Madonna of the Magnificat, Sandro Botticelli, 1481, Uffizi, Florence.
THIS IS THE TIME FOR MY SOUL
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
• Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1 : 46-55
Dear children! Also today I again call you to conversion. Open your hearts. This is a time of grace while I am with you, make good use of it. Say: “This is the time for my soul”. I am with you and love you with immeasurable love. Thank you for having responded to my call.
• Medjugorje message April 25, 2019
This is the time, the time for my soul,
This is the time of grace.
This is the time to open my heart,
This is the time of grace.
Time that God gives from heaven above,
A time to receive his merciful love.
This is the time, the time to prepare,
This is the time of grace.
This is the time, my time to repair,
This is the time of grace.
Time that God gives from heaven above,
A time to receive his merciful love.
This is the time, the time to repent,
This is the time of grace.
This is the time to say I relent,
This is the time of grace.
Time that God gives from heaven above,
A time to receive his merciful love.
This is the time, the time to reflect,
This is the time of grace.
This is the time, the time to connect,
This is the time of grace.
Time that God gives from heaven above,
A time to receive his merciful love.
This is the time to say I believe,
This is the time of grace.
This is the time to ask and receive,
This is the time of grace.
Time that God gives from heaven above,
A time to receive his merciful love.
This is the time to rest in God’s heart
This is the time of grace.
This is the time to make a fresh start
This is the time of grace.
Time that God gives from heaven above,
A time to receive his merciful love.
© BG, October 2009
GAUDETE SUNDAY – the Third Sunday in Advent – is one of two days in the liturgical calendar when the priest celebrates Mass wearing a rose colour chasuble. The other is the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Both are considered days of celebration during the austere periods of Lent and Advent in preparation for Easter and Christmas. Gaudete (meaning rejoice) is also a sacred Christmas carol derived from a medieval song of praise. The opening stanza is:
Gaudete, gaudete!
Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!
In this 15th century painting known as the Monforte Altarpiece or the Adoration of the Kings, and attributed to the Flemish artist Hugo van der Goes, all six liturgical colours are represented: Green, Purple, Red, Blue, White or Gold, Black, and Rose, the latter assigned to the figure of Joseph.
THE ADORATION OF THE KINGS, by Hugo van der Goes, c1481, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
The artist had a specific reason for doing this. He wanted to apply a second identity to the figure by linking the word ‘rose’ to another name – Saint AmbROSE of Milan – to introduce an added theme into the scene. The three kings have also been given more than one identity (three, in fact), as have the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus.
Disguised in the folds of the white drape covering Joseph’s right shoulder is a motif best decribed as a ‘singing nun’. This can be understood as a second voice or harmony that suggests the style of plainsong known as the Ambrosian Chant. The drape also represents a nun’s wimple. This relates to a female religious order named after Ambrose, the Romite Ambrosians founded by Caterina Moriggi and approved by Pope Sixtus IV in 1474.
The left edge of the large stone in the forefront (representing an altar which connects to another theme in the painting and the time Isaac was asked by Yaweh to sacrifice his son) also depicts a facial feature ‘crying or singing out’. It is a reference to the time when Christ was about to make his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19 : 35-40). His disciples “joyfully began to praise God at the top of their voices for all the miracles they had seen. They cried out: Blessing on the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Some Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Master, check your disciples”, but he answered, “I tell you, if these keep silence the stones will cry out.”
YOU ARE NOT CALLED TO THE DARKNESS BUT TO THE LIGHT
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
• Third Sunday of Advent John 1 : 6-8, 19-28
Dear children! Today I am calling on you to decide whether or not you wish to live the messages which I am giving you. I wish you to be active in living and spreading the messages. Especially, dear children, I wish that you all be the reflection of Jesus, which will enlighten this unfaithful world walking in darkness. I wish all of you to be the light for everyone and that you give witness in the light. Dear children, you are not called to the darkness, but you are called to the light. Therefore, live the light with your own life. Thank you for having responded to my call.
• Medjugorje message June 5, 1986
PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE STRAIGHT HIS PATHS
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
• Second Sunday of Advent Mark 1 : 1-8
Dear children! Today I am happy, even if in my heart there is still a little sadness for all those who have started on this path and then have left it. My presence here is to take you on a new path, the path to salvation. This is why I call you, day after day, to conversion. But if you do not pray, you cannot say that you are on the way to being converted. I pray for you and I intercede to God for peace; first peace in your hearts and also peace around you, so that God may be your peace. Thank you for having responded to my call.
• Medjugorje message June 25, 1992
MAY HE NOT COME SUDDENLY AND FIND YOU SLEEPING...
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man travelling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
• First Sunday of Advent Mark 13 : 33-37
Dear children! Give thanks with me to the Most High for my presence with you. My heart is joyful watching the love and joy in the living of my messages. Many of you have responded, but I wait for, and seek, all the hearts that have fallen asleep to awaken from the sleep of unbelief. Little children, draw even closer to my Immaculate Heart so that I can lead all of you toward eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.
• Medjugorje message June 25, 2011