Fr. Danko Perutina's Commentary on Our Lady's May 25th, 2009 Message to the World

Below is the official English translation of Fr. Danko Perutina's commentary on Our Lady's May 25th message. This translation is brought to you by the Information Center in Medjugorje, via Steve and Ana Shawl of Medjugorje Web.


Sincerely,
Erik



PRAY FOR THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"Dear children! In this time, I call you all to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon every baptized creature, so that the Holy Spirit may renew you all and lead you on the way of witnessing your faith – you and all those who are far from God and His love. I am with you and intercede for you before the Most High. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of May 25, 2009



Before his Ascension Jesus told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem , but to wait for the promise given by his Father that they would receive the strength of the Holy Spirit and would be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem , but to the ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up to his Father (cf. Acts 1:4-9). The disciples and apostles were preparing for this coming through prayer. They were not alone. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was with them. Among those present she was the only one who had the fullness of the Holy Spirit that had come upon her at the conception of Jesus. She must have encouraged the disciples to abandon fear and to take practice of fervent prayer. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit the apostles and disciples were timid, fearful. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, they changed. From timid disciples they were transformed into fearless witnesses of Christ. They witnessed what they had seen and heard when they were with Jesus. The flame of love and truth lit inside them encouraged them to immediately start announcing the Joyful News.

In her message of 25 May 2009 Our Lady calls us also to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon every baptized creature. We have become the children of God through baptism and have entered into communion with Jesus and his act of redemption. Our Lady calls us to pray because prayer is a means that opens our hearts so that the Spirit of God can operate in it. Opening up to the Holy Spirit leads to a renewal of spiritual life encouraging us to bear witness to our faith. We, Christians, have been called to be carriers of the message of God in this world, of the Word of God and to spread the acts of the love of God. Mary, our mother and intercessor, the teacher of prayer to the Holy Spirit helps us to do this. Together with Mary we pray that the Spirit of the Truth and Love operates in us and around us, that it teaches us and makes us stronger in order for us to live a new life doing the will of God.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/05/2009

Medjugorje Commentary on Our Lady's March 25th, 2009 Message to the World

Hello, everyone!

Below is the official English translation of Fr. Danko Perutina's commentary on Our Lady's March 25 message for the world. This translation is given to us by the Information Center in Medjugorje, via Steve and Ana Shawl of Medjugorje Web.


Erik Haan
Medjugorje: The Messages & The Mission


AWAKEN YOUR SOULS WITH PRAYER

"Dear children! In this time of spring, when everything is awakening from the winter sleep, you also awaken your souls with prayer so that they may be ready to receive the light of the risen Jesus. Little children, may He draw you closer to His Heart so that you may become open to eternal life. I pray for you and intercede before the Most High for your sincere conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of March 25, 2009


If we look around, we see that, although slowly, nature is awakening thus announcing the spring. In her message of 25 March 2009, on the feast of the Annunciation, Our Lady called us to awaken our souls with prayer so that they may be ready to receive the light of the risen Jesus. When Our Lady calls us to prayer, what first comes to our mind is to pray for the conversion of sinners, for this world, and the like. Only a few people realise that the call for prayer refers primarily to ourselves. The words of Our Lady are always permeated with love and again in her latest message she says: awaken your souls with prayer. These words are a call to change our attitude towards prayer that we have had so far. We have been called to pray primarily for our own conversion, and only then for the conversion of others. It is us that need to change first. Only then will our fellow men and the world start to change. When awaken in this way it will be easier for us to open ourselves to God and to receive the light of the risen Christ.

The pierced heart of Jesus is the utmost reflection of God's love towards man. In all cultures, apart from being an organ of our body, the heart is a symbol of love. That is why Our lady says to us: “May He draw you closer to His heart so that you may become open to eternal life.” Jesus loved people so much that He did not spare Himself. He eventually exhausted Himself and became worn out in order to show people His love. However, in those times Jesus was not accepted. Neither is He accepted today. He is being insulted, hurt, killed with language, curse, slander, hatred. That is why with her tonight’s message Our Lady calls to get closer to Jesus’ heart not only us, Catholics, but the whole world, so that we may become open to eternal life. Will this call get lost yet one more time in the desert and wasteland of this world? Will we miss hearing yet another call of the Queen of Peace from Medugorje?

