Medjugorje Message: October 25, 2018
Dear children! You have a great grace of being called to a new life through the messages which I am giving you. This, little children, is a time of grace, a time and a call to conversion for you and the future generations. Therefore, I am calling you, little children, pray more and open your heart to my Son Jesus. I am with you and love you all and bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.
River of Light
November 2018
In this message to the world given at the threshold of November—the season of All Saints, All Souls, and Thanksgiving—Our Lady touches upon all these themes: “a new life and call to conversion” that marks the soul’s journey into the Communion of Saints, and the “great grace/time of grace” and “motherly blessing” for which we feel immense Thanksgiving. In addition, her recent monthly message to Mirjana gives us priceless further instruction for our conversion to a new life of holiness and love.
Our Lady begins by saying: “You have a great grace of being called to a new life through the messages which I am giving you. This, little children, is a time of grace, a time and a call to conversion for you and the future generations.” Once again, we might feel confounded by Our Lady calling “THIS TIME” a “time of GRACE,” as we look at the escalating violence, political terrorism, hatred, bitterness, coarse incivility, and division plaguing our country, with the fomenting of a contentious, polarized extreme dualism of partisan “us vs. them“ thinking flooding us daily, even from the top levels of our government where leadership should be promoting the healing unity and common ground we share as Americans and human beings. Overall, this seems more a time of national DISGRACE than “grace”!
But Our Lady clearly indicates where the “grace” of this moment in our history lies: it lies in our “being called to a new life through the messages.” It lies in the fact that we are being taught and shown, through Mary’s “School of Prayer” at Medjugorje a DIFFERENT and BETTER way, a “new life” radically unlike the life of our current mainstream culture—that pathetic tragi-comedy of greed and corruption played out on our cable news screens and social media feeds every day. In Medjugorje, Our Lady calls us to “a new life,” and that in itself makes this a “time of grace,” for her call is “a call to conversion for you and the future generations.” CONVERSION means “change” ; thus, Our Lady is heralding a change that will affect not only our lives in the short term, but “future generations.” She’s referring to a vast “sea-change” of our human consciousness that will carry over for many years to come, as a whole new era, state, stage, and phase of spiritual awareness—a whole new epoch in the evolution of consciousness begins. And all of this in our lifetime! How blessed we are to be chosen to live at the leading edge of a new stage of human consciousness—a new way of life in a new world!
But the paradox or ambiguity of this “great grace” is that we must also live through a time of intense suffering, sadness, chaos, unrest, confusion and anxiety, for the transition period from a lower developmental level of consciousness into a higher, or more evolved, level, always involves these difficult “birth pangs” of hard “labor.” St. Paul referred to this: “All creation has been groaning in labor pains until now.” (Rom 8:22) Indeed, all this pain must be endured as the “old regime” of lower-level thinking disintegrates and dies out—usually only after a mighty battle and effort to remain the dominant “operating system” of human consciousness. For our outdated, archaic ways of thinking and behaving never go down without a fight. We are witnessing such a fight right now as our world becomes a battlefield once again, for the struggle of our “better angels” to triumph over the “old enemy” of our satanic ego/false self.
It is an old story, recounted in Genesis but replayed throughout the millennia of our human journey on earth. In the Christian contemplative tradition, Trappist Fr. Thomas Keating teaches about our developmental stages of human consciousness as they evolved in our species collectively through history, and as they evolve in each individual lifetime through the spiritual journey. These stages include the “Reptilian” primitive-brain Level (focused on safety/security needs); the “Typhonic” Level (focused on sexual and aggression instincts and needs for affection/approval and power/control); the “Mythic Membership” Level (fixated on tribal or group identity); the “Intuitive” Level (a sense of oneness and universal belonging and care transcending dualistic reason); the “Unitive” Level (rooted in our transforming union with God and the divine presence in all reality); the “Unity” Level (a non-dual state of oneness with God with the self no longer a fixed point of reference); and the “Ultimate” Level (the “nada!” of no-self in the realm of God).
While we humans continually wrestle, both as individuals and as cultures, with the instinctual programs of our lower (Reptilian and Typhonic) levels of consciousness—the issues of safety/security, affection/esteem, and power/control—our current culture wars seem to stem largely from the very TRIBAL “Mythic Membership” level of consciousness with its overblown “group” identification (e.g. partisanship). We are now poised to OUTGROW this level, with Our Lady’s help, so that we may evolve into the next developmental levels—the Intuitive, Unitive, and even Unity levels, which very few people (yet many saints!) have reached thus far. All of these higher levels of consciousness include an awareness of ONENESS, inclusivity, and universal care for ALL REALITY (including non-human life)—not just the private/separate self or the “in-group.”
