"Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them." Message of Mary to the children of Fatima August 1917.

What can we learn from this message?

If the message wasn't of the utmost importance, then the Mother of Jesus would not have been sent as a messenger to give it to us.

The message is worth studying in detail, because messages like these tend to be carefully layered and only yield their full impact after a lot of prayerful pondering.

'Pray' is the first word of the message. What is prayer? The raising of the heart and mind to God. Each and every time Mary appears on earth she asks us to pray. It stands to reason that if she is asking us to pray, then most of us are not praying, or if we are praying we need to increase our prayer.

Why pray? Because pray connects us with God, the source of everything that is good. Prayer connects us to the power source of love. Prayer is the switch that turns the power on. If we pray, we give God permission to help us.

Why are we so reluctant to pray? Because the sheer act of praying acknowledges that we are not in control; acknowledges that God is the creator and that we are His creatures, and that we are not God. Despite the mountain of evidence in our lives that we are not in control, we still hate to admit it.

'Pray very much' is the next part of the message. A loving mother tells us what to do: 'Eat your greens. Eat lots of greens and you will be healthy.' If we pray much we will be on our way to being spiritually healthy. As long as we pray, and pray more than we are praying now, how we pray isn't important.

'Pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners.' This part of the message tells us what we should be praying about. Prayer is praise/adoration, thanksgiving, contrition/repentance and petition/intercession. If we are weak on those first three types of prayer, then work on them first. We tend to be pretty good at asking God for things, to heal us, to help us pass our exams, to take away our problems, to make that cute person of the opposite sex notice us etc. But how good are we at 'Pray very much for sinners'?

'Pray very much for sinners' implies that in our petitions and intercessions to God that the majority of those prayers should be for the conversion of those who are not living according to the 10 Commandments (not putting God and God's will in the first place in their lives, swearing, not attending Sunday worship, ignoring their obligations to their parents, stealing, lying, perjury, violence, murder, participating in sexual activity outside marriage, greed for material things etc). Every one of us has at least one person in our lives doing some of those things. Have we prayed for him or for her? Have we prayed regularly for him or for her?

'Pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners'. Here the Mother of Jesus is telling us that prayer alone is insufficient to obtain a conversion, sacrifices are also necessary. What are we willing to do as a sacrifice in intercession for a loved one's conversion? Are you willing to reduce your social media time? Could you give up the biscuit you like with your cup of tea? Is adding an extra no-alcohol day to your week possible? By and large our world has forgotten that prayer combined with sacrifice is very powerful, but Our Lady has not forgotten and like the good mother she is, she reminds us.

This need for both prayer and sacrifice to obtain a conversion alerts us that to win the conversion of a soul is not easy, and that it requires commitment and perseverance. It takes dedication and courage, and the good news is that if the mother of Jesus has requested this of us, then it is possible for us to do it.

The last part of the message gives us all the motivation we need: 'For many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.'

Why do we need to pray and sacrifice ourselves for our loved ones who are living sinful lives? Because we don't want them to end up eternally unhappy. If Mary is real, then God is real, and Hell is real. Hell never ends, not for a thousand years, not for a million years, not even after a billion years. Hell never ends. To not see beauty, to not hear harmony, to not feel loved, to not have a friend, to never hear another kind word, and to know that it was your own misdeeds and your own refusal to love that obtained a place for you in Hell. What unimaginable horror!

Our heavenly mother came to remind us that Hell is real, and that we have to do our bit to prevent others from spending their eternity there. If we truly thought about it, we wouldn't even wish our worst enemy to be deprived of love for all eternity. Even though it is so unfashionable to talk about the existence of consequences for our actions, that doesn't make those consequences go away. It is all too easy to think that consequences are only for those who are convicted of criminal misdeeds. Where are the consequences of our actions leading, to heaven or to hell?

'For many souls go to Hell': that part of the message should make us shudder. The mother of Jesus is telling us that it is quite common for souls to go to Hell, and not just the world's most hated persons from history. She is telling us that we need to do our bit to reverse this trend. She is telling us that we cannot assume that everyone we attend the funeral of will end up in heaven, contrary to what most eulogies have to say.

The other thought that eventually comes when pondering this message is that if I don't start praying and offering up some sacrifices to obtain conversions then I am partially responsible for those who could have been saved from Hell if I had started praying and offering sacrifices. How horrible must it be to stand before the judgment seat of God and to discover that no one had ever prayed for you! That no one had loved you enough to even light a candle for you. On the other hand, what consolation must it be to learn at the judgment seat of God that your friend had prayed for you every day; and that your friend had given up swearing in order that you might receive mercy and pardon.

