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Medjugorje, February 17, 2025
Dear Friends, praise be to Jesus and Mary!
1. On January 25, 2025, the visionary Marija received the following monthly message:
“Dear children, In this year of grace, I am calling you to conversion. Put God, dear children, in the center of your living and the fruits will be love towards neighbor and joy of witnessing; and the holiness of your life will become a true witness of faith. Thank you for having responded to my call.
(With Ecclesiastical approval)
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2. Above all, don’t ignore them! Our lives are so focused on material things that we often forget the most beautiful treasures that Heaven makes available to us at every moment of our lives. I would like to thank my parents for telling me about the guardian angels when I was a child, as this enabled me to make friends with my own. The fact that I am still alive today is thanks to some of my Angel’s swift and effective interventions in life-threatening situations. These faithful and truly loving companions whom the Creator has placed at our side from the moment of our conception will never leave us (unless, of course, we go to hell!). They have within them the very love God has for us, which is why they so earnestly desire our happiness and eternal salvation.
At the beginning of the apparitions, Our Lady had asked the members of the prayer group to “make friends with their guardian angels” and write them a letter. This surprised them at the time, but thanks to this simple initial contact, and trusting in Our Lady’s request, they were happy to discover the hidden potential of their life companions. The following evening, these letters were laid before the statue of the Blessed Mother ahead of the apparition.
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Why not do the same? We have so much to gain from this! And once the letter is written, where do we put it? That is up to each of us to decide: either keep it with us for a while, then burn it, or place it behind an icon of Mary, Queen of Angels.
Pope John XXIII gave many examples of how he instructed his guardian angel to work for him, and the benefits he derived from it. He would send his Angel ahead of him before difficult meetings, to prepare the groundwork. Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina is also known for his extraordinary relationship with his guardian angel. I want to recount here a surprising episode that may shed some light on the effectiveness of our guardian angels and, hopefully, inspire us to “make friends” with them.
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3. A sleepless night for Padre Pio!
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) would often show deep tenderness towards people, but his well-known gruffness sometimes made him very direct when he wanted to express – for good reason – his discontent.
In southern Italy, some priests used to travel to San Giovanni Rotondo with their parishioners to meet with Padre Pio. They would travel by bus, often through the night, to attend his early morning Mass in the small church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie, which was always packed to capacity. Several of these parishioners were his spiritual sons and daughters, who were eager to greet him.
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During one of these trips, the priest leading the pilgrimage carefully prepared the group for this meeting. Above all, he advised them to take advantage of the journey to pray, even if it meant spending the night in prayer. Some were in the habit of sending the Padre their guardian angels to entrust him with their petitions, intentions and everything that was in their hearts: their needs, their desires, their sufferings, their hopes, their questions… in a word, they deposited in the heart of this holy priest everything they would say to him if they were to meet him in person, confident that, during Mass, he would deposit it all in the heart of Jesus. “You have enough time on this journey to speak with your guardian angel!”, the priest would tell them. Indeed, no one knew in advance what the situation would be in that church upon their arrival, whether it was possible to greet the Padre or not, as there was always a long queue waiting for him in front of the church.
That day, when Padre Pio arrived, the whole group shouted “Padre Pio! Padre Pio!!!” But he turned to them, shouting, “Shut up! Basta [enought]! I couldn’t sleep all night because of you, who constantly sent me your guardian angels! Do you think they’re like you, that they don’t obey? I couldn’t sleep all night because of your angels! Now shut up! When you give your guardian angel a mission, you can be 100 percent sure that he will listen to you and assist you spiritually.” With that, he blessed them and left to celebrate Mass.
Padre Pio was closely “connected” to his guardian angel, and even gave him a name: Angelino or even Segnorino. This beautiful relationship was passed on to his spiritual sons and daughters. As they often lived far away from him, this communication with their guardian angels was an excellent spiritual means for Padre Pio to reach them ; in fact, he could see their guardian angels clearly, and could therefore offer direction to his spiritual sons at a distance through them.
Today, let’s not wait to meet a new Padre Pio to live and act in harmony with our guardian angels! They want to help us so much, and they are so powerful when it comes to protecting us!
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4. Releasing a priest from Purgatory?
Last month, for the Jubilee Year, among the possible works of Mercy, I suggested that we all have at least one Mass celebrated (or one a month, for example?) for the release of a priest from Purgatory. This priest being delivered, will be inspired to powerfully help his fellow priests on earth, those who have strayed on the path towards sin, a path of spiritual death, so that they may turn back with all their heart to Christ and His Word, without delay. From the comments I have received, I’m glad to see that many have committed themselves to answering this call. Glory be to God!
You can ask any priest in your parish, or a priest you know, to celebrate a Mass for the soul of a priest in Purgatory. Alternatively, if you do not have the financial means to pay a donation for a Mass, you can offer a Mass that you attend yourself for this intention. When the priest adds the little drop of water to the wine in the Chalice, offer it for a priest to be released from purgatory. I suggest you ask the Blessed Mother to choose this priestly soul for you.
This gesture of Mercy will have great repercussions in the invisible world. Jesus will be greatly consoled and You will never regret it!
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