APPARITIONS
OF JESUS AND MARY


DEAR FAMILY NEWSLETTER

March 1995

fromDEAR FAMILY NEWSLETTER
inAPPARITIONS LIST ARCHIVES


CONTENTS:

  1. MEDJUGORJE MESSAGE & COMMENTARY, March 25, 1995
  2. HILLSIDE MESSAGE. March 25, 1995
  3. PRAYERS & PETITIONS
  4. TIDBITS
  5. OUR LADY'S TEARS
  6. IN CLOSING
MEDJUGORJE MESSAGE & COMMENTARY, March 25, 1995

"Dear children, today I invite you to live peace in your hearts and families. There is no peace, little children, where there is no prayer. And there is no love, where there is no faith. Therefore, little children, I invite you all to decide again today, for conversion. I am close to you and I invite you all, little children, into my embrace to help you. But you do not want it. And so Satan is tempting you. And in the smallest things, your faith disappears. This is why, little children, pray. And through prayer you will have blessings and peace. Thank you for having responded to my call."
My family certainly has not cornered the market on tragedies and hard times. But we've had our share, just as you have. Praise God, in our case, these things lead us deeper into prayer from the heart, sincere prayer. They nourish our faith and bring us closer together.

I've seen so much spiritual growth in my family over the last few years, and in that growth comes peace. We realize that God IS in His Heaven and all is right in a world (our own personal life) in which God is not only welcomed but allowed to move. Our Lady offers us the embrace of a mother. Embracing us as we pray and as we convert (change our lives) daily, she leads us to her Son. The evil one is not very happy with this, and in the final years of this twentieth century, he will do his best to entice us away from that embrace. PRAYER and LOVE are our weapons and shields.

HILLSIDE, ILLINOIS MESSAGE,February 25, 1995

This message was from Our Lady to Joseph Reinholtz (in the hospital). She was dressed in white and was accompanied by four angels:

"Praise Jesus, praise Jesus. My children, continue to listen to my messages; and when you do that I will give you the blessings every day from the right side of the Cross. Why did they do this to me? Why did they discontinue the abortion prayer? I ask you to ask the woman to continue the prayer. It is very essential.

"The number one priority beginning the Lenten season, Wednesday, March 1st: I ask all of you to go to confession, reconciliation, and do much penance. When you do that, offer it for the intentions of my Immaculate Heart. I want you to hold your Rosary facing the Cross. I ask each and every one of you to pray the Rosary each day and meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary. Go in peace and harmony. I am your Mother, the Queen of Peace."

THE ABORTION PRAYER MENTIONED IN THE ABOVE MESSAGE:

Dear Lord, I offer you all my prayers, sacrifice and fast of this day. I offer them to you, Heavenly Father, because I sorrow over the abortions done today and every day and I beg you to intercede. I place my small efforts at the foot of the Cross of the crucified Christ, who died to save our souls and to atone to you, Father, for my sins and the sins of all men. Your Son's blood washed away sin and gave us the gift of life everlasting, Father, and in His name I ask for forgiveness for all those who have aborted your gift of life from their womb. Father, I desire to do so much more to stop this dreaded sin which is upon all of us in this great land, and I seek your guidance and grace as I pursue efforts to restore respect for the lives of all your children. Please accept my sacrifices, dear Lord, and help all of us who strive for your will in this pro-life work. Amen.

PRAYERS & PETITIONS

Please remember in your prayers: FELICIA, as she continues her chemotherapy. Her doctor calls her a "surviver." Felicia and I chuckled. With all the prayers storming Heaven on her behalf, does she have a choice? MARIE, another dear friend, suffering from cancer, as well as MARY. AUNT HELEN, whose heart problems continue.

Safe delivery for GEORGIANA, due in the fall. JEAN, to adapt to medication without any adverse reaction. THERESA, whose cataract surgery is postponed yet again. Perhaps God has other plans for her? Theresa and her sons, ARCHBISHOP MARTIN DE PORRES and MICHAEL, will leave on April 18 for Medjugorje and shrines in Italy, including an audience with the Holy Father.