Even though this message was given to the world in 1917, it is still relevant. When God speaks through Mary, He speaks eternal truths. He speaks truths that do not change with the centuries and with the millennia. We could even say that this message is even more relevant now than it was in 1917 because back then family life was strong, Sunday worship was strong and governments upheld the 10 commandments in their laws.

What should we do to respond to this message?

* We should pray daily.

* We should include prayers for the conversion of sinners in our daily prayers.

* We should find something each day to offer up as a sacrifice to God for the conversion of sinners.

Doing these three things is not beyond anyone.

You might find the prayers on the PDF below useful in doing the first two things:

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Blessed Francisco, Blessed Jacinta, holy Sr Lucia, pray for us.

Last Good Friday we attended the Commemoration of the Passion at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church at Terrigal. When visiting another parish I am always on the lookout for information that may not have filtered down to our parish. So the first thing I look for is a parish bulletin, in case they have something on that would be worthwhile attending, and then I widen my search.

That day Terrigal had two things going for it.

Firstly the parish priest had a double-sided triple-fold DL brochure printed with all the details, prayers and meditations needed to do the Divine Mercy novena from Good Friday till Divine Mercy Sunday. They were pre-folded in a nice basket on an outside table near the main entrance doors to the church. Good on him!

Secondly when we plonked down in the pew we found this laminated piece of paper. On it is both a welcome to young families, and an encouragement to parishioners to be intentionally welcoming of families. While I am still not sure about the long thin presentation of the message, nor some of the grammar, the message itself is brilliant:

Dear parents, grandparents, and carers of our littlest parishioners,

You are so welcome here!!

Please don't worry if your children wiggle, God put the wiggle in children, don't feel like it is not allowed in His house! We encourage you to sit towards the front where your children can see what is happening and quietly explain the parts of the mass, the prayers and music to them as it happens. They will learn their faith first and foremost through these moments with you and we are all here to support you and your family on this journey.

Dear Parishioners:

We ask for your help in making our young families feel welcome, a supportive smile or a kind word can go such a long way to a tired parent on a difficult day! These children are the future of our church and together we can make sure they know they are always welcome here and that they belong.

As Jesus said: "let the children come"

It is my hope that other parishes might do something similar, as long as they keep the same sentiments when they inevitably change the words. For me it hit all the right notes because it respected everyone's freedom at the same time as it gently invited everyone to take a step outside their comfort zone.

May all those children Jesus blessed individually on that day in the Gospel when the disciples tried to turn them away (Mark 10:13-16) pray for us, and for all families who bring their children to Jesus at Mass. Amen.

At each Easter Vigil, while the Church gathers around the new fire some prayers are said during the preparation of the paschal candle before it is lit. Because these prayers are so short you could easily miss them, but they are packed full of power.

The first one proclaims that all time belongs to the risen Lord: 'Christ yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. All time belongs to Him; and all the ages. To Him be glory and power through every age and for ever. Amen.' As this prayer is said, we focus on the iconography of the candle. In the middle is a cross representing Jesus Christ. Above it is an Alpha, below it is an Omega. This visually shows the power of the Cross spanning all time from the first moment until the last one. Then in the four quadrants of the Cross are the four numerals of the year (2, 0, 1, 5), visually proclaiming that this year, too, is under the Lordship of Jesus.

Whenever we look upon a paschal candle then, we are visually reminded that God is in control, that He has the ultimate victory, and consequently we can increase our trust in Him.

The second short prayer is no less powerful: 'By His holy and glorious wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us and protect us. Amen.' While this prayer is prayed five grains of incense (usually covered in red wax) are pressed into the centre and outer edges of the Cross to represent the nail wounds in the two hands, two feet and heart of Jesus.

Whenever we look upon a paschal candle then, we are visually reminded of these five great and glorious wounds of Jesus through which our salvation was accomplished.

If Holy Mother Church has drawn our attention to these Holy Wounds so vividly at the solemn beginning of the Easter Vigil, then they must be extraordinarily important for our lives as Christians.

So when was the last time you deliberately thought about the Wounds of Jesus? And what are we missing if we don't ponder them regularly?

