Holy Relic Visitation: Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group, 11/21/2015

"...Do not waste time thinking

about whether you are worthy

to be my apostles..."

~ from Our Lady's Medjugorje Message, February 2, 2015

Bone Relics from St. Theophane

The line above, from the Medjugorje Message we read at the start of tonight's prayer meeting, for some reason, really struck a chord with our group members.  I think we are all, sometimes, our very own worst enemies when it comes to our personal relationships with Christ; often believing that we our unworthy of doing something good for God because of our personal faults and weaknesses; wanting to leave God's work to living "saints", who we deem to be the only ones fit to labor in the Lord's vineyard.  So yes, it's true we are far from being perfect (ALL people are!)... but our hesitation and doubt more often, than not, just renders our spiritual lives stagnant and fruitless... and as Our Lady stated in her message to us, it leads to a sad waste of the time and talents we have in this life.

Further complementing the Medjugorje Message was the life of the Saint we venerated this month - St. John Theophane Venard, a true modern apostle of the Church. This priest-martyr dedicated his life to God and to his ministry in Vietnam, and courageously died in witness of his immense faith in Christ... with such PEACE and JOY, I might add (you can read more about St. John Theophane here).  Again, more inspiration in regards to being modern apostles.

Lastly, we meditated on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary this month... and all the reflections that our prayer leader read to us from a little prayer book - coincidentally, but not surprisingly - spoke of the eternal reward and the glory that awaits those who faithfully serve God. It was one of those nights where all the different components of our prayer program ended up perfectly complementing each other despite no prior planning; a sign of the Holy Spirit at work... and the message for our group from Him was crystal clear: be apostles that this world stands so much in need of today; be proactive participants in God's plan of salvation not just bystanders.

 

Some of our group members clowning

around with the "Photo with the Pope"

cellphone app... and preparing for our

early Thanksgiving Feast after

our prayers.

And another common theme that emerged tonight as we prayed our personal intentions out loud after the Rosary was GRATITUDE; thanking God for his many blessings. In fact, we dubbed our usual potluck our prayer family's early Thanksgiving Dinner since the Thanksgiving Holiday is just a few days away. We didn't have a turkey but we enjoyed delectable dishes and desserts, just the same, along with a few glasses of wine... and lots of lighthearted conversation and laughter during our time around the table. We all went home with full tummies and full spirits.

Thank you, Jesus, and our

dear Blessed Mother!