We give thanks to the Good God Our Father for the generosity of those who are making their pilgrimage possible. ARCHBISHOP MARTIN DE PORRES and FATHER JOHN, for their special intentions. BARBARA, for peace and spiritual renewal for herself and her family. WALLEY and the B. FAMILY, for deliverence from the influence of evil and the false doctrines of New Age; for their safety and peace. CHUCK and PAT, who carry on the ministry of Joseph Reinholtz at the Cross in Hillside, Illinois. God Bless you both.

JOSEPH REINHOLTZ, VISIONARY OF HILLSIDE, ILLINOIS, for his continued recove ry from his stroke last month. On the First Saturday of March, Father Martin, his mother, friend Barb and I drove to Hillside to pray at the Cross and to attend Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago. Afterwards, one of Joseph's friends drove us to the hospital, where we were able to visit Joseph for a short while. He is paralyzed on his left side, but his speech is excellent and his mental faculties intact. He told us that Our Lady has assured him that he will return to the Cross in Hillside. Blessed Mother visits and prays with him. He told how one day he was in extreme pain, and because of the paralysis, could not turn over. No one was available to help him. Blessed Mother came and turned him herself. (Can't you just picture the hospital staff?) Father Martin blessed Joseph before we left and Joseph blessed each of us individually. On March 20, the wonderful lady who sends us Our Lady's monthly messages to Joseph wrote, "Joe is progressing nicely. Thank God." God love you, Joseph. Get well soon.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers for these and all who are in need. Amen.

TIDBITS

CYBERBLESSINGS from Jesus and Blessed Mother! DEAR FAMILY was recently invited to take its place on the INTERNET and WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW), major computer information "highways."

GOSPA, the movie filmed on location in Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Zagreb, Croatia, starring Martin Sheen as Father Jozo Zovko, Michael York as his defending attorney, and Morgan Fairchild as a nun who protests injustice, will make its world premiere on Monday, April 10, 1995, at 8:00 PM, at Radio City Music HallR in New York City. Proceeds will go to the Croatian Catholic Union of the USA and Canada, the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City and the Rebuild Dubrovnik Fund, whose honorary chairman is Michael York.

Tickets can be purchased by phoning Ticketmaster (212-307-7171) or at the Radio City box office (212-247-4777). Groups interested in purchasing a block of tickets can phone 212-632-4000 and ask for the Group Sales Department.

Other benefit screenings of the film are being held in Toronto, Canada on April 9 (905-602-4244), Detroit, Michigan on April 11 (313-823-0300) and Zagreb, Croatia on April 14 (011-385-1-691-741). It will begin opening nationwide in the United States on April 12.

PILGRIMS continue to gather at the Cross in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois, even though visionary Joseph Reinholtz is still hospitalized, recovering from a stroke. On the morning of March 4, 1995, several pilgrims from western Michigan arrived at the Cross to pray with those who had already gathered. As I stood facing the Cross, I closed my eyes and joined in praying the Rosary. Suddenly, I sensed someone standing directly in front of me. Then I smelled the fragrance of roses. In her Hillside message of February 25, 1995, Our Lady reminds us that she, too, continues to come to the Cross, when her children gather to pray and to listen to her messages.

DURING MAY, Father Jozo Zovko, OFM, former pastor of St. James, Medjugorje, will speak in thirteen cities across the United States: May 1--Orangefield, TX (409-735-2200); May 6--Wichita, KS (316-722-4764); May 7--Portland, OR (503-786-6003); May 9--Los Angeles, CA (714-572-9779); May 12--Phoenix, AZ (602-547-3201); May 14--Chicago, IL (708-968-4684); May 16--New Orleans, LA (800-876-7729); May 18--Miami, FL (305-442-7340); May 19--Harrisburg, PA (717-587-5331); May 21--Providence, RI (401-944-6627); May 22--Lowell, MA (508-879-9318); May 24--Manhattan, NY (516-599-3415); May 25--Long Island, NY (516-599-3415). Tickets must be purchased in advance; however, those who cannot afford to purchase tickets will not be turned away. FROM St. Theresa of Lisieux (1873-1897): "How sweet it is to call the Good God Our Father."

