Return to God and to prayer (father Liubo Kurtovych, OFM)

In the message on March Our Lady calls us to offer our prayers, sufferings and tears for conversion of hearts that are far from the Heart of Jesus. She warned us that without God we do not have a future or eternal life.

In this message She puts us on our guard against the spiritual condition when hearts are in unrest and perdition. The only medicine for this spiritual disease is a return to God and to prayer. Nowadays we hear an echo of God’s call through Our Lady and which has been echoing through the prophets  all over the world for centuries. In the book of the prophet Malachi God says: “Return to Me and I will return to you” (Mal. 3, 7). The prophet Jeremiah uses 115 times the Hebrew verb “shuv” that means “to turn back”. This verb is mostly concerned with the returning of Israelites to God. God’s people knew how to move away from God. God called out of love and mercy His people time and again to repent and return to Him.

Nowadays God calls us again through Virgin Mary to return and repent. Repentance is our way towards salvation because we will purify from our sins. Returning to God and repentance are remedy for the soul. Repentance is a process which contains several steps: consciousness of the sin, regret for the sin, confession of the sin, shame for sin, hatred of sin, getting rid of sin. If we don’t go through these steps with the sincere heart then there won’t be a complete repentance. We need this grace of God because we can do nothing without it. God wants and desires to give us grace and we have only to look for it persistently.

God comes to us through Our Lady and asks us how we live here on earth. Were we eternal or temporary? Did we throw into the chasm of non-existence our whole being, our days and nights, time which is given to us, and the opportunities and gifts that we have? Do we do evil and destroy ourselves? Do we console and encourage those who have lost faith?

The one who steps on the path of serving others especially those who are in captivity; the one who turns away from doing harm and injustice to others may expect salvation that Jesus Christ gives us.

God is always here with his people and with each person. He doesn’t need conversion. On the other hand there are people who are unstable in their promises, vows and faith. People need conversion that means returning.

Let’s open our hearts to the Maternal call of Our Lady Who implores unceasingly to return to Our God for us to have and enjoy the completeness of life. 

Prayer

Virgin Mary, You call us in this heavy sea of the world to fix our eyes on You Who are full of grace. You are Mother of peace and mercy, don’t get tired of us who often don’t hear Your powerful and quiet voice that invokes us to come back to God. Obtain graces for all those who fell into a trap of unrest, selfishness and sin for them to awaken spiritually and see things clearly. Let Your Motherly Immaculate Heart conquer all the coldness, cruelty, selfishness and sin  in our hearts. Pray with us and for us, all families and especially for youth who seek life there where it doesn’t exist. We beg You, Virgin Mary, to obtain for all young people the grace of taking God for their struggle against everything that destroys their lives, Amen.