SUNDAY REFLECTION

On the Word of the Lord and the Message of Our Lady
A Guide on Living Our Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

3rd Sunday in the Ordinary Time (Year C)
Gospel: Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Our Lady’s Message: Do Battle, Beloved Sons (296)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Ave Maria!

Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, the Gospel tells us this Sunday (Lk. 1:1-4, 4:14-21). He is the “anointed one” who would bring liberation to God’s people. At the synagogue, he indicates on that Sabbath day the start of his mission. He continues this work of liberation in and through the Church, of which we are part, calling us to live in him and be like him.

In her message, Our Lady puts our mission in the context of a “battle.” Prefigured in Genesis (Gen. 3:15) as the “woman in battle,” she forms us to be “her” apostles in these times of darkness “to spread the light of Christ” (296 c). We will read Message 296: “Do Battle, Beloved Sons” from the book “To the Priests Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.”

I. GOSPEL READING (Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21)

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Points for Reflection

1. A Time of Fulfillment

In the First Reading (Neh. 8:2-6,10), we hear Ezra explain the Word of God to the Jews. Hearing God’s Word again must have given them a great feeling of jubilation as they had just come from exile in Babylon. Their resounding “Amen” was wonderful praise to God who freed them from this captivity.
In the Gospel (Lk. 1:1-4, 4:14-21), Jesus reads Isaiah’s prophecy, in which the liberation of captives is one of the promises. Here, however, Jesus not only proclaims God’s Word, but more importantly, fufills them: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” In his Person as God’s Word-made-flesh, he is the Messiah for whom the Jews longed and is, at that moment, beginning that work of liberation. The Living Word is right there among them in the synagogue. What a glorious moment for them that Sabbath day!

2. A Time for Fulfilling

In the Second Reading (1 Cor. 12:12-30), Paul explains how the mission of Jesus becomes the very mission of the Church: “You are Christ’s body and individually parts of it.” The grace of baptism, which unites us with him and forms us into his mystical body, is the principle behind our mission. This mission is the very purpose of the Church.

Thus, each of us baptized, are called to take part in this mission. In us and through us, Jesus must continue to be heard and seen. Our mission is not just to speak about him, but also to be Jesus to the world.

II. OUR LADY’S MESSAGE: “DO BATTLE, BELOVED SONS” (296)

October 24, 1984
London, England

a. I welcome with joy the prayer and fraternal sharing which, during these days, brings you together in a cenacle of life with me, dear sons of my Movement from England and Ireland, this land which is so threatened today by my Adversary, but so loved and protected by me.

b. I unite myself to your unceasing prayer, to obtain for you from the Father and the Son the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He may confirm you in your vocation, give courage to your apostolic action, efficacy to your work and consolation to your souls.

c. Take courage, beloved sons of mine, because these are my times, and I am calling you, who form my cohort, to do battle for the triumph of my Son Jesus, in the triumph of love and of good.

d. You are being formed by me to spread the light of Christ, of his truth and of his Gospel in these days of obscurity and darkness. You are being called to be my apostles in the difficult times in which you are living.

e. Do battle, my beloved ones, by means of love, which must become ever greater within you, until it reaches the very dimensions of the divine charity of the Heart of my Son Jesus.

f. You see how, in your countries, my Adversary is fighting above all with hatred, which brings division and discord, unbridled egoism and violence everywhere. And thus many of my children often fall victims to terrorism, and blood flows in your streets.

g. You must make love and goodness triumph. Quench the fire of hatred with the dew of your priestly love. Become my instruments for building up unity and brotherhood around you. For this, approach all, but especially those who are most in need and most alienated, with the tenderness of my motherly love.

h. Do battle, my beloved ones, by means of prayer, which must be made in union with me and must be offered to God as your most precious contribution for the salvation of the world.

