Msgr. Peterson is back...

 MEDJUGORJE

   During Lent, the Mass prayers speak often of “this joyous season,” “this season of self denial,” “this season that helps make us a ‘holy people,’ a people set apart.”

   Take one or two at a time, they seem full of contradictions. Our Lady’s request for serious and abiding prayer and mortification seem only to impress us for a while and then go unanswered.

   We need to take seriously Mary’s request. Jesus, as He faced crucifixion, prayed to the Father, “Your will be done, not mine.” And St. Paul in prison wrote, “I fill up by my suffering the things that are wanting to the Body of Christ, which is the Church.”

   Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, and Faustina found suffering part of their ministry – pulling people back from plunging into hell.

“It Helped Me a Great Deal”

   I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed your new book (Volume II of The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje”). The first one was great, but this one helped me a great deal.

   I love the prayer for fasting. So far I have been able to do Wednesday and Friday. It was not easy at first. I know you are not supposed to let people know you are fasting, but one day at work they wondered why I wasn’t eating on Wednesday and so I told them. I felt at the time that I needed to tell them of Our Lady’s request for fasting.

   I thank you so much for your Mercy/Blessing Prayer.  We have an employee where I work who has caused a lot of hurt. I have tried saying this prayer and it does help. Today a fellow employee came to me and said that another employee called her yesterday and told her what another employee had said about her. It hurt her terribly. I am going to give her a copy of this testimony. I think it will help her, too.

   I have been in contact with Carolanne Kilichowski (who wrote the article on penance.)  She e-mails my daily penance. I love it!    I got so much out of this book. Thank you for writing it and sharing it.

Editor’s note:  The above was written by a subscriber named Barbara. We are not publishing her last name to protect her privacy because of the personal information disclosed. If you would like to join Barbara, Carolanne and myself in the penance group to receive daily penance for Our Lady’s intentions, you can email Carolanne at ckilichowski@msn.com.

Beginning with the next issue Brother Craig of The Monks of Adoration will be writing a column about Sacred Scripture. He will comment on various passages and explaining their meaning in ways to help our readers' spiritual lives. Also, Brother being a "Word Person" will teach you what some of the words and passages really mean. He hopes this column will encourage you to read more Sacred Scripture and Catholic commentaries on it. Brother Craig received his B.A. in Religious Studies, his B.A. in Philosophy and his B.A., M.A. and S.T. L. from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum) in Rome.

 You can contact Br. Craig at monkadorer@verizon.net.

Journey to the Light

By Mary’s Child

   September 2005 - As I sat in my living room, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine, I realized that my only escape from this incredible sadness my life had become was to end it - as quickly as possible.  I was so determined to end my life that all thoughts of my beautiful teen-aged daughter, my family and friends that would have to deal with my violent death didn't matter to me. Nothing mattered but ending the pain. With all of the dark thoughts racing through my mind, I had a moment of clarity.  I called my friend Katie.  I told her what was about to happen.  Within what seemed like minutes, my friend appeared at my door.  She talked to me, listened to me, and tucked me into my bed as soon as she had a promise from me not to do anything drastic that night.

   I had been very depressed for quite a while.  My doctor had prescribed Zoloft for me.  And for a time, it worked.  But something else was happening to me.  I thought that my depression sprang from my mother's death the year before.  I was depressed because I couldn't get out of bed.  I was depressed because I couldn't work.  I was depressed because my father was no longer speaking to me.  I was unkempt and not able to function. I stopped the Zoloft.

   A few weeks passed.  Now, instead of sleeping for days on end, I could hardly sleep at all.  I complained to my sister, who had tried very hard to convince me that I was Bi-Polar.  I knew that she was wrong!  Up until my mother died I believed that I was one of the happiest people alive.  She had to be wrong!  Giving up on the argument for the time being, she recommended that I start to say the Rosary when I couldn't sleep.  Not long afterward, I took her up on her suggestion.  I didn't really know how to pray the Rosary, but I did remember the Our Father on the large beads and the Hail Mary on the small ones.

   I started to pray the Rosary, and after about three weeks, while saying this incredible prayer I felt a warmth flood my body.  I couldn't move!  I felt a strange sensation spreading through my bones and I began to cry.  When I could function again I immediately made a call to a parish that I had visited from time to time during my 25 year hiatus from my Catholic faith.  Asking the priest for an hour of his time to hear my Confession, he invited me to come in the next day.  After making my Confession, I began going to daily Mass.  I joined the Legion of Mary at my parish. Within weeks, I went to visit a psychologist on the advice of my physician.  I was diagnosed Bi-Polar 2.  I began medication for that disease and within a few month's time the right combination of drugs was working!  I was a new person!  I was becoming truly happy...not manic happy, but truly and miraculously happy!  Joyful!

   Within months I learned that there was an opportunity to go on retreat with Father Jozo near Medjugorje.  Having heard about Medjugorje shortly after the apparitions began in the early 80's, I was very excited to go there and made my reservations.  A few years earlier I had read a book on Medjugorje and had read about Father Jozo. But I didn't realize what a gift this was nor what a life-altering experience it would become.

   My conversion was in full swing.  I came back from this experience filled with the Holy Spirit. My desire to drink was  miraculously taken away from me. The only drink that I take now is the Precious Blood of Jesus at Mass. I became a Eucharistic Minister.  I began to cook for and feed the homeless. Since that time with Father Jozo, I have been to Medjugorje twice more in two years.  All three times I have had incredible, miraculous experiences in that holy place. Daily Mass and learning to actually enjoy fasting has become my reality. I have been blessed to begin a hospital ministry with a particular devotion for dying patients and their families, among various other ministries through the Legion.  Now, having started, with the blessing of my new parish priest, a Legion of Mary at that parish also, I continue on with my first group and now have successfully begun a second.  Now, the only reason I don't want to work is that working for money interferes with my work for God...work done and accomplished through our Blessed Mother.  But I force myself to make a living anyway....although not the type of living that I had once been accustomed to!  And happily, I want peace now, not material goods.  Happiness and joy is my new life's direction. Our Blessed Mother has made this great gift a reality.  Blessed Mother, I love you and thank you with all of my heart for leading me to Jesus.  Jesus, I adore You!

Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty.”         

         Mirjana’s Message of March 2, 2008

"Dear children, I implore you, especially at this Lenten time, to respond to God's goodness because He chose you and sent me among you.  Be purified of sins and in Jesus, my Son, recognize the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the entire world.  May He be the meaning of your life.  May your life become service to the Divine Love of my Son.  Thank you, my children."

Our Lady blessed all those present and all the religious articles brought for blessing.  She called us anew to pray for our shepherds.

Fr. Neil in front of St. James in Medjugorje

Prayer Cloth Testimony

By Marge Lee

   On Feb. 5, our daughter underwent extensive gum surgery. She was told that it would be a two hour surgery, and later be in much pain, bleeding, etc. Knowing that this surgery was going to be quite involved, and having been told that she would be in pain and possibly bleeding, we planned to stay with her.

   When we arrived she was up and feeling fine. She had no pain or bleeding. She didn’t even need the pain pills. We were so elated! I told her that I had been deeply praying for her with the Medjugorje prayer cloth and had asked the Lord to go through surgery for her and guide the surgeon’s hand, and prayed for a speedy and complete healing. Our daughter then told us that when the surgeon finished the surgery, he remarked to her that he had done this surgery many times, but never this fast. So I told my daughter to let him know Who had helped him with the surgery. Later when she talked to the surgeon, he was amazed that she had no pain, etc. I then told our daughter that she had a miracle, and she said, “No, Mom, it was your prayers.” So I replied, “Yes, it is through prayers that miracles do happen!”

“Gospa” in Uganda

By Stephen Sematiko

    In 2006, I contacted Robert Gardner, asking him to give me a copy of his CD called “Gospa,”  after having read about his testimony on the Internet. The following day he responded and sent me a copy. I listened to the CD and it touched me. As the lady read the messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje, it was as if Our Lady was speaking. After some time I found it so important to share this message with other people.  I asked permission from Robert to make copies for other people to listen to the “Gospa” album.

   The groups of people I met at the church were very happy to see this copy and many came to me asking for copies so that they can also listen to the beautiful words from Heaven. I started making more copies for people. I went to other parishes giving them some copies and many would come telling me to get them as many as possible. We have so far given out 20,000 copies of the “Gospa” CD to the people of Uganda!

   The Uganda main prison is in one of the areas where we gave out the “Gospa” CD. There are so many people in the condemned section who have no hope in life again. But one day I met one of the missionaries who was going to minister the Word of God to these people. I asked her if she could take some of the “Gospa” CD’s with her for them to listen to the words of Our Lady. (Many of them understand English well because they teach them English in the prison.) They listened and immediately the words from Heaven touched them.

  The lady came back to the Medjugorje Center and asked for more copies for these people and she told me, “Stephen, there are so many testimonies that are coming out from the condemned section these days. People who were sentenced to death are being freed to go back home and start a new kind of life. The prisoners in the condemned section divided themselves into prayer groups to start praying the Rosary. They started praying together the Rosary and having Mass.” She asked me for some rosaries. I had 200 rosaries (donated by subscribers of “The Spirit of Medjugorje”) and I gave them all out.

   The government of Uganda may remove the death penalty because some people in the prison have really changed their life back to God. There is still a lot going on in the main prison. People are praying the Rosary on a daily basis. We thank Robert Gardner who is helping us to reach other people with the messages of Our Lady that make changes in our lives.

                                                                                                                                  Work Camp in Bosnia, 2007

                                                                                                                                                  By Pete Wildey

   Post Hurricane Katrina, I felt the urge to help out in the Gulf Coast region. Upon research into doing that, I discovered many obstacles. No place to stay, no clear organization, etc. I decided to Google 'Mission Trips' and that is when I came across St. David's. I was excited to learn about their construction jobs. I am a fourth generation carpenter and it has been my desire to 'give back' what I have been blessed with. I knew immediately that I had to go on the next mission trip.
   After four planes and about 30 hours of travel, our bus rolled to a stop in the little town of Stolac…about two hours later than planned. To my amazement there were about 30 people (mostly children) awaiting our arrival. They all clapped and said 'Hello' as we wearily stumbled off the bus and into the small stone church for a quick welcome and short Croatian Mass. The Children's Choir performed several songs for us, and we were split up into groups of two and three and sent off with host families to our accommodations.
   In the days to follow, I began to see that the real 'work' we all were doing in Stolac was the strengthening of the Christian community. It was all about the interactions between us and the townspeople. A bond was formed, friendships made. Despite the language barriers, we managed to converse. We sang, danced and laughed. The people of Stolac were so gracious, generous and warm. I was so moved by this experience that I felt as though I was the one who benefited most by our visit. I hope and pray that our visit brought a sense of genuine human compassion and kindness to the people of Stolac, so that all may learn to live in peace and embrace the cultural differences within their own community of Christians and Muslims alike.
   I have never considered myself the type of man to Evangelize; at least, not in the verbal sense. However, upon reflection of just what happened in that little Bosnian town of Stolac, that is precisely what I did! Through some physical labor and just extending human compassion and simple kindness.
   I plan on being a part of as many future St. David's trips as I am able.