A Tender Threat (2/2) – [continued from yesterday]

Remembering Cardinal Alexandru Todea 's story*, I once tried the same bold approach with the Mother of God. In the early 1990s, poor health was preventing me from being able to fast on bread and water as Mary recommends to all (except the weak and the sick). Another community member and I were part of the Club of Weaklings. I had to carry out my missions, in France and abroad, to make Our Lady's messages known. But how could I talk to my listeners about this important point of fasting if I myself was not fasting? I was caught in the middle: on the one hand, I didn’t want to be a hypocrite and talk about what I was not doing; on the other hand, I didn’t want to be disloyal to Our Lady and omit to stress the importance of fasting.

One day, I decided to pull at my heavenly Mother’s heartstrings, and I said to her:

"You know that I cannot fast. Yet you send me to tell your children about your messages! This isn’t right. Do you want me to stop mentioning the importance of fasting? Don’t you want your children to start fasting to prevent wars, even "to stop wars, to suspend the laws of nature" as you have explained so well in your messages? How will you feel if after they listen to me, none of them decide to fast? Does it make you happy that I’ll need to skip a message that is so important to you? How many times have you expressed your sadness that we have forgotten to fast in the Church? But if you don't give me the grace to fast, you will have to stop fussing! If you want me to talk to your children about fasting, you have no choice but to give me that grace!"

Of course, it was a cry from my heart, and my threat was affectionate. I continued:

"Tomorrow is Friday. I'm going to test you. I will take only bread and water, and I'll see how I manage! If I don't feel hungry, if I have the strength to stay on my feet, and if I have a normal day as if I had eaten, then that will be a sign that you have heard my cry and that I have been given the grace to fast!"

The next day I started the day with a little bread, unnoticed by others because I was on a trip. At noon, I was still not hungry and in the evening, the same thing. I felt great! I even forgot to eat my bread! Then I understood... I had received the grace I wanted! I was so happy!

I thank the Cardinal for having helped me to corner my heavenly Mother, so to speak, and obtain from her a gift that she really wanted to give me, but was waiting for me to behave with her like a child before giving it to me!

*See the first half of this story published yesterday.

Sister Emmanuel Maillard is a member of the Community of the Beatitudes. She has lived in Medjugorje since 1989 and travels all over the world to evangelize.