put it into practice in our daily lives.

Jesus said to His disciples, speaking in parables about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear” (Mt 13:16). In the same way, through the coming of Our Lady and her messages, we are blessed because, with the eyes of faith, we can recognize and adore Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist, and with the ears of faith, we can understand that His words are the words of eternal life. Therefore, we cannot help but rejoice together with Our Lady.

Rejoice, little children, and be joyful also in difficulties and you will have the strength, because you will be aware that you are transient and you will know to offer everything to God.

In this month's message, Our Lady says, “Rejoice,” three times. Why does she repeat this invitation to rejoice? The reason is God Himself. She calls us to rejoice because God is with us. Before inviting us to rejoice, Our Lady herself first received this same invitation through the Archangel Gabriel, God's messenger. Sent to announce the conception of Jesus, the angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary of Nazareth, “Hail, full of grace! Rejoice! The Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28).

Yet, from a human perspective, Mary's circumstances were anything but joyful. She knew well that, according to the Law, a virgin found to be with child could be condemned to death by stoning. Even so, Mary firmly believed that this was God's saving plan for the redemption of humanity and that nothing is impossible for God. Therefore, she accepted the angel's words exactly as they were: “Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” Because she believed, she rejoiced. It is precisely because Our Lady herself lived this mystery that she can now say to us, “Rejoice, little children, and be joyful also in difficulties.”

Humanly speaking, rejoicing in the midst of difficulties seems almost impossible. When trials come, they often bring anxiety, fear, discouragement, and despair. Instead of joy, our hearts are easily filled with sorrow, heaviness, and sadness. Yet Our Lady still tells us, “Be joyful also in difficulties.” She does so because we are people who believe in God.

Those who believe in God do not lose hope in times of trial. Rather than relying on their own strength, they place their trust in God's power, believing that He will guide them and deliver them. Even when their difficulties do not immediately disappear, they believe that God remains with them in the midst of their suffering and that, in His providence, He will ultimately bring a greater good from their present trials. For this reason, they are able to rejoice even in the midst of suffering.

A person who can rejoice even in difficulties is one who firmly believes in God's presence and in His loving will to save, and who perseveres in hope. Such a person knows that every trial in this world, like life itself, is only passing, and therefore is not overwhelmed by it. Instead, he entrusts every hardship—and indeed his entire life—to the unchanging and eternal God. In the end, this attitude of rejoicing in the midst of difficulties strengthens the soul and becomes a source of endurance, enabling one to persevere faithfully until the end.

That is why, do not forget: I am your Mother and I love you. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Our Lady is our Mother. As Jesus breathed His last upon the Cross, He gave her to us as our Mother and made us her children. Therefore, we must never forget that between Our Lady and us stand Jesus Himself and His Cross.

Our relationship with our earthly mother lasts only for this life, but our relationship with Our Lady continues into eternity. This is because Jesus, the eternal Son of God, has united Our Lady and us as spiritual Mother and children. Therefore, Our Lady and we can never be separated. Moreover, the love she has for us is not merely a human love but a heavenly love rooted in the love of God. For this reason, she will never abandon us, no matter what happens.

We must never forget that Our Lady is our Mother and that she loves us. At the same time, we should always remember that we are her children and that we, too, are called to love her with all our hearts.

Let us say to Our Lady each day:

"Our Lady, you are my Mother, and I firmly believe that you love me with the very love of God. Our Lady, I am your child, and I love you with all my heart. Thank you for becoming my Mother. Today, as your child, I will strive to live according to your words and your guidance. I will rejoice always, and especially in times of difficulty."