OUR LADY'S TEARS

On November 6, 1994, the Holy Father celebrated Mass in Syracuse, Sicily and dedicated the Shrine of Our Lady of Tears. In his homily, he spoke of the many times Our Mother is seen weeping during her apparitions, as well as the manifestation of tears on her statues and pictures.

At the end of World War II, an image of Our Lady at Syracuse wept, and the Holy Father reflected, "It is possible to understand those tears against the background of those tragic events: the tremendous massacre caused by the conflict; the extermination of the sons and daughters of Israel; the threat to Europe that came from the East, from the openly-declared atheism of communism....

Our Lady's tears belong to the order of signs: they testify to the presence of the Mother in the Church and in the world. A mother weeps when she sees her children threatened by evil, be it spiritual or physical. Mary weeps when sharing in Christ's tears over Jerusalem, or at the tomb of Lazarus or finally on the way of the Cross....

Shrine of Our Lady of Tears, you were erected to remind the Church of the tears of Mary....They are tears of prayer: the mother's prayer that gives strength to every other prayer, and that rises in supplication for all those who do not pray because they are distracted by a thousand other interests, or because they are obstinately closed to God's call....They are tears of hope, which melt the hardness of hearts and open them to meeting Christ the Redeemer, source of light and peace for individuals, for families, for the whole of society....

O Lady of Tears, look with motherly goodness on the sorrow of the world! Dry the tears of the suffering, of the forgotten, of the desperate and of the victims of every violence....Make everyone weep tears of repentance and of new life, which will open their hearts to the regenerating gift of God's love. Make them weep tears of joy for having seen the profound tenderness of your heart. Praised be Jesus Christ!" [Text of Holy Father's homily is taken from THE MEDJUGORJE STAR, JANUARY 1995]

IN CLOSING

Once again Spring comes to Western Michigan. We've had sixty and seventy degree temperatures. Mama Squirrel was on the feeder, flicking her tail in annoyance because she found it empty. The chipmunks are scampering through the remains of last year's garden, while across the street, the building of a new house has sent the mole population on a quest for suitable underground living space. Neighbor Bill's front lawn is littered with the evidence of their excavations.

Spring means Easter and Easter is preceded by Lent, the traditional forty days in which we prepare for the greatest feast of the Church year with extra prayer and penance. While browsing through the postings on the INTERNET Apparition List this morning, I found the following. Jim, who posted this, graciously gave me his consent to print his meditations for use during your prayer time:

"As I was saying the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary the other day, some thoughts came to mind, and I wanted to share them with you.

"At Gethsemane, Our Lord, more innocent than a new born baby, took our sins upon Himself, and bore them for us.

"When He was scourged, He covered the sins of the flesh with His Blood and gave Himself in reparation for them.

"When He was crowned with thorns, He covered the sins of the mind with His Blood, and gave Himself in reparation for them.

"When He carried His Cross, He carried on that Cross the weight of those sins for us, so we would not have to carry the full responsibility for those sins ourselves, a responsibility we would never measure up to.

"When He was crucified, our sins were nailed to the Cross, and when He died and was taken down, He left our sins nailed to the Cross, so that in the Resurrection they would have been completely defeated." (Jim Dobbins)

April 23, 1995 is Divine Mercy Sunday, the day on which the novena to Divine Mercy, which begins on Good Friday, concludes. During the 1930s, Our Lord made the following promise to Blessed Faustina Kowalska, a young Polish nun:
"I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy (1109). Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (300). The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (699)."
Search out a parish in your diocese that celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday, pray the novena and grant Our Lord's request for Confession and Holy Communion. Pamphlets for praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and novena are available in Catholic book stores,

many church pamphlet racks, or contact . God Bless:-)

lagin@aol.com (Ginny Lopez)

APPARITIONS LIST
Apparitions List (Apar-l)is an internet mailing list dedicated to sharing information of all approved apparitions by the Catholic Church, and all reputable on-going apparitions, that are not contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Apar-l(listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu)
Apar-l Owner:Jim Drzymala (drzymala@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu)
DEAR FAMILY NEWSLETTER
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Author:Ginny Lopez(lagin@aol.com)


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