THE POWER OF RESURRECTION, WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH YOU?
I encounter the Lord through the Holy Scriptures. The Lord captured me through His word, and my heart experienced a revolution like never before. This story continues after I was called to serve Him and surrender my life to Him. My apostolate is aimed at having many souls come closer and have an encounter with Him through His blessed word.
I have the privilege of hearing many of your testimonies where you explain that God’s never-ending Love has touched you through the thoughts I share with you in the show “La Hora del Encuentro,” featured on ESNE Radio and TV every Tueday and Friday. I am always amazed by your messages or calls that reflect the magnificence of the Love Jesus Christ has for all of us and the miracles that He continues to perform in your lives as the result of the evangelizing work that we continuously do for the Glory of God and the Salvation of our souls.
The greatest thing I see and will always elicit praise and gratitude to God for is His Faithfulness, manifested in support of all the people called to serve and contribute their seeds so His work will continue to bear fruit. When writing these lines for you, I found this passage in the Holy Scripture that deeply touched my heart and considered important to share with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ:
“I am the true Vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the Vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing”. (John 15:1-5)
I want to point out what the Holy Spirit inspired in my heart through this passage about the vine and shoots in the Gospel of St. John, the pinpoint words spoken by our Lord Jesus inviting us to remain together with Him and warning that “apart from Him we can do nothing”. Remain linked to the vine, i.e., the Lord. This was a wonderful way to confirm what we will experience in July at the Praying Conference, whose motto focuses precisely on the food par excellence for our body and soul, the Holy Eucharist. The Vine (Jesus) nourishes us (the shoots) with the sap of the Body and Blood in the Holy Communion.
Every time I read and think about this passage of the Scripture, I get even more convinced of the forceful power of God’s Word that nourishes us and surprises us pleasantly every time. It is for a good reason that in the Church’s tradition, it is called the “Good News” of Salvation. And it is for the same good reason that I will never stop inviting you, my dear brothers and sisters, to read the Word every day.
As Saint Paul put it, “for the Word of God, as sharp as any double-edged sword, penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart“. (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Praying means communion and relationship
You have probably heard or read my thoughts on this subject, the importance of prayer to prevent our Catholicism from becoming a mere “religion” and instead, establishing a close “relationship” with the Lord through His Word (the Bible), spoken prayers and, more importantly, the kind of prayer that knows how to hear the voice of God; that one is the most powerful! The Lord provides the key at the end of the passage “this is to My Father’s Glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My Disciples“. (John 15:8). Along my path with Jesus Christ, I have discovered that the most effective way to remain in communion with Him is through prayer and frequent use of the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Amen.
I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength
This is not a simple motto for another Praying Congress. This sentence condenses the Lord’s reminder and calls to live with Him all the time. It is a combination of the words used by St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians, which for many of us has become a banner of spiritual life and the importance of the power and great love for us expressed through the Bread of Life, the Eucharist.
Come to our next Praying Congress to renew your strength, get nourished by the “sap of life” coming from the Vine – Jesus’ Body, Blood, and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist and receive the promise made by Jesus that we have just remembered, “if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you“. I am convinced that in our next Praying Congress, our beloved Jesus will manifest His glory again and shed His grace on all the attendees, for “we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength“. (cf. Phil 4:13)
I always keep you in my prayers and follow the call by the Apostle James, whose feast we will celebrate on July 25th, ” … pray for each other so that you may be healed” (cf. James 5:16). And I always entrust your protection and ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially under Her advocation of Our Lady of Carmen to be celebrated on July 16th.
I am forever grateful for your generosity, your seeds, and your prayers. Without your magnificent support, we could not reach as many people as we are now. I invite you to join the Multiplication Challenge by making an additional donation this month. Our goal is to get thousands of brothers and sisters. We are firmly determined to reach places where no Catholic evangelization exists to bring the souls to an encounter with the Vine so that they can remain linked to the Vine and REMAIN IN OUR FATHER’S NEVER-ENDING LOVE.
Sincerely, in the Love of Jesus Christ and Saint Mary of Guadalupe.