To transition into this level from the egoic selfishness and myopic greed of our current state is indeed a daunting challenge to consider! Yet Fr. Keating has said that all Christians should already be at the “Unitive” level as the simple “norm” for Gospel living as “other Christs” baptized into the Mystical Body. But ironically, today many self-proclaimed “Christians” are at the forefront of tribal factions in these decaying twilight hours of the “Mythic Membership” level of consciousness, which must be transcended if our species is to survive and thrive in the severely damaged biosphere of our earth, now in great need of remedial care. So the “clock is ticking” on our conversion, and in this time of “great grace” Our Lady has come to us and spent the past 37 years leading us to the cusp of the next developmental step in our spiritual evolution.
Jesus said, “I have come to light a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!” (Lk 12:49) In his humanity 2,000 years ago, Our Lord had already reached the Intuitive, Unitive, Unity, and Ultimate levels of consciousness—all of which “blaze” with the consuming fire of Divine Love. We are not there yet, but the “kindling” for this transformation was laid by Jesus Christ who came to light this fire through His life, death and resurrection—the Paschal Mystery which forms the blueprint or template for our own lives to follow. Our Lady tells us clearly how we must respond to this “time of grace” and conversion in which we live: “Therefore, I am calling you, little children, pray more and open your heart to my Son Jesus.”
This instruction to PRAY is so simple and basic—the same teaching Our Lady has repeated all these years. Yet it is not “easy” for us, here in the fast-paced, plugged-in sea of distractions that is our 21st century world. In today’s environment, the easiest thing to do is remain outwardly engaged in the negativity of conflicting ideologies, dualistic arguments, and endless criticism and complaint, regardless of which faction has our tribal, “mythic membership” loyalty. Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to remain inwardly focused on the Divine Indwelling Presence of God, the Holy Spirit within, guiding our thoughts, words and actions toward a “new life” of conversion to a “Unity” level of Christ-consciousness that “blazes” as a fire of charity, faith, hope, joy and positivity in every moment and encounter.
On the cusp of this radical conversion of our human consciousness, Our Lady gives us the monthly general message from Medjugorje; she also gives a message on the second of each month to Mirjana, providing more detailed instruction. On October 2, she said: “I am calling you to be courageous and to not grow weary….Have courage and do not grow weary.” Many people feel exhausted and beaten down by the depressing events of our daily life in a country so divided and contentious. And fear drives so much of the hateful rhetoric and anxious insecurity that people express. Our Lady calls us beyond these emotions, to courage and perseverance. She also told Mirjana: “The world needs much prayer, but prayer spoken with the heart and the soul and not only pronounced with the lips.” Our Lady has continually asked us for “prayer of the heart“—deep, silent, meditative, contemplative prayer, rather than mere superficial or distracted “lip service” that fails to penetrate the depths of our being. The conversion of heart and life that is needed for us to step up to a new and higher level of consciousness absolutely requires such DEEP prayer for inner transformation to occur—for the “spark to ignite” on the blazing fire of love that Jesus Christ yearned to set on this earth.
Additionally, Our Lady told Mirjana: “Even the smallest good—the smallest sign of love—conquers evil which is all the more visible. My children, listen to me so that good may overcome, so that you may come to know the love of my Son. This is the greatest happiness ….This is the wealth which gives good feelings and sees love and goodness everywhere….Be like rays of the sun which with the warmth of my Son’s love warm everyone around them….My children, long for holiness but in humility, in the humility which permits my Son to do that which He desires through you….Your prayers, your words, thoughts and actions—all of this either opens or closes the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven for you. My Son showed you the way.”
Here Our Lady invites us to truly allow the Divine Indwelling Presence of the Christ-Spirit within us to shine forth from our life in all that we think, say and do. She assures us that these will be expressions of goodness, love and joy radiating from our inner being outward, which will “conquer evil” —even in the smallest, seemingly insignificant moments and gestures. Like the mustard seed in Our Lord’s parable, the “little things” of our daily life truly DO count! This month as we celebrate the Communion of Saints and Holy Souls, let us follow their example and Our Lady’s teaching to “long for holiness but in the humility” which permits Jesus to act through us in whatever way “He desires”—leaving aside our own selfish agendas in order to be transformed and converted to the “new life” which our Creator wants for us.
