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

Hello, everyone!

You will find below the official English translation of Fr. Danko Perutina's commentary on Our Lady's April 25th, 2009 message to the world. This translation is provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje, via Steve and Ana Shawl of Medjugorje Web.


Sincerely,

Erik Haan
Medjugorje: The Messages & The Mission



PRAY FOR PEACE AND WITNESS IT

"Dear children! Today I call you all to pray for peace and to witness it in your families so that peace may become the highest treasure on this peaceless earth. I am your Queen of Peace and your mother. I desire to lead you on the way of peace, which comes only from God. Therefore, pray, pray, pray. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of April 25, 2009



In her message of 25 April 2009 Our Lady calls us to pray for peace and to witness it at the same time, first in our families and then in the whole world. It is a fact that our time is marked with peacelessness in its many various forms. Having that in mind, we must not remain indifferent, but must make every effort to create peace. The Church, which has been announcing the Joyful News since its very beginning, has been called to announce and always realize peace. In His message written in the occasion of the World Day for Peace Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, says: «We do not claim to find in the Gospel text ready-made formulas for making today this or that advance towards peace. But on every page of the Gospel and of the history of the Church we find a spirit, that of brotherly love, powerfully teaching peace.» We Christians are called to announce and witness peace with our own lives. Establishing peace is not a question of choice, it is an obligation. Peace is never established once and for all, but needs to be created all the time because the deepest longing of man's heart is actually for peace. In his book Fast with the Heart the departed Fr. Slavko Barbaric writes about peace: «How often we lose peace because we are arrogant, selfish, envious, jealous, avariciuos and consumed by power and honour. Experience confirms that through fasting and prayer evil, arrogance and selfishness are overcome; the heart is opened and love and humility, generosity and goodness grow. Thus, true conditions for peace are realized. Whoever has peace because he loves and forgives also remains spiritually and physically healthy. He remains capable of shaping his own life in a manner worthy of man, who is the most exalted of God’s creatures. Through fasting and prayer, human needs are also diminished and brought to proportion. Also by this, conditions for peace along with a proper relationship with others and material things are being created. In everything we do, whether good or bad, we seek peace. When a person loves, looks for and experiences peace, or even when he stays sober or fights against addiction, he seeks peace. When he becomes drunk, he also seeks peace. When he fights for his life and the lives of those he loves, he realizes peace.»

The Queen of Peace wants to lead us to true peace, which is her Son and our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true king of peace. Prayer is the safe path leading to Jesus and Heaven. In her last message she urges us three times to pray for peace as prayer is the only right way. Let us respond with all our heart and soul to the call of Our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, and she will lead us to the true peace, the love of God, closeness and joy.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/04/2009

Medjugorje - Fr. Danko Perutina's February Commentary

Below you will find the official English translation of Fr. Danko Perutina's commentary on Our Lady's February message to the world. The translation was provided by The Information Center in Medjugorje, via Steve and Ana Shawl of The Medjugorje Web.



CONFESS YOUR SINS

"Dear children! In this time of renunciation, prayer and penance, I call you anew: go and confess your sins so that grace may open your hearts, and permit it to change you. Convert little children, open yourselves to God and to His plan for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of February 25, 2009


On Ash Wednesday, also known as Clean Wednesday we begin Lent, the intensive season of liturgical year when we prepare for Easter. In her message of 25 February Our Lady makes us aware that Lent is the time of renunciation, prayer and penance.

In his 2009 Lent message Pope Benedict XVI says: “At the beginning of Lent, which constitutes an itinerary of more intense spiritual training, the Liturgy sets before us again three penitential practices that are very dear to the biblical and Christian tradition – prayer, almsgiving, fasting – to prepare us to better celebrate Easter and thus experience God’s power that, as we shall hear in the Paschal Vigil, “dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride” (Paschal Præconium). The Pope continues by saying: “Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word …. Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God. At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live… It is good to see how the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each one of us, as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote, to make the complete gift of self to God ».

The center of Our Lady’s tonight’s message is a call to confess our sins because this is the way grace opens our hearts and changes us. Jesus established the Sacrament of Reconciliation for all sinful members of the Church, for all those who fall into a grave sin and lose the grace of Jesus. Confession creates an opportunity for us to convert and to regain grace. That is why the fathers of the Church have referred to confession as «another board for salvation after the wreckage of grace».

A sincere confession always leads to a complete conversion, where the meaning of conversion is a change of one’s entire life, actions and beliefs. It is a complete shift. A shift like that happened, for example, to St. Paul , St. Augustine , St. Francis and to many other saints. Conversion leads us to denying our sinful way of life and pagan customs directing us towards our complete surrender to God, to his plan and actions, as Our Lady calls us to do. Besides the negative side related to denying, as we deny such things like food, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling and other additions, Lent has a positive side too, which is our decision that we shall pray more, forgive more, love our fellow men more, worship Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar more, and help others more. Let us include both sides in our spiritual life in order for us to truly experience the fullness of Easter joy.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/02/2009

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's January 25, 2009 Message

Below you will find the official English translation of Our Lady's January 25, 2009 message to the world. This translation was provided to me by Steve and Ana Shawl, of Medjugorje Web (www.medjugorje.org).



