Medjugorje Message: April 25, 2025
Dear children! Winds of peacelessness, selfishness and sin are catching hold of many hearts and leading them into peacelessness and perdition. That is why I am calling you, little children: return to God and to prayer, so that it may be good for you in the hearts and on the earth on which you live. I love you, little children, and that is why I am not tiring of calling you to conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.
River of Light
May 2025
Our Lady’s Easter message makes no reference to the Resurrection of her Son, nor to the Feast of Divine Mercy, nor to the recent death of Pope Francis. Instead, her message seems a cautionary instruction alerting us to our present precarious condition in relation to the world around us. Her words are very much in the spirit of our Holy Father Francis ‘ own recent teachings and warnings which boldly called out the same three perils in our world: “peacelessness, selfishness, and sin.”
Our Lady begins: “Winds of peacelessness, selfishness and sin are catching hold of many hearts and leading them into peacelessness and perdition.” These are strong words with grim significance for those who have “ears to hear.” Indeed, in our own culture today we can easily feel the effects of the gale-force “winds of peacelessness, selfishness and sin.” They blow up constantly on our smart phones and internet screens— bidden or unbidden—via the daily news cycle.
Wars, unjust and aggressive land grabs between nations, unprovoked attacks on neighboring countries, the cruelly executed mass deportation of immigrants, the dismantling of lifesaving humanitarian aid programs, disregard for the rule of law; unbridled, transparent greed and corruption at the highest levels of government, and politicians’ derisive ridicule for “empathy” (aka “compassion”) as being only a sign of human “weakness.” These examples of the hurricane winds of “peacelessness, selfishness and sin” are diametrically opposed to the Gospel values of peace, benevolence, and virtue; their turbulence is collapsing the social and moral foundations of our culture and “blowing” us into a chaotic, “upside-down” world of our own making.
Sacred Scripture has much to say about our individual lives in relation to the “winds of the world” : “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the greed and enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious, prideful life—is not from the Father but from the world. Yet the world and its enticements are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.” (1 Jn 2:15-17)
St. Paul urged the followers of Jesus to grow ever more mature, “so that we may no longer be tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4:14) And at the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus prayed to God for his followers: “I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.” (Jn 17:14-15) The “Evil One” is a title for Satan, whom Jesus also called “the ruler of this world.” (Jn 14:30)
William Butler Yeats’ classic poem, “The Second Coming,” written in 1919, could aptly describe our present world:
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
…What rough beast its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
According to Our Lady, the tragic effect of the world’s selfish “winds” is that they are “catching hold of many hearts and leading them into peacelessness and perdition.” The quantum reality of our universe is holistic or grounded in “relational wholeness.” Micro-cosmic levels of sin that are small and individual will be reflected in macro-cosmic levels that are large and complex—and vice versa: “As above, so below.” When the systemic SIN of a whole community, city, nation, continent, culture, or planet becomes so huge and overwhelming, we, like the prophet Hosea, find that “he who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind” of severe consequences. The world now suffers a “tsunami” of “peacelessness, selfishness and sin” that sucks into its giant destructive vortex “many hearts” — “catching hold” of them, like a tornado’s funnel sweeping into a deadly “twister” everything in its path.
Our Lady says that these “winds” are leading many of us into “peacelessness and perdition” : “peacelessness” in this present life, and “perdition” —a state of complete and utter “lostness” —after death. While the scary word “perdition” is often defined as “hell” or “eternal damnation,” Our Lady does not speak in terms of divine punishment, but rather of simple cause and effect: “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23) The consequence of being caught in the worldly grip of “peacelessness, selfishness and sin” inevitably leads us to experience a “peaceless” state in this world, and—without conversion of heart and life—to die and continue on in this same “lost” state after death. The Latin root of “perdition” is “perdere” —to “lose” or be given up as “lost.” In simple terms, if we live our life “spiritually lost,” we will naturally experience our death as also “spiritually lost” : Live Lost / Die Lost. Our inner state of consciousness is everything.
Our Lady continues: “This is why I am calling you, little children: return to God and to prayer, so that it may be good for you in the hearts and on the earth on which you live.” The “return to God and to prayer” is the essence of CONVERSION or “metanoia,” which means to change the direction in which we’re looking for happiness. This requires transforming our orientation away from the outward “worldly” pursuits that have been wildly exaggerated by our culture into “winds of peacelessness, selfishness and sin” rooted in our “ego-mania” for safety/ security, affection/ esteem, power/ control, and sensory pleasure (all manifested today through monetary greed).
