Reflection on the Message of September 25, 2005

IN LOVE I CALL YOU

"Dear children! Even though you are far from my heart, in love I call you. Convert. Do not forget, I am your mother and I feel pain for each one who is far from my heart; but I do not leave you alone. I believe you can leave the way of sin and decide for holiness. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of September 25, 2005

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The Virgin Mary calls us with love. In Her words, we hear the echo of the words of Jesus: "Convert and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1,15). Mary wants to tell us: believe in the power of God who can and who wants to change you, to save you, to heal you and to set you free. Although by our life we are far away from the heart of Mary, she is calling us and is not becoming weary. We are her children. A true mother never abandons her child.

A child needs a mother; it cannot live nor survive without her. And when a child remains without a mother, it knows what it means to be without a mother. Our Heavenly Mother isn’t made of plastic or of wood; she isn’t a dead souvenir, but a mother who feels pain for each child who is far, cold, sick. We have a mother who has a heart that loves and that suffers. Love and suffering always go together. True love is verified in the moments of trial and of suffering. It is easy to love the other when it is pleasant and comfortable to be with him. It is easy to love the other when we find him sympathetic and when we like him. But it is difficult to love the other when liking ceases. When the other becomes difficult, boring and unbearable. It is difficult to love when the other does not want to understand or to accept us. It is then, that authenticity, truth and divine quality of our love are tested and verified.

Every human love is limited. In fact, there is only one love. God is love. Every love should sprout out from the heart of God, in order to be able to survive all deaths and all the sufferings.

The Gospel is telling us that Jesus loved the young man whom He called to sell everything and to follow Him, if he wanted to be perfect. And we know that the young man did not have courage to leave all the richness of this world that he possessed. God is calling also today. He is not forcing anybody. The freedom of God and the freedom of man are always in the game together. God remains faithful. He will never deceive us.

God is calling us through our conscience. God is speaking through his word, to which we listen and that we read. He is speaking to us through all kinds of events. In these days, he is speaking to us in a simple and intense way through Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother.

The Virgin Mary believes that we can leave the way of sin. She believes in you and she believes in me. The most difficult is when - after repeated falls into sin and after having confessed so many times the same sin - we think that nothing can change any more. We become attached to our falls and we start to believe that they are stronger than the grace of Jesus. Or worse still: we become attached to our slavery and our chains, and we begin to think that they are comfortable, and we start to convince ourselves about it. We should always lift up our eyes to the heart of Jesus who, also today, can and wants to set us free. For our part, it is important to want, to decide, to fight, to ask and to pray. Then, we will be lifted up and we will be set free. We should never say: "I cannot", but "I will try", and even after repeated falls, we should say it with even more determination and courage.

Mary believes in us. Let us put our faith in Her and in ourselves. Let us have the desire to become different, to be transformed, to become new men who, day after day, follow God and walk and on the path of God.

Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic
Medjugorje 26.9.2005