i. In these countries of yours, the Church is seen as still divided, although the problem of its unity is keenly felt by many. I bless the efforts which are being made on the part of so many to bring about the restoration of the unity of the Church. But I confide to you, my children, that this can only take place through a special miracle on the part of the Holy Spirit and through a special intervention of my Immaculate Heart.

j. For this I need much prayer. More is obtained through one day of intense prayer than through years of continuous discussions. Pray with faith and trust, with recollection and perseverance. Recite well the Liturgy of the Hours and the holy rosary, and let Holy Mass be the center of your apostolic day. Multiply everywhere the cenacles of prayer and fraternal sharing. I promise you that, after the triumph of my Immaculate Heart, these countries of yours will have the joy of seeing once again a renewed and united Church, which will reflect everywhere the splendor of Christ.

k. Do battle, my beloved ones, by means of your personal immolation. Give me all your sufferings. They are precious to me because I can offer them to Jesus, that they may be united to his perennial and priestly intercession for you.

l. Above all in these countries of yours, my Adversary is seducing you with the venom of neo-paganism and with an immorality, which is spreading more and more and claiming victims among many of my children. How many young people are seduced by vice in their quest for all kinds of pleasure and, allured by the great spread of impurity and of drugs, live like sick people in need of help that they might be healed!

m. Your priestly sufferings are the effective remedy for so many wounds. which today, in ever-increasing numbers, are afflicting my poor children. Because of this, I am calling you each day to a greater immolation.

n. May the peace of Jesus and my peace be in you. Live in peace of heart. Spread peace around you. I am the Queen of Peace. I am the Mother of Consolation.

o. Through you I bless today all my beloved ones and all those children who are consecrated to me, both in these countries of yours and throughout the whole world.

Points for Reflection

1. Battle: The New Context of Our Mission

The gospel reading reminds us of the mission that we share with Jesus. In her message, Our Lady gives a new context to this mission: the battle. “I am calling you, who form my cohort, to do battle for the triumph of my Son Jesus, in the triumph of love and of good. You are being formed by me to spread the light of Christ, of his truth and of his Gospel in these days of obscurity and darkness. You are being called to be my apostles in the difficult times in which you are living” (296 c-d).

2. The Means to Win the Battle

a. Love

Love is the antidote to the hatred and violence that reign everywhere in our world today. “Many fall victims to terrorism, and blood flows in the streets (296 f). We must do battle by means of love, which must become ever greater, until it reaches the very dimensions of the love of Jesus (296 e). Love must triumph (296 g).

b. Prayer

Prayer is the antidote to the discord and division in the world and in the Church. While efforts have been done to restore unity among people, Our Lady confides that “this can only take place through a special miracle on the part of the Holy Spirit and through a special intervention of my Immaculate Heart” (296 i). Thus, she asks that prayers be done “in union with (her) and must be offered to God as (our) most precious contribution for the salvation of the world” (296 h).

“I need much prayer. More is obtained through one day of intense prayer than through years of continuous discussions. Pray with faith and trust, with recollection and perseverance . . . Multiply everywhere the cenacles of prayer. I promise you that, after the triumph of my Immaculate Heart, these countries of yours will have the joy of seeing once again a renewed and united Church, which will reflect everywhere the splendor of Christ” (296 j).

c. Personal Immolation (Suffering)

Personal immolation is the antidote to the immorality and vice victimizing so many people, especially the youth. “Give me all your sufferings. They are precious to me because I can offer them to Jesus, that they may be united to his perennial and priestly intercession for you” (296 k). Our Lady asks us to offer our sufferings (296 m), as it is the precious “key” to open the Heart of Jesus, from which pours out his mercy upon the world (416 i).

Yours in the Immaculate Heart,
Fr. Omer

Note:
Our Lady's messages are taken from the book: "To the Priests Our Lady's Beloved Sons", a compilation of 604 messages in the form of locutions given by the Blessed Virgin Mary through Fr. Stefano Gobbi of Italy.
Imprimatur:
Bp Donald W. Montrose, D.D., 1998
Abp Francesco Cuccarese, 2007