INVITED TO WALK THE WAY OF HOLINESS

"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May prayer be for you like the seed that you will put in my heart, which I will give over to my Son Jesus for you, for the salvation of your souls. I desire, little children, for each of you to fall in love with eternal life which is your future, and for all worldly things to be a help for you to draw you closer to God the Creator. I am with you for this long because you are on the wrong path. Only with my help, little children, you will open your eyes. There are many of those who, by living my messages, comprehend that they are on the way of holiness towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call."

Message of January 25, 2009


In the encounter with God everybody finds the right path and becomes aware of the truth about oneself at the same time. Prayer is the easiest way in which we can encounter Jesus, who is the meaning of our lives. The basic prerequisites in order to pray in the proper way are: honesty, humbleness and courage, which help us to reach for God in an easier manner. In her message of 25 January Our Lady calls us to prayer, as she has done so many times so far. She is also giving us an answer as to why she calls us by saying: “Prayer will be for you like the seed that you will put in my heart, which I will give over to my Son Jesus for the salvation of your souls.” The way of salvation is the way of holiness. In her message of 28 March 1985 Our Lady says: “Dear children! Today I wish to call you to pray, pray, pray! In prayer you shall perceive the greatest joy and the way out of every situation that has no exit. Thank you for starting up prayer. Each individual is dear to my heart. And I thank all who have urged prayer in their families.” When Our Lady speaks of prayer, what she primarily has in mind is families praying together. The best prayer is the one that we say together with Our lady while following the path to our salvation and to the salvation of the world. The path that we follow through prayer is the path leading us to Jesus. Therefore, it is important to pray with your heart, which means praying with your whole being.

Rarely do we think about eternal life, although man has been created for the eternal life in the fellowship with the love of God. There are various obstacles on our way to eternity. These are primarily earthly things, which are like dust in our eyes preventing us from falling in love with eternal life, which is our future. When reading the Book of Genesis we can see that God called upon man to be his partner on earth. Man received a command from God to subdue the earth: «Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it…» (Gen 1:28). We are called to use things, such as TV, mobile phones, newspapers, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and others, not to be slaves to them. Our homeland is not here on earth. We are mere passers-by here. We have been called not only to reign as kings and rule the earth, but to prepare ourselves for eternity.

Our Lady gives the answer to all those who are wondering why she has been appearing for so long. She says: «I am with you for this long because you are on the wrong path». To be on the wrong path means to be far away from God. Clear signs that a person is on the wrong path are restlessness, guilty consciousness and discontent. All those who do not follow the commandments of the Church, who commit grave and deadly sins, who always put themselves first, who always have to be right, are the ones that are on the wrong path. Our Lady has been with us for so long in order to help us open our eyes to see what real values are. At the end of her message she encourages those who have responded to her call. Our Lady says: «There are many of those who, by living my messages comprehend that they are on the way of holiness towards eternity». This message encourages us all to be better and again make the decision to continue to grow in holiness.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/01/2009

Medjugorje - Fr. Danko Perutina's Commentary on Our Lady's December 25, 2008 Message

Below is the official English translation of Fr. Danko Perutina's commentary on Our Lady's Christmas 2008 message to the world.

I am hopeful this blog will become a place where all of us will not only read Our Lady's messages and the commentary on them, but also a place where we begin to start a dialogue about it, so please feel free to share your thoughts by using the "comments" link at the bottom of this post.

Thanks, and Happy New Year!

- Erik



SURRENDER YOUR LIVES INTO THE HANDS OF JESUS

"Dear children! You are running, working, gathering – but without blessing. You are not praying! Today I call you to stop in front of the manger and to meditate on Jesus, Whom I give to you today also, to bless you and to help you to comprehend that, without Him, you have no future. Therefore, little children, surrender your lives into the hands of Jesus, for Him to lead you and protect you from every evil. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of December 25, 2008


On Christmas Day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. On 25 December Our Lady gave us a message, which is a reminder and a call. She says: Dear children! You are running, working, gathering – but without blessing. These words are true. They touch us even deeper because they come from the mouth of Our Lady. If we just look around, we can notice how anxiously worried about material things we all are. We work hard and have no blessing. There is no blessing because we do not put God first. One was able to notice that these few days before Christmas when wholesale stores, shops and hair salons were more crowded that confessionals. A great attention is paid to appearances, whereas we do not strive towards the inner beauty of the soul that much. If we were so concerned with our salvation and spiritual life as much as we are concerned with external things, Paradise would soon start blooming on Earth.

In her message Our lady continues by saying: You are not praying! In the morning, before going to work, most Catholics just make the sign of the cross, without any other more profound prayer. In the evening, already tired from work, we fall asleep at the second Hail Mary. And it goes on in this way day by day. Our body is getting tired, but our soul is getting even more tired. Then we ask ourselves: Why there is no blessing? Why does not God hear us? He does hear us, but it is us that do not hear Him. Whenever He comes, we are not at home.

Our Lady calls us to stop in front of the manger and to meditate on Jesus, Whom she gives to us today also, to bless us and to help us to comprehend that, without Him, we have no future. Christmas, the birth of Jesus, is a holiday of the eternal and infinite love of God that has entered history in the form of an innocuous child. While we are meditating and thinking of the birth of Jesus, we must bear in mind that it is not merely a nice story of a little child, shepherds, angels and kings who lived a long time ago. It is a holiday that speaks about the incessant connection between God and man. It is not an event that occurred a long time ago. It is a reality that should be happening in us every day. God becomes embodied and becomes God with us every day. We encounter Him at Holy Mass, in sacraments, in prayers and in good deeds. Jesus wants to keep on being born in us, His beloved sons and daughters, as well as in the community of His believers, in the Church, which is His mysterious embodiment.

Our Lady offers us a solution to all our fears and anxieties – it is Her son Jesus. She says: Surrender your lives into the hands of Jesus, for Him to lead you and protect you from every evil. Only in the hands of Jesus, only in His heart shall we have true protection from every evil. Let us bear witness to the Joyful News and let us be happy feeling that primordial joy St. Paul calls us to:«Brothers! Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!» (Phil 4:4). Let us not be gold diggers who struggle their entire lives searching for gold, finding it, digging it, but remaining the poorest although holding gold in their hands. Let the newly born Jesus bless our whole life and all our noble strivings.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/12/2008

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

ARM YOURSELF WITH PRAYER AND FAST

"Dear children! In a special way I call you all to pray for my intentions so that, through your prayers, you may stop Satan's plan over this world, which is further from God every day, and which puts itself in the place of God and is destroying everything that is beautiful and good in the souls of each of you. Therefore, little children, arm yourselves with prayer and fasting so that you may be conscious of how much God loves you, and carry out God's will. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of October 25, 2008


Our Lady invites us to pray for her intentions. If we give ourselves in prayer to the God, the satanic scheme will not be fulfilled on Earth. By this message, Our Lady asks for our cooperation. We are aware that Jesus and Our Lady can prevail over Satan without us, but they ask for our cooperation and our decision. God created us free and asks of us to take sides. God created us without our help, but He cannot saves us if we do not want it.

When Our Lady speaks about the satanic scheme on this Earth, she does not speak about the nature, but about the man and all the sins which mankind does when it fails before the satanic temptations, which are the various kinds of great sins: marriages of the same sex, abortus, killings, fornication, robbing of the poor, curses, drugs, alcohol, etc. The mankind today continuously puts itself in the place of God and repeats the mistake from the first pages of the Bible (Post 3). Human values have become more important than the Christian values. For many people, money has become a god. The consequence of this is that everything which is good and beautiful in the souls of men is being destroyed.

Our Lady gives us the tools to resist the satanic scheme, and these are the prayer and the fast. We all think that we pray a lot and that we have a deep faith. If we would make a poll, we would see that we do not pray so often. We spend more time talking on the phone, drinking coffees, reading newspapers or watching sport, than we spend praying. The fast and the prayer have been, from the Christian beginnings, the main tools in fighting the evil. If we do not pray and fast, we cannot believe, because the faith, i.e. the trust, is established in relation to someone, and this someone is God. The prayer is the encounter with God, and from this encounter, a strong and forceful faith is being born.

Our Lady invites us in the message from November 25th 1987. to pray that the Satan does not attract us with his vanity and false strength. She says: I am with you and I want you to believe me that I love you. Love and humility can be read from every message of Our Lady, and it is the main reason that so much people from the whole world visits Medugorje – because they feel they are loved.

Tonight’s message Our Lady ends with the words: do the God’s will. In 40th psalm, in 9th row, we can read: “It is dearer to me, my God, to do Your will.” A man who does God’s will is filled by joy and serenity. To do the God’s will means to stride toward sanctity. The humility is the characteristic of those who do the God’s will. They are obedient and meek. Those who do not respond to doing the God’s will are focused on the worldly matters and God is not in the first place for them. These are the people who are full of ambition and are trying to fulfill their goals by any means. These are the people who measure everything with this world’s measure, and consequently loose their joy.

Let us all together decide for God once again, let us heed the call of the Queen of peace, and we will become the true witnesses of the God’s love and the love of Our Lady, we will become such disciples as Jesus wants.


Fra Danko Perutina
Medugorje, October 26th 2008