INVITATION TO PRAY WITH OUR BLESSED LADY

The remaining messages of Phase 1 invite us to practise our faith in union with our Blessed Lady.  It will also be clear that at the centre of our praying with her is the Holy Eucharist and that everything else in our spiritual life takes its meaning from that mystery.  This explains why Our Lady's first request to us by way of a spiritual exercise is the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  It is a very beautiful way by which Our Lady is leading us to a deeper appreciation of our traditional devotions.

We can imagine the scene at Medjugorje.  Every Thursday evening, after Mass, there is a Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.  The Thursday Messages have been made known to the congregation in various languages during the Holy Hour.  Because the Holy Eucharist is so precious to Our Lady's heart, we can understand why she is urging us to adore the Blessed Sacrament continually.  She is with us in this devotion in a special way.  But how can we adore the Blessed Sacrament 'continually'?  It would be impossible for us to be in church always.  But if we consider that there are over 400,000 Catholic priests in the world, and at every moment of the day and night 8 to 10 thousand priests are celebrating the Holy Mass, perhaps we may sense that we can make ourselves aware of this continuous Eucharistic adoration in the world.  We can join in the spirit to the multitude of "worshipping faithful," the Body of Christ of which we are members.

"At such times special graces are granted to them": true conversion, change of heart, healing of mind, body and soul, forgiveness and peace, they are all gifts of God.  Throughout the history of the Church, especially at the Marian Shrines, our Blessed Lady has always been drawing the faithful to the Eucharist, the fountain of God's healing grace.