It is a duty of all those who have experienced the love of God and the love of Our Lady to witness and show not only to Europe, but to the whole world the love that was crucified, that died on the cross, the love resurrected and alive today. Every new day is an opportunity for us to be witnesses of this love. May our greatest advocate, mediator and intercessor Blessed Virgin Mary – Our Lady help us.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/03/2009

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's November 25, 2008 Message

Peace to All! Below, please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's November 25, 2008 message provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

PRAY FOR THIS TURBULENT WORLD WITHOUT HOPE

"Dear children! Also today I call you, in this time of grace, to pray for little Jesus to be born in your heart. May He, who is peace itself, give peace to the entire world through you. Therefore, little children, pray without ceasing for this turbulent world without hope, so that you may become witnesses of peace for all. May hope begin to flow through your hearts as a river of grace. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of November 25, 2008


Advent has been called the time of grace since the very beginning of Christian tradition, as it is the time when the love of God is particularly efficient in making our faith stronger and inspiring us to be holy. In her last message Our Lady calls us to pray for little Jesus to be born in our hearts in this time of grace. There is also another reason to call the time we live in a time of grace: Our Lady has been near us in a very special way for over 27 years. Throughout all this time she has been teaching us in her school of love. In her last message she calls us again to pray as she often calls us to do so because she knows that we do not pray. We are all making a big mistake, and that is that we think we pray a lot and that we are good. The very moment when we realise and accept that it is not so, our conversion will start. John of Damascus says: «To pray is to lift your heart to the Lord». It means enjoying the closeness to God, His presence, love and peace. In recent times the world has been caught in a turmoil and all the leading countries have been faced with a financial crisis. The man of today is restless. Always in a hurry, but unable to catch up, which makes him feel even more uneasy. He is searching for peace in all the wrong places. Our Lady shows us the way to peace. It is Her Son and Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John he says: «Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.» (John 14:27). Those who have God have everything. Those who have encountered God become carriers of the peace of Christ.

Our Lady calls us to pray without ceasing for this turbulent world without hope. Hope is a theological virtue that makes us desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as the sources of our happiness when we place faith in the promises of Christ and relying not on our own forces, but on the help coming from the grace of the Holy Spirit. „Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful“ (Hebrews 10:23). The Holy Spirit „whom he poured on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life“ (Titus 3:6-7), as we read in the Catechism (cf. CCC 1817). Thanks to hope it is easier for us to deal with everyday problems. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey, as Pope Benedict XVI teaches us in his Encyclical Saved in Hope.

In this short commentary of the message we will remember the eighth death anniversary of the late Fr. Slavko Barbaric. Fr. Slavko was devoted to Our Lady in a true childlike manner. He was tireless in his ministry. He was always ready to offer help to anyone asking for it, either in a spiritual or material way. We will include him in our prayers by thanking the Lord for having given us the chance of knowing him and at the same time learning from him.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/11/2008

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's December 25, 2007 Message

Peace and Happy New Year to all! Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's December 25, 2007 as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE KING OF OUR HEARTS

"Dear children! With great joy I bring you the King of Peace for Him to bless you with His blessing. Adore Him and give time to the Creator for whom your heart yearns. Do not forget that you are passers-by on this earth and that things can give you small joys, while through my Son, eternal life is given to you. That is why I am with you, to lead you towards what your heart yearns for. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of December 25, 2007


On this day, on Christmas, Our Lady tells us in her message how joyfully she brings us the King of Peace, who will give us his blessing. Christmas is surely one of the most beautiful days of the year, even for the people who perceive it in their own, different way. It is the most beautiful day in the history of mankind, because the King of Peace was born.

The life agenda of Jesus, and our life agenda, is summarized in the angel song which was sung at His birth: "Glory be to God in the highest Heavens, And on earth peace among men who please Him!" (Lk 2, 14). Every time we speak to God in our prayers, God comes to us and fills our heart with peace. We can spread peace around us only if we are filled with the God's peace. Human heart becomes reckless if it is infested with the sin, or if it turns away from God. The sin corrupts the man, who is made on God’s image, and he/she spreads dissatisfaction. For the man, the only way to convert, change and return to the original state of the son is the sacrament of confession, which many took these days, making their peace with God. Every time when Jesus comes to us, into our heart, He makes it beautiful, because this is why He came to earth.