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If we live our spiritual lives only in fear of punishment or in hope of reward, rather than in the awareness of the One in whom all life is worthwhile, we can be religious people, but we will never be holy people. Then life is simply a series of tests and trials and scores, not the moment-by-moment revelation of God who is present in everything that happens to us, in everything we do. God is present in everything around us, in everything we do, wherever we are, and in whatever situations we find ourselves. It is coming to a sense of the Presence of God that changes our attitude toward life.
—Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB
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“Things fall apart, the center cannot hold.” We are no strangers to the falling apart; we perpetrate against the center of our lives, and on some days it feels like an endless falling, like a deep threat, like rising water, like ruthless wind. But You….You in the midst, You back in play, You rebuking and silencing and ordering, You creating restfulness in the very eye of the storm. You…be our center: cause us not to lie about the danger, cause us not to resist your good order. Be our God. Be the God You promised, and we will be among those surely peaceable in your order. We pray in the name of the One through whom all things hold together. Amen.
—Walter Brueggemann
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Evolutionary thinking is actually contemplative thinking because it leaves the full field of the future in God’s hands and agrees to humbly hold the present with what it only tentatively knows for sure. Evolutionary thinking agrees to both knowing and not knowing, at the same time. To stay on the ride, to trust the trajectory, to know it is moving, and moving somewhere always better, is just another way to describe faith. We are all in evolution all the time. It is the best, the truest, way to think.
—Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM
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Just about the worst thing we can do with Jesus is to domesticate him, to turn him into a nice, harmless figure, simply a teller of tales and a wise spiritual teacher. He announces himself as an arsonist: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Jesus’ purpose was to set the human race on fire with the Holy Spirit, and that fire would burn away the chaff of sin, corruption, cruelty, and violence. Jesus and the fiery Spirit would clear the spiritual ground, painfully if necessary, in order to create something new. The arsonist also characterizes himself as a home-wrecker….Jesus indeed wants to establish a great family. He called it the Kingdom of God, and the tradition refers to it as the mystical body of Christ. But in order for that new and authentic family to emerge, all dysfunctional forms of human community have to give way. If a family or society or culture is predicated upon manipulation, games of domination, arrogance, and fear, then it has to be undermined, cleared away. The domesticated Christ makes no demands. The real Christ burns—in order to make all things new.
—Bishop Robert Barron
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From time to time, by grace and faith and the simplicity of our prayer, we can be led into deep peace and equanimity. Our conscious existence becomes harmonious, reflecting from deep in our being the calm and joy of Christ’s risen life. Body and mind and spirit are married in peace, like a couple who after much arguing return to the basic goodness and love of their relationship. The mind sees its interminable internal monologues and self-dramatizing anxieties suddenly drop away, wonderfully calmed. It becomes silent, amazed at its own capacity to be still and at its capacity to let go of its compulsive desires and fears.
Then there are times—perhaps fleeting moments—when we are led entirely out of ourselves. We are not asleep. But neither are we awake in the usual sense. Indeed, compared with this, our usual waking state is more like a dream than waking. The clarity of consciousness we enjoy is because the “I” who wants to enjoy it has disappeared. “I live no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” Is St. Paul, who describes this, a Buddhist or a pantheist? Who was the “I” who lived no longer? Who is the “me” in whom only Christ, the perfect image of the invisible God, lives? These are important, endless questions. But their importance only takes effect after the event. In the duration of the simple state of union, these questions, like all thoughts, are consumed by the sheer Presence of the “One who truly is.”
But then we return to the ordinary reality and remember the last thought we had….Before long we are engrossed in our familiar thought-worlds. God becomes a goal we are trying to achieve or understand, or a memory we feel nostalgic for, rather than the I AM of love who floods our inmost being.
—Fr. Laurence Freeman, OSB
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The most important question you can ever ask is if the world is a friendly place.
For if we decide that the universe is an unfriendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to achieve safety and power by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly. And I believe that we are getting to a place where technology is powerful enough that we may either completely isolate or destroy ourselves as well, in the process.
If we decide that the universe is neither friendly nor unfriendly and that God is essentially “playing dice with the universe,” then we are simply victims to the random toss of the dice and our lives have no real purpose or meaning.
But if we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe. Power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives.
—Albert Einstein
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Wisdom from Pope Francis
It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money—for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history did not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in his name.
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Mark Your Calendar
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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