When we pray the Chaplet of Mercy we generally think more about the sorrows of Jesus. When we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary we more frequently ponder the broad sweep of action going on than the minor details. Some other chaplets start with the Sign of the Cross five times in honour of the five great and glorious wounds Jesus received for us on the wood of the Cross. But by and large pondering His Wounds isn't the regular part of our prayer lives that it should be.

Especially when driving, as I am praying the Chaplet of Mercy to mentally keep count of each decade I will either use the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary or the 5 Holy Wounds.

Sometimes if in Confession I am given a penance of 2 Hail Marys or 2 Our Fathers, I will multiply them by 3 and do one each in honour of the Crowning with Thorns and the 5 Holy Wounds.

Let us ponder the Wounds of Jesus and see what treasures we find:

The Agony in the Garden: We know that 'In His anguish Jesus prayed more earnestly, and His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.' Luke 22:44. Blood only comes from wounds, and these wounds were at skin cell size, incredibly small and yet extraordinarily numerous. Can you see in them redemption and reparation for all of our everyday sins that we try to convince ourselves don't matter? The angry word; the slammed door; the white lie; the stolen coin; the cold shoulder; the swear word; the taunt; the salacious joke. Each and every one of those small failures to love, Jesus paid for.

The Scourging at the Pillar: These wounds were many and received under official orders with many complicit bystanders. Each lash was on vulnerable uncovered skin, and like the paw swipe of an enraged lion. Can you see in them redemption and reparation for the brutality of those in power towards those who have none, of the crimes of domestic violence, the atrocities committed in war time, the acts of revenge of one person against another, the violence meted out to those in protective custody? And then the majority of those wounds get covered up and hidden under the regular clothes of Jesus. How would we cope if we experienced just one lash from the scourge? And yet Jesus endured this multiple times for us.

The Crowning with Thorns: These wounds didn't have official sanction, and were received in a more private setting where a gang mistreated a single victim. These wounds were smaller than the scourges, but sometimes deeper. From another angle they are wounds that went beyond the bounds of official orders, and were completely unjustified. Because they are wounds upon the head, they are attacks against the mind and the ability to reason. Can you see in them redemption and reparation for bullying, extortion, works of terror, propaganda, rebellion and mockery of the truth? Unlike the scourges which are inflicted multiple times over a longer period and systematically, the thorns are inflicted quickly but with ongoing consequences when the gang is no longer around. Jesus understands our pain, our fear and out terror, that's one of the things these thorn-caused wounds teach us.

The Carrying of the Cross: The wound we usually focus on here is the shoulder (or shoulders) of Jesus upon which the Cross was carried. But there are additional wounds to think of because each fall under the Cross would have added wounds to His knees, hips, hands and face. Any fall results in grazes and torn skin, especially if the fall is onto a rough surface. At public executions like this, projectiles like small stones and garbage would have been thrown as well. Some of them would have hit Jesus and drawn blood. They represent the sharp words and weapons we hurl at each other. The wound in the shoulder reminds us of those wounds that only get bigger over time. Jesus suffered it to redeem and reparate for the ways we destroy our souls through increasing jealousy, resentment, rage, bitterness, and self-pity until the original cause of our hurt is indecipherable.

The Stripping of His Garments: Any wound is bad, but a re-opened wound is worse. A wound received in private is one thing, but the humiliation of a wound exposed to hostile public gaze is more painful. These are like the wounds of a victim that has to relive his or her ordeal before a courtroom, and have all credibility called into question. Jesus went through this stripping of his garments for us, to redeem and reparate our sins. He went through this re-opening of his wounds especially for all those sins committed when we are unclothed; for the multiplicity of sexual sins as well as the sins we tempt others too when we are immodestly dressed.

The Nailing of Jesus to the Cross: These wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus caused by the nails redeem and repair for all the sins we commit with our hands and our feet. Stealing is an obvious one, as is desertion of duty. These wounds also obtain forgiveness for our failures, our failures to help those in need, our failures to visit the sick and suffering. When we look at these wounds, we are amazed that Jesus would permit His hands and feet to be pierced through in order to permanently remind us of His love for us. We ask the age old question, 'Lord, is my soul worth this much?' And these wounds of His answer, 'Yes!' every time.

