Peace to All!
Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's reflection on Our Lady's April 25, 2008 message as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.
God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web
SEARCH FOR THE GOD'S WILL AND DO GOOD
"Dear children! Also today, I call all of you to grow in God’s love as a flower which feels the warm rays of spring. In this way, also you, little children, grow in God’s love and carry it to all those who are far from God. Seek God’s will and do good to those whom God has put on your way, and be light and joy. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of April 25, 2008
In the beginning of the message of April 25th 2008, Our Lady invites us to grow in God’s love. To grow in love means to open to God like flower, to let Him shine on us, envelop us and permeate us. It can happen only in the atmosphere of prayer, because the prayer is like a channel, like a tube, through which God sends His love and His mercy to this earth. True prayer can come only from the heart which allows the might of God’s love to envelop and permeate it. Such God’s love can permeate only the one who prays from the heart, with his/her whole being. God’s love searches for the answer, and the answer is faith. Faith-filled heart can be compared with the light. Like the light, faith chases away darkness, anguish and despair, gives security and strength. In some way, it lightens the way of the people who have it, and leads them, like the dark and light clouds which have led the Israelites through the desert. Those who expect clear and tangible evidence from the faith must be disappointed, because faith is above proofs and arguments. Faith cannot be measured only by knowledge, because it is above all life, i.e. life direction, which cannot always be told through the knowledge. Faith can be compared with the stars which lead the sailors through the night. They do not light the waves upon which the sailors sail, but show them the direction.
Our Lady invites us to search for the God’s will, and it is revealed to us completely only in the personal encounter with Christ. Only searching for and doing God’s will can lead us to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Mt 7,21). God’s will is more important than our will. To search and do God’s will does not mean to get lost or to disown one’s own freedom – on the contrary, it means to get free from the daily slavery and sin. It means to get free from the imprisonment of the small gods like: power, money, other people’s opinion etc. All these idols take your life, only God gives it. All other gods promise a lot, and do not give anything in return. Our Lady accepted the God’s will, she agreed to serve only the one true God and to do His will. By uttering only one word fiat – let it be so for me – she changed the course of history, with the God’s mercy.
By doing the will of God, we enter into the friendly relation with Him. When they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren?And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Mk 3,33-35).
At the end of her message, Our Lady invites us to do good to all people and to be the light and the joy. The light and the joy can be only the one who confirms God’s love every day, like Mother Teresia did. To be the witness means to give oneself completely into the God’s hands, to give one’s whole being, to live the message of the Gospel before we tell it to others, to live in the personal encounter with the God who became Man, to live with the Lord, who died and was ressurected.
Let Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of Church, help us to carry the message of peace, joy and forgiveness wherever we go – the message which will change the world.
Fra Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26.4.2008