In the conversion process, these outward-looking “emotional programs for happiness” that fuel our False Self must give way to a new focus that is INWARD-looking: to the Divine Indwelling Presence of God that animates our whole being from within this still, calm, silent center that is the “eye of the storm” where we can take refuge as the worldly winds swirl around us. Making time every day for quiet PRAYER is vital to connecting with this interior Presence of Peace that sows life-giving, life-changing conversion of heart.
Echoing Pope Francis, Our Lady also reminds us of how conversion brings into our consciousness the goodness of “THE EARTH ON WHICH YOU LIVE.” What a difference in meaning there is between the two words, “world” and “earth“! In scriptural terms, the “world” is our human construct that has mostly gone awry through our pathological/egoic human condition, becoming a place of constant temptation toward destruction, while “earth” is the beautiful garden of God’s creation in Nature—to be respected, revered and cared for—as Pope Francis taught in his encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.” Yet in the face of climate change and other threats to our earth, we seem to have our values “upside-down and backwards” in a “worldly” way, much of the time. Another classic poem of 1807 by William Wordsworth describes our present state:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God!
Through a “return to God and to prayer” in conversion, Our Lady calls us out of our LOST state of “peacelessness and perdition” to a heart-life and earth-life that is “good for you.”
Her message concludes: “I love you, little children, and that is why I am not tiring of calling you to conversion.” Our Lady is driven by LOVE (also known as God): the creative, animating, sustaining, and inexhaustible engine of all Reality that never tires or grows weary. Herein lies our HOPE for a future of peace, a restoration of “good will toward men,” and the “higher angels” of our common human nature eventually taking the lead in our evolving consciousness, so that we will indeed be “growing fully mature to the extent of the full stature of Christ.” (Eph 4:13)
For this to happen, St. Paul taught: “Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom 12:2) Thus our movement must be from “CON-forming” to “TRANS-forming“! As we move from “conforming” to this sick world in its “lostness,” we must focus instead on “transforming” our mind through PRAYER and GOD/LOVE-consciousness in conversion of heart. With the Indwelling Resurrection Spirit of Christ moving us toward divinization, we can truly say we are Risen “Easter people,” alleluia, alleluia!
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Empty yourself. Sit quietly, content with the grace of God.
—St. Romuald
The purpose of silence is to break through the crust of the false self.
—Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO
If God is the center of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts.
—St. Vincent de Paul
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than to have words without a heart.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi
Contemplation is a wordless resting in the presence of God beyond all thoughts and images.
—James Finley
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.
—Albert Einstein
Division begins in the MIND and can be ended by the HEART.
—Robb Smith
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Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.
—St. John Paul II
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“Incarnatio continua!”: The Incarnation continues IN you, AS you.
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Find inner peace and thousands around you will find salvation.
The purpose of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
—St. Seraphim of Sarov
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LOVE is the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mystical of cosmic forces. LOVE is the primal and universal psychic energy. LOVE is a sacred reserve of energy; it is the blood of spiritual evolution.
—Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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Every being exists in intimate relation with other beings and in constant exchange of gifts with each other.
—Fr. Thomas Berry, CP
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Recognizing “enoughness” is a radical act in an economy that is always urging us to consume more.
—Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Our Amma/Abba, Divine Source-Who-Is-Love,
Whole and Holy is Your Name.
May Your reign of Love come, Your will of Love be done
Here on earth, just as it is with You.
You give us each day all that we need
and You hold no accounts against us,
just as we wish to hold no accounts against each other or ourselves.
Leave us not in temptation of believing the lie of separation,
But deliver us from its consequences of acting out in fear
and the evil delusions of ego.
For Yours is the power and the glory of endless Life, Light, and Love
now and forever, amen.
—Aramaic translation of the Lord’s Prayer
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As we mourn the death of our dear Holy Father, Pope Francis, praying for the repose of his soul and thanking God for the great gift we received through the authenticity of his Gospel teaching and example, the following quotes are taken from his final homily at the Saturday Easter Vigil Mass and the Easter Sunday “Urbi et Orbi” Blessing upon the Church and the World. He passed away the very next day—Easter Monday, April 21, 2025.