The Piercing of His Heart: 'Any wound rather than a wound of the heart!' Ecclesiasticus 25:13. Physical wounds heal with time, but wounds of the heart linger. Betrayals, infidelities, adultery, rejection; how they hurt more sharply than any lance. How difficult they are to forgive! But with God such forgiveness and freedom from the burden of hurt is possible. Of all His Wounds, this one is the most eloquent. All of us are guilty of lack of love towards the God who with infinite love created us, redeemed us through the Cross and wants to sanctify us. This wound in His Sacred Heart makes visible the ardent desire with which He wants all sin removed from our lives so that we can enjoy the fullness of His love. However much we have wounded His Heart with our sins, He is willing to forgive us and to renew our relationship with Him. The best way to seek that forgiveness and renewal is in the sacrament of penance (a.k.a. confession to a priest).

Pondering the Holy Wounds of Jesus a) dispels the loneliness of our own sufferings because He has already experienced the same sufferings, b) weans us from our attachment to sin, c) allows us to hope for mercy and d) increases our love and appreciation for Jesus.

Let us ponder His Holy Wounds more often and more regularly.

You may find these PDFs about the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds helpful. The first is a single A4 sheet that folds into a ¼ size booklet. The second single A4 sheet has three panels.

The day before Pentecost is kept as the feast day of Mary Queen of Apostles in some parts of the world. It is a beautiful idea and quite fitting. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to keep the apostles persevering in prayer for nine days, and how tough that last day must have been before the Holy Spirt arrived? How many of them had flagged in zeal? How many of them were bored and impatient?

So to honour her, here is a little selection from Chapter 1 of Blessed James Alberione's book entitled 'Mary, Queen of Apostles', followed by the 2nd of 5 prayers he composed as a chaplet seeking her intercession under this title of Queen of the Apostles.

Excerpt from his book

'To exclude Mary from the apostolate (or new evangelization) would be to ignore one of the most essential parts of God's redemptive plan. It would be depriving ourselves of Mary's all-powerful intercession…. The apostle, the preacher, the missionary, the confessor, and the man of action run the grave risk of constructing on sand if their activity is not supported by an intense devotion to Mary and confidence in her. Every apostolate is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on individuals and on the world. Because of Mary's response to the angel, the Holy Spirit descended upon her and worked the greatest prodigy: the Incarnation and the sanctification of Christ. From that moment on, Mary acquired a kind of jurisdiction over every temporal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thus, no one receives grace except through Mary. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended after he was called upon by Mary who was leading the apostles in prayer."

Prayer of Bl James Alberione

'O Mary, Queen of all the angels, full of grace, conceived without sin, blessed among creatures, living tabernacle of God, remember that painful and solemn moment in which the dying Jesus from the Cross gave you John as your son, and in him all men and especially all the apostles. What tender love flooded your heart at that moment for souls consecrated to the apostolate, to the following of the Cross, to the love of Jesus. For your indescribable sufferings and those of your divine Son, for your motherly heart, O Mary, increase the glorious ranks of apostles, missionaries, priests and virgins. May these souls be resplendent for sanctity of life, integrity of morals, solid piety, the deepest humility, the most firm faith, the most ardent charity. May they all be holy, purifying salt of the earth and light of the world.

Queen of the Apostles, pray for us.'

Blessed James Alberione, pray for us

All the holy Apostles and disciples who gathered with Mary in prayer before the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, pray for us.

2015 is an unusual year because the Solemnity of Pentecost falls on the feast day of Our Lady, Help of Christians. For countries like Australia, for whom she is the national patron, her feast gets transferred to the Monday.

Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, as our Helper and our Advocate. Only with the charisms the Holy Spirit bestows can any real change for the better come about in individuals, families, communities and nations. We need these charisms desperately, all of them. We need gifted intercessors, teachers, preachers, prophets, healers, words of wisdom, words of knowledge. We need those gifted with the charism of mercy, with the godly call to accept suffering in intercession for others, with gifts of administration, charisms of celibacy for the kingdom, charisms of hospitality and many more.  

But to receive these most necessary gifts, we need to pray, and we need to dedicate ourselves to serious prayer. Holy Mother Church recommends the nine days preceding the annual solemnity of Pentecost as special days to implore the charisms of the Holy Spirit. The holy Apostles did that preceding the first Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They prayed together with the early disciples and with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  

No longer having the physical presence of Jesus with them (except in the Eucharist), all the disciples and Apostles looked to Mary for guidance, for help, and for inspiration. No one else knew Jesus as intimately as she did. No one else had prayed with Him as often as she had. No one else had been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit as she had. In the Mother of Jesus, each and every believer in Jesus found help. Help to persevere in prayer. Help to desire prayer. Help to pray more effectively. Help to pray more humbly. Help to welcome the Holy Spirit with whole-hearted trust.