Our Lady invites us to give more time to the Creator for whom our hearts yearn. To give more time to the Creator means to pray more. If we expand our daily prayers only a little bit, our friendship with Jesus grows, He enters our life, blesses our day and everything we do, enlightens our mind and warms our heart.

On this earth, we are only passing by, we are only pilgrims. They who came before will leave earlier. Small things of this world can sometimes prevent us from reaching greater good. In Jesus, the doors of eternal life are opened for us. Through all these years of appearances, Our Lady teaches us in her school of love how to reach the eternal life and how to pray.

Our Lady also reveals us the true meaning of Christmas We can understand it better by watching Her, who was from the beginning present in the mystery of Christ’s salvation, full of virtues like faith, hope, love, humility, silence and joy. Humility is the key which helps us to open our hearts to God, so He can enter and transform it. Only by complete dedication to God can we find a way from the heart filled with the false pride or vanity to the heart filled with true humility and love.

Fra Danko Perutina
Medugorje, December 12th, 2007

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's November 25, 2007 Message

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's November 25, 2007 message to the world as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje. Fr. Danko is a local priest serving in the parish of Medjugorje.

God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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JESUS – THE KING OF OUR LIVES

"Dear children! Today, when you celebrate Christ, the King of all that is created, I desire for Him to be the King of your lives. Only through giving, little children, can you comprehend the gift of Jesus´ sacrifice on the Cross for each of you. Little children, give time to God that He may transform you and fill you with His grace, so that you may be a grace for others. For you, little children, I am a gift of grace and love, which comes from God for this peaceless world. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of November 25, 2007


In her last message, Our Lady invites us to decide in favour of Christ the King of all creation so that he can become the king in our lives. Christ is not a king like other kings who dressed in crimson and robes, wore crowns and wanted to rule over other people. Christ the King with his life is completely different to worldly kings. He surpasses and exceeds them by far by establishing a kingdom of peace, love and forgiveness. It is constantly expanding, it is a reality, but also at the same time an ideal to which we aspire. Jesus is the real and true kind who came to the world to serve in his humility. Only he who serves other may truly be king, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. True humility consists of seeing ourselves as we truly are: to recognise our gifts and thank the God for these, but also to recognise our weaknesses and accept ourselves, knowing that in spite of everything God loves us. This knowledge gives us great joy but at the same time calls us to accept great responsibility in servitude and humility.

Our Lady further teaches us, but at the same time also calls us to receive gifts as only in this way can be understand the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross which we can rightly call a victory of love. He, who taught men to love each other, and what’s more even their enemies, remained true to his words to the end: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15, 13). It is because of this the Jesus even suffered his traitor in his midst and did not reveal him, he did not allow Peter defend him with his sword, and graciously forgave him even when he denied him. Those who in Jesus’ name were led by love in their own life most contributed to the achievement of God’s kingdom on earth.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3, 16). Our Lady calls us to understand the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross which is the greatest gift among all gifts. In Jesus, God gave us his heart, all the depth of his love. It is the most beautiful and greatest gift. Jesus loved us until the end giving us all of himself completely. Coming into this world he became an unceasing gift to us all. He came to bless us with his love. We can accept this gift properly if we surrender ourselves to him completely so that he may transform us with his grace. So transformed, we can openly say converted, we too can then we can be a grace for others. We can be eyes for the blind, ears for the deaf, tongues for the mute, and hands and legs for those in need.

Jesus is the King of the world and the greatest gift. He sent his and our Mother here to us in Medugorje, Our Lady who is a merciful gift of love for all of us. The voice of Our Lady the Queen of Peace throughout all these 26 years is a call for peace in men’s hearts, a call to peace in the world. Let the one, whom God has chooses in a special way and joined the Kingdom of his Son, help us to accept Jesus as the Ruler of our lives, so that we may faithfully cooperate in the spreading of his Kingdom of love, justice and peace.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26.11.2007