Mary’s September 25 message at Medjugorje:
Dear children, with joy, persistently work on your conversion. Offer all your joys and sorrows to my Immaculate Heart that I may lead you all to my most beloved Son, so that you may find joy in His Heart. I am with you to instruct you and to lead you towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Mary wants us to “persistently work” on our conversion towards Jesus Christ. This theme of conversion is echoed repeatedly throughout the mysteries of the rosary. We see it most clearly in the Third Luminous Mystery. We are called to live for Jesus’ kingdom of Heaven by converting our earthly ways to His heavenly ways. I like how Mary calls conversion “persistent work” in that our conversion towards Christ isn’t something done in an instant. Everyone, from the normal person on the street to the Pope has to work constantly on their conversion towards Christ. Mary adds that not only should we work towards conversion, but we should work with joy since there is no higher goal than living in God’s grace and one day living in His kingdom of Heaven.
The idea of joy is repeated throughout Her message. She says that we should convert with joy, offer up our joys, and we can find joy in His heart. At times we don’t always think of our faith with a sense of joy and wonder. Instead we see its rules, laws, and obligations. We see it as a burden to go to Mass on Sunday. We see only the hardship of following the Church’s laws and not being able to do whatever we want. But we miss the joy of working towards something so much greater than what this world has to offer.
May we listen to our mother, Mary, and persistently work on our conversion to be true followers of Christ. May we keep our eyes on that eternal goal of the joy of Heaven instead of being consumed entirely by shallow, earthly pursuits. Mary asks us to orient ourselves towards Jesus Christ. Ask yourself, which way are you pointing?
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- The Immaculate Heart Of Mary (thecatholictruthblog.blogspot.com)