Our Lady of Medjugorje, in private revelation given to Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, on June 25, 2024:
Dear children! I rejoice with you and thank God for permitting me to be with you, to lead you and love you.
Little children, peace is in danger and the family is under attack. I am calling you, little children: return to prayer in the family. Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place and read it every day. Love God above all that it may be good for you on earth. Thank you for having responded to my call.
An excerpt from “Reading Scripture Like the Early Church” by Dr. James L. Papandrea:
Some people are used to Bible studies in which someone reads a passage of Scripture, and then the people go around the circle and say “what it means to me.” The Church Fathers would be shocked at this, I think. That’s not studying Scripture: it’s studying ourselves. Scripture is not about us (though it may tell us some things about ourselves). In many ways, Scripture does contain messages for us, but we have to keep in mind that it was nor originally written to us. Even the message of the divine Author for the Church is not something that could apply to one person and not another….
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that God won’t speak to you when you read the Scriptures. As you read you may very well find important wisdom and significant guidance “between the lines,” as it were. The Scriptures are not dead words on an old page, but a living and dynamic message, and God can and does speak to His people when they read the Bible. But remember that if you think God is telling you something that God has never said to anyone else, or something that applies to you in a special way, or gives you permission to do something that would contradict the teaching of the Church, you should check with your pastor before acting on anything. Remember that the Church Fathers would say you can’t get a message out of Scripture that contradicts the overall teaching of Scripture, or the teaching of the Church, or that would entice you to sin. So do listen for the voice of God when you read the Scriptures, but always be careful because the human mind has a great capacity to fool itself into thinking that what it wants is also what God wants, even when that is not really the case….
The Protestant Reformation, with its doctrine of “the priesthood of all believers,” put too much responsibility on the individual to be his or her own highest authority when it comes to interpreting Scripture. In Reformation apologetics, so much weight was placed on getting people to make a decision to convert away from the Catholic Church, [that] they were told that they should be able to decide for themselves (or believe whomever they chose) about what was correct doctrine. That’s a burden most people are not equipped to bear. Don’t get me wrong: there is a certain sense in which all Christians, by virtue of our Baptism, are meant to emulate Christ in His priesthood. That means we are all supposed to be engaged in the ministries of works of mercy and evangelization. But it does not mean that everyone is his own bishop, his own teacher.
“Daughter, I need sacrifice lovingly accomplished, because that alone has meaning for Me. Enormous indeed are the debts of the world which are due to Me; pure souls can pay them by their sacrifice, exercising mercy in spirit.” -Our Lord Jesus, in private revelation given to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, on October 1, 1937 (Diary #1316)
An excerpt from “A Simple Path” by Saint Teresa of Calcutta:
Prayer is needed for children and in families. Love begins at home and that is why it is important to pray together. If you pray together, you will stay together and love each other as God loves each one of you. Whatever religion we are, we must pray together. Children need to learn to pray, and they need to have their parents pray with them. If we don’t do this, it will be difficult to become holy, to carry on, to strengthen ourselves in faith….
There is so much suffering in families these days all over the world that it is important to pray, and it is important to forgive. People ask me what advice I have for a married couple struggling in their relationship. I always answer “Pray and forgive”; and to young people who come from violent homes, “Pray and forgive”; and to the single mother with no family support, “Pray and forgive.”
You can say, “My Lord, I love You. My God, I am sorry. My God, I believe in You. My God, I trust You. Help us to love one another as You love us.”
We pray to the Holy Family for our family. We say:
Heavenly Father, You have given us a model of life in the Holy Family of Nazareth. Help us, O loving Father, to make our family another Nazareth where love, peace, and joy reign. May it be deeply contemplative, intensely Eucharistic, and vibrant with joy.
Help us to stay together in joy and sorrow through family prayer. Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our family, especially in His distressing disguises.
May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus make our hearts meek and humble like His and help us to carry out our family duties in a holy way.
May we love one another, as God loves each one of us, more and more each day, and forgive each other’s faults as You forgive our sins.
Help us, O loving Father, to take whatever You give and to give whatever You take, with a big smile.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, cause of our joy, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Holy Guardian Angels, be always with us, guide and protect us. Amen.
