PUT SACRED SCRIPTURE IN A VISIBLE PLACE

“Dear children! Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it.  In this way, you will come to know prayer with the heart and your thoughts will be on God. Do not forget that you are passing like a flower in a field, which is visible from afar but disappears in a moment. Little children, leave a sign of goodness and love wherever you pass and God will bless you with an abundance of His blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Message of January  25, 2007

The Virgin Mary loves and keeps on calling her children to a life with God. She does that once again in her message beginning with the following words: "Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your families and read it."  We have already become familiar with these motherly words and calls from her previous messages in which she invited us to read Sacred Scripture. Just as she spoke in January last year: "Do not forget, little children, to read Sacred Scripture. Put it in a visible place and witness with your life that you believe and live the Word of God. "  In her message of 25th June 1991 Mary said to us: "Little children, pray and read Sacred Scripture so that through my coming you discover the message in Sacred Scripture for you ."  In her message of 25th August 1993 she spoke: "Dear children, read Sacred Scripture, live it, and pray to understand the signs of the times.“ In her message of 25th August 1996: "Put, little children, Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your families and read it and live it.“  On 25th January 1999 she spoke to us: "Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your families, read it, reflect on it and learn how God loves His people. His love shows itself also in present times because He sends me to call you upon the path of salvation."  In September of 1999 she said: "I call you to renew prayer in your families by reading Sacred Scripture and to experience joy in meeting with God who infinitely loves His creatures."

            So many times in her motherly messages the Virgin Mary has confirmed to us and said the following: "Dear children, live my messages and put into life every word that I am giving you. May they be precious to you as they come from heaven. Dear children, joyfully live the messages of the Gospel that I am repeating in the time I am with you.“

            Maybe somewhere deep inside of us we expect the Virgin Mary to explain her messages in more detail and make them more clear. However, Our Lady's messages do not provide us with ready-made recipes for happiness. She has come to direct our look at Christ who is our only Saviour and the aim of life. She helps us with her presence, calls and love so that we can walk on the path of conversion and salvation. She does not come to tell us tales, play with us or entertain us. She has come to call us to the truth, to the light and high demands of the Word of God. She invites us to read and live Sacred Scripture so that we may discover the life-giving power of the Word of God that speaks to us. As the Holy Spirit has inspired Sacred Scripture, Sacred Scripture is permeated with it. We discover that by reading Sacred Scripture which encourages us to do good  enlightening our mind and the feelings in our hearts. St. Gregory the Great asked himself: "What can a word of Sacred Scripture be compared with?" And he answered: "It is like flint and steel, like  flint which is cold when we hold it in our hand, but when used to strike iron, it sparks and lights a fire. The words of Sacred Scripture remain cold if taken for granted. When, however, a person embraced by the Holy Spirit gives them a gentle knock, they make a mystical fire."

            Only if we rely on the truth of the Word of God shall we disclose the transience of our lives and the certainty of Jesus' words: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matt. 24:35). Let us listen to the Virgin Mary for the sake of our lives and our good.

            Fr. Ljubo Kurtović

Međugorje 26 January 2007