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Gospel: John 16: 29-33
The disciples said to Jesus,
“Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.
Now we realize that you know everything
and that you do not need to have anyone question you.
Because of this we believe that you came from God.”
Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today we gather, seeking the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, who is not only Mary of the Gospels, the ever-virgin Mother of God, but also our mother… my mother.
Three of Christ’s final words from the Cross affirm this truth. As he says to the Apostle John, the only one of the Twelve not to abandon him in his hour of need:
“Behold, your mother.”
Then, John “took her into his home,” and into his heart, as we are invited to do today.
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On the heels of Mother’s Day weekend, our Blessed Mother appeared with a three-fold message, saying to us what she said to that trio of shepherd children from Portugal in 1917.
When asked, “Who are you?” She responded not by telling them who she was but where she was from:
“I am from heaven,” she said.
Meaning, she is from God and abides in God. Every prayer intention placed in her hands is brought immediately to the attention of Jesus.
Just as no son should deny the request of his mother, so the Lord listens lovingly to each request that comes from his Mother’s Immaculate Heart.
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Secondly, Mary directs the children to pray the rosary daily. “This will bring peace to the world and an end to war.”
Are we not reminded almost daily of the need to pray for peace – in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, parts of Africa, even in our own hearts?
“Pray the rosary,” she says, for peace.
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Finally, she asked those shepherd children the same question the angel Gabriel once asked her: “Will you offer yourself to God?”
That’s a question each of us must answer – not only in word, but also in deed. Mary did so by offering her body, her marriage, her future, her understanding, essentially each moment of her life to God.
May Our Lady of Fatima intercede for us, that we may do the same.
For such grace today, we pray, Hail Mary…
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Image credits: (1) National Catholic Register (2) Britannica (3) Redbubble