They needed her. We need her. We need her unique help.

At Lourdes when Bernadette asked the beautiful lady her name, the beautiful lady replied, 'I am the Immaculate Conception'. We often refer to Mary, as the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. The name she gave at Lourdes was an eloquent and theologically rich way of saying, 'I am Mrs Holy Spirit'.

Can you see now, that having the feast days of Pentecost (Mr Holy Spirit) and Our Lady Help of Christians (Mrs Holy Spirit) united like this is extraordinarily significant? Good.

That's why we need to pray with special fervour for the release of the Holy Spirit's charisms this Pentecost - and to pray united with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Those nine days of special prayer start today (15 May 2015).

Here is a very easy set of prayers you might like to use during these nine days of special prayer. A little bit done everyday is far better than a lot to begin with and tapering to nothing within a few days. It is a double-sided A4 PDF that will give you three prayer cards per sheet. Cut or guillotine along the black borders on side two, and it should look OK on side one. 

When you pray, please include a special intention that our priests be given greater charisms of preaching than they already have. The preaching of a priest that has been prepared in a human way gives off the spiritual light equivalent to a candle. The preaching of a priest that has been prepared with prayer, fasting, study and under the Holy Spirit's charism of preaching gives off the spiritual light equivalent to a huge bonfire on the top of a hill. 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: O God, You instruct the hearts of Your faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit. Grant us in the light of that same Holy Spirit always to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.

On the 5th Sunday of Easter the Gospel we read at Mass comes from John 15, and reminds us that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. They are Gospel passages that most of us have heard many times before, so we often need a fresh angle to think about it with before His words touch our hearts.

One of the priests from our deanery helped that happen recently with the John 14 passage that is frequently chosen at funerals. Jesus tells us there are many rooms in our Father's house. When this Gospel passage came up with a group of school children, the priest asked them how many bedrooms there were in their own houses. The biggest number was 7. If so, it would have to be a mansion of a place. How many bedrooms would a big city hotel have? At least a hundred, and maybe many more. Our Father's house must be quite something, mustn't it?

In a similar way we have heard Jesus proclaim, 'Cut off from Me you can do nothing' John 15:6, many times. Jesus said it, so we believe Him, even if we don't fully understand Him.

It took a category 2 cyclone, unusual for our part of the world, for me to gain a greater perspective on John 15:6. During that big storm we lost electric power for around 20 hours. How easy it is for us to forget how dependent we are on electricity!

Without electricity you can't recharge your devices.
Without electricity the wi-fi, tv and computers won't work (and laptops when the battery runs out).
Without electricity you can't heat things up or cool them down.
Without electricity it isn't long before cold showers are the order of the day.
Without electricity you cannot do any work at night that requires more than candlelight.
But you can pray, read, talk, paint, darn, snooze, write on paper, but not much else.

Compared to what you can do with electricity, what you can do without electricity is puny.

Likewise it is easy for us to forget how dependent we are on Jesus. He has far more of an impact in our lives than electricity does.

Who helps us turn away from sin and seek to live according to the Gospel? Jesus
Who gives us the power to pray? Jesus
Who helps us forgive those who have hurt us? Jesus
Who shows us God's will for our lives, and helps us to follow it? Jesus
Who helps us make sense of the illness and suffering in our lives? Jesus
Who assures us of God's love? Jesus
Who is the source of peace? Jesus
Who frees us from addictions? Jesus
Who gives us courage and encouragement? Jesus
Who helps us remain faithful to our promises? Jesus
Who can reconcile us to those we are estranged from? Jesus
Who enables us to understand the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures? Jesus
Who made forgiveness possible for us sinners? Jesus
Who opened the gates of eternal life? Jesus

Compared to what you can do with Jesus, what you can do without Him is puny, a mere nothing.

Reflect upon what St Francis of Assisi accomplished with Jesus.
Reflect upon what St Patrick accomplished with Jesus.
Reflect upon what St Mother Teresa of Calcutta accomplished with Jesus.
Reflect upon what St John Bosco accomplished with Jesus.

Let us then make a commitment to connect with Jesus in our lives, so that His power can flow through us. Let us pray daily. Let us pray with others. Let us learn more about Him. Let us connect with others who are connected to Jesus. Let us discover how He wants us to use His power in service to others, and start doing it.

Mary, Mother of Jesus, who connected to Jesus more than anyone else, please pray for us that we may remain in Him and that He may remain in us. John 15:5.