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The Easter Vigil reminds us that the light of the Resurrection illumines our path one step at a time; quietly, it breaks through the darkness of history and shines in our hearts, calling for the response of a humble faith, devoid of all triumphalism. The Lord’s passage from death to life is not a spectacular event by which God shows his power and compels us to believe in him. For Jesus, it was not the end of an easy journey that bypassed Calvary. Nor should we experience it as such, casually and unthinkingly. On the contrary, the Resurrection is like little seeds of light that slowly and silently come to take root in our hearts, at times still prey to darkness and unbelief.
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This “style” of God sets us free from a disembodied piety that wrongly imagines that the Lord’s Resurrection resolves everything as if by magic. Far from it: We cannot celebrate Easter without continuing to deal with the nights that dwell in our hearts and the shadows of death that so often loom over our world. Christ indeed conquered sin and destroyed death, yet in our earthly history the power of his Resurrection is still being brought to fulfillment. And that fulfillment, like a small seed of light, has been entrusted to us, to protect it and make it grow.
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When the thought of death lies heavy on our hearts, when we see the dark shadows of evil advancing in our world, when we feel the wounds of selfishness or violence festering in our flesh and in our society, let us not lose heart, but return to the message of this night. The light quietly shines forth, even though we are in darkness; the promise of new life and a world finally set free awaits us; and a new beginning, however impossible it might seem, can take us by surprise, for Christ has triumphed over death….In his great love, he will not let us falter, or allow evil to have the last word. This hope, already fulfilled in Christ…has been entrusted to us so that we can bear credible witness to it, so that the Kingdom of God may find its way into the hearts of the women and men of our time.
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We are to reflect Easter in our lives and become messengers of hope, builders of hope, even as so many winds of death still buffet us. We can do this by our words, by our small daily acts, by decisions inspired by the Gospel. Our whole life can be a presence of hope. We want to be that presence for those who lack faith in the Lord, for those who have lost their way…for all the poor and oppressed in our world; for the many women who are humiliated and killed, for the unborn and for children who are mistreated; and for the victims of war. To each and all, let us bring the hope of Easter!
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The risen Christ is the definitive turning point in human history. He is the hope that does not fade. He is the love that accompanies us and sustains us. He is the future of history, the ultimate destination toward which we walk, to be welcomed into that new life…and it falls to us to proclaim this Easter hope, this “turning point” where darkness becomes light. Sisters, brothers, the Easter season is a time of hope. “There still is fear, there still is painful awareness of sinfulness, but there also is light breaking through. Easter brings the good news that although things seem to get worse in the world, the Evil One has already been overcome….” (H. Nouwen) Let us make room for the light of the Risen Lord!
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Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!
Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day…God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption on every side. The Lamb of God is victorious.
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Christ is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God created us for life and wants the human family to rise again!…What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants!
On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!
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I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible! From the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Resurrection…may the light of peace radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire world. I express my closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel, and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. I think of the people of Gaza…where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation. I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!
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Let us pray for the people of Lebanon and Syria…the people of Yemen. I invite all to find solutions through constructive dialogue…May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace…let us remember the South Caucasus…Armenia and Azerbaijan…the western Balkans…peace and consolation to the African peoples who are victims of violence and conflict, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sudan and South Sudan…Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region…the people of Myanmar.
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There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.
Nor is peace possible without true disarmament! The requirement that every people provide for its own defense must not turn into a race to rearmament. The light of Easter impels us to break down the barriers that create division and are fraught with grave political and economic consequences. It impels us to care for one another, to increase our mutual solidarity, and to work for the integral development of each human person.
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I appeal to all those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others—but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the “weapons” of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death! May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts…we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not “targets” that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity.
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Dear brothers and sisters, in the Lord’s Paschal Mystery, death and life contended in a stupendous struggle, but the Lord now lives forever. He fills us with the certainty that we too are called to share in the life that knows no end, when the clash of arms and the rumble of death will be heard no more. Let us entrust ourselves to him, for he alone can make all things new! Happy Easter to everyone!
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Wisdom from Pope Francis
“Who am I to judge?”
To reject the contemplative dimension of any religion is to reject the religion itself, however loyal one may be to its externals and rituals. This is because the contemplative dimension is the heart and soul of every religion. It initiates the movement into higher states of consciousness. The great wisdom teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Buddhist Sutras, Old and New Testaments, and the Koran bear witness to this truth. Right now there are about two billion Christians on the planet. If a significant portion of them were to embrace the contemplative dimension of the gospel, the emerging global society would experience a powerful surge toward enduring peace. If this contemplative dimension of the Christian religion is not presented, the Gospel is not being adequately preached.
– Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO
