As you no doubt know, the Holy Father has declared this the Year of St. Paul. One thing I have especially noticed in reading the letters of St. Paul is that (since several times people he had helped disappointed him) he

was very sensitive. This not a bad thing. But some people who are sensitive or overly sensitive would find life easier if they were less sensitive. They should pray to St. Paul to be less hurt, less concerned about how others treat them.

   During this year of St. Paul it would be good to read his letters. They are the Word of God, inspirational spiritual reading and an interesting travelogue! (If you can find a book or website with a map of the areas that St. Paul visited on his three journeys that would be interesting.)

   St. Paul’s journeys ended in Rome. How appropriate! After being under house arrest he was beheaded at a place not far from where is now located one of the Four Major Basilicas of Rome: St. Paul Outside the Walls (the walls of

the ancient Roman city).

   This year let St. Paul guide you in your spiritual life by honoring his special year.

Up, Up and Away on Christmas Day!

By June Klins

   A few months ago, as I was rewinding a tape in my car, the radio station was set on a Christian station (since we do not have a Catholic radio station here), and I heard a radio preacher say, “We’re all going to Heaven, whether we like it, or not.”  I could not believe my ears. It certainly was a nice thought, and it is really what God wills (1Tim 2:3), but it is also not the reality. Some people will not be going to Heaven, and Jesus made this very clear during His ministry on earth. This preacher either does not read the Bible, or if he does, he is interpreting it incorrectly.

   On January 10, 1983, Our Lady told the visionaries in Medjugorje, “The majority of people go to Purgatory. Many go to hell. A small number go to Heaven.” On All Souls Day this year I was thrilled to hear the very young priest at the Mass I attended speak about Purgatory. He mentioned that no one seems to think it exists any more, but that it is indeed a Doctrine of the Church.

   We have a very holy priest here in Erie who has a great devotion to the souls in Purgatory. In fact, he started a “Sodality for the Souls in Purgatory” and on the last Friday evening of every month he has a Mass for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, followed by the Rosary and Benediction. He has a table with books about Purgatory that people can borrow, and has made copies of articles about Purgatory that people may take and share.This priest related that he was raised by his grandmother, and that one night after she had died, she appeared to him in a dream, that was “very real.”  His grandmother, who was a Baptist, asked him to pray the Rosary for her because she was in Purgatory. In the January 10,1983 message, Our Lady said, “ It does happen that God permits them [the souls in Purgatory] to manifest themselves in different ways, close to their relatives on earth, in order to remind people of the existence of Purgatory, and to solicit their prayers to come near to God who is just, but good.”

    A few months ago, I went to the funeral Mass of a lady named Rose. During the homily the priest mentioned that on that day something happened that he had never seen happen before. He said that a while ago Rose came in to see him, requesting that a Mass be said for her husband who had died a couple of years ago. Father suggested the 6:45 AM Mass, but Rose preferred the 8 AM Mass because she felt that more people would attend that Mass since it was later. She wanted more people to be praying for the soul of her husband. Then a few weeks before the Mass was to be said, Rose suffered a stroke from which she would never recover. It just so happened that Rose’s funeral Mass was at 10 AM in the same church where her husband’s Mass had been said just two hours prior!  The whole family was astounded. They had no idea that Rose had requested a Mass for her husband that day. The day she chose was no special day in their lives, and when she requested the Mass she was healthy and had no idea that she would be buried from that same church two hours after his Mass. Most everyone thought this was so cute, that the couple was being reunited in the church they attended all their lives, where they often attended daily Mass together. But I also saw something that no one else mentioned – that this story made a statement that Rose felt it was important to have Masses said for our loved ones. Her husband had died two and a half years before that. Many Masses had already been said for him, and she could have assumed he was already in Heaven (and perhaps he was, in which case the graces would go to someone else in need),

but she felt it was important to have a Mass said for him anyway. That is true love!

   Our Lady said, “It is not on All Souls Day, but at Christmas, that the greatest number of souls leave Purgatory.”  What an awesome gift it would be to have a Mass said for a loved one this Christmas. What would be even better would be to have a Mass said for someone you don’t know who would need the prayers. Pick someone in the obituaries who is not Catholic, because there is a good chance that no one is praying for him or her because other faiths do not believe in Purgatory. If you have Masses said through the Franciscan Missions, the suggested stipend is only $5, and since the money goes to help the Missions, it is a corporal work of mercy as well as a spiritual work of mercy to have a Mass said for the souls. It is a wonderful gift to give Baby Jesus this Christmas. “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for Me.”  (Mt 25:40)

Fr. Jozo’s Reflection on the December 25, 2007 Message

"Dear children! With great joy I bring you the King of Peace for Him to bless you with His blessing. Adore Him and give time to the Creator for whom your heart yearns. Do not forget that you are passers-by on this earth and that things can give you small joys, while through my Son, eternal life is given to you. That is why I am with you, to lead you towards what your heart yearns for. Thank you for having responded to my call." (12/25/07)

   This is a Christmas message and also the last message of this year. In the time leading to Christmas, we were witnesses of our preparation and maximum effort and activity in preparing the way to the Lord who was to

come. To all those with open hearts the Holy Mother and Virgin is able to say: "With great joy I bring you the King of Peace, that He may bless you with His blessing." How many hearts have received this precious gift of the King of Peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and in Holy Communion! They have done so in complete unity with the

Church, which was preparing them to open their hearts for that great gift - the King of Peace - through prayer, fasting, dawn Masses and the Sacraments. This peace and joy of Christmas shines from joyful hearts.

   Such believers are completely different from those motivated by purchasing gifts to bring joy to their own hearts and to the hearts of others. Because this is not possible, once again, those individuals were deceived and disappointed. After the feast, they remained even more empty and tired. This is not Christmas. They lack Jesus, the King of Peace. They lack peace and His joy, which He gives to the prepared hearts, families and the Church.

   Life and a frantic rush inspired and moved by the inclination and desire of a goal to possess and enjoy has never been blessed. In fact it is worthless. It is most sad to recognize and to live in the vicinity of someone who lives only for things. Our heart and our nature long for something higher than things or pleasure. Our hearts can be satisfied and filled only by their Creator, by God who came as Christ, the King of Peace.

   Therefore, this warm Motherly teaching is for each of us: "Adore Him and give time to the Creator for whom your heart longs." Our manger scenes in Churches and in families are not decoration or folklore. They are a place of prayer and adoration of the King and Lord. It is so important for us to find time to dedicate to prayer and thanksgiving for His birth and our salvation. A manger where a family does not gather and take time for prayer is an empty sign to us and to our children. It is almost on the level of false display windows and illuminated cities, which in an external way show their tradition but not the faith, gratitude and love for the Mother and the Child given to us.

   Our Lady calls us to adore Jesus, our King. From the beginning, She has been asking for this in Her messages. This is why our prayer community in its program lives from the Eucharist and adores the living and present Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. Unfortunately, some members easily dispense and free themselves from Adoration on Thursdays, or fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. In Adoration we are so close to Him. We are at His feet, listening to His teaching of grace and receiving His blessing and peace. Our life and our heart longs for Him. Every time we meet together in prayer, in reflection on the message of the Queen of Peace and in Adoration of the most Blessed Sacrament, we give important time to Him for whom we long.

   My dear ones, once again, our good Mother cautions us not to forget that we are passers-by in this world. It is painful to listen to or speak to a person who acts and lives as if he will never die or account to God for his life. It is difficult to meet people who, sunk in their selfishness, feel no responsibility for others with whom they share their life and gifts and who do not think at all about those who are to come after them. Because of this, we have polluted the air we breathe, poisoned the food we eat and poisoned the family in which we are born and raised. We have poisoned the earth, the hearts and everything that we have seized in our selfishness as solely our own. If we are not aware that we are passers-by on this earth and that things of this earth are not our goal or of greatest value, most certainly we have forgotten eternal life and the un-passing joy that our King of Peace and Savior brought and gave to us by His birth. This especially pertains to technology and offers of pleasure and enjoyment. Christmas and its celebration are not a time of pleasure and entertainment but a discovery of what is not passing and is eternal. All of this is a gift to us for which we must be grateful. We must take time in song, prayer and in listening to the Word of God to give thanks to the Lord.

   In a most beautiful way, the Mother explains to us that She is with us to lead us towards that for which our hearts long. We are like a child in front of a shop window stopping before our toy, our dreamed of desire, trying to force our mother to enter into the shop and to buy it for us. If a child does not succeed, he cries and throws a tantrum, putting his mother in an uncomfortable position and she most often gives in. How are we to pass through this world of consumerism and of great offers when it seems to us that somehow we need all this? Everyone else has this or that new product, so why shouldn't I?

   Permit me to share a story with you. A hermit walked through a city. He walked by all the shop windows and all the shops. He enjoyed looking at the most beautiful things that people were buying and taking home. He

was whole-heartedly grateful for everything: for beautiful clothes, expensive shoes, all the food products and an abundant market of all kinds of fruits and vegetables. At the end of the day he prayed: "How wonderful and good you are, Lord. Thank you for all the most beautiful things that my brothers and sisters are buying. Thank you for everything, but especially thank you for the gift that I do not need any of those things. Thank you that I am perfectly happy and free because I can be without all that I have seen." This is the freedom that we need. We have become addicted to technology and such expensive things telling ourselves that we cannot be without them. As a consequence, we are not free.

   On the same day, when Our Lady gave this message through Marija, Our Lady explained through the visionary Jakov not to seek joy in the things of this world but to open our hearts and to accept God.

Mirjana’s Message of November 2, 2008

“Dear children, today I call you to a complete union with God. Your body is on earth, but I ask you for your soul to be all the more often in God’s nearness. You will achieve this through prayer, prayer with an open heart. In that way you will thank God for the immeasurable goodness which He gives to you through me and, with a sincere heart, you will receive the obligation to treat the souls whom you meet with equal goodness. Thank you, my children.”

Jordy’s Christmas

By Sr. Emmanuel

   Among the thousands of children who wrote to Baby Jesus and His Mother in Medjugorje this Christmas, there was little Jordy, 6, from Paris. His story should be known.

  Jordy wasn't quite 2 when his father left his mother. He witnessed scenes of great violence, due to alcohol and other weaknesses which resulted in his father going to prison. Jordy belongs to this generation of children from broken families who live without the security of a strong family nucleus. He has suffered also from the freakish desires of his moody father who sometimes refuses to see him. Jordy was constantly worried to face a rejection. Life was a true nightmare and he soon developed serious psychological problems. He became very nervous and agitated, often up to some new mischief. The family break-up became unbearable for the little shoulders of the child. Jordy could not bear up under the difficulties and became aggressive. On-going psychological therapy did not help. 

    His grandmother, who had been to Medjugorje on two occasions, was deeply affected by the situation of her daughter and grandson. She invited Jordy to write to Baby Jesus for Christmas through the "2000 CANDLES" action.  Going to Sunday School has taught Jordy to pray with the heart, and he told his mother, "OK, I will write to Baby Jesus : I will tell you what to say and you will write it for me !"  He asked Mary for the grace to be good and to have peace, because on his own he just couldn't make it. His mother wrote word for word what Jordy dictated. The letter arrived in Medjugorje before Christmas. 

   His father had promised that Jordy would spend Christmas with him and Jordy was getting prepared. Then the inevitable happened, his father called to say that he didn't want to see him.  "Oh no, what a disaster!" his mother thought.  "This will crush him!"  But amazingly, Jordy took the sad news with serenity. During the following days, those around him who expected Jordy to display his usual aggressive behavior, witnessed instead a peace. A great change was taking place. The tension was gone! No one had ever seen him like this ! He spent the day of Christmas laughing and beaming.

  The psychologist who regularly met with him was surprised to find a very different Jordy.  He exclaimed to his mother, "What's happened? He's a totally different child ! He is well, he is very well now!" He made a new diagnosis deciding that a special needs teacher was no longer necessary.

    His mother had no doubt from where this cure had come.  Jesus and Mary had responded to the call Jordy had sent to Medjugorje, "I'd like so badly to be good, but I just can't!"  The child's heart was transformed.  Recognizing such a gift from God, his mother decided to pray in the family each day and to go more often to church.

   Let's protect this family through our prayer and entrust to Baby Jesus all broken families, so that none of their children are harmed.

Is Medjugorje Real? (Part 2)

   The following is a transcription of a talk given by Dr. Mark Miravalle at the Medjugorje Conference at Notre Dame University in May, 2006.  It is continued from last month and will be continued in future issues..

   Question number two: This is regarding the issue of potential disobedience. I have heard that there may be acts of disobedience by the Franciscan priests at St. James parish in Medjugorje against their local bishop. Is this true? And if so, how could Our Lady ever bless acts of disobedience by appearing there?

   We begin with an important distinction as we just mentioned. The Church at present provides people not only personal belief in Medjugorje, but the right to pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Now that’s a universal right for anyone who is Catholic. That must include the personal rights of the Franciscan priests at Medjugorje. In other words, in virtue of being Catholic, they too have the freedom on a personal level to exercise the right that the Church gives them to personally say, “Yes, I believe Medjugorje is authentic and I will continue to believe so as the investigation continues.”  Therefore, any accusations of disobedience by the Franciscan priests at Medjugorje, because they believe in Medjugorje, is intrinsically an invalid accusation.

   It’s also important to note that there are no reported cases of disobedience by the priests in Medjugorje in violating any canonically licid directive of the bishop. Now, because we’ve got to face this straight forwardly and honestly, technically, if there had been, let’s say, a Franciscan who did an act of disobedience, and what I just got finished saying was that there’s no such case recorded in terms of anything canonically appropriate for the bishop to ask them to do - technically, if you’re on a board of investigation and you found a priest at Medjugorje who acted disobediently, that, technically, does not stand as a ground of disvalidating or invalidating the apparitions unless it was something, for example, of the spiritual director and somehow had a proximity to the visionaries.

   And let me give you an example of why this has to be made clear. Let’s use our own situation in the Church in our own country. Imagine if an individual pastor, a pastor loyal to the Church, loyal to the Holy Father, loyal to his bishop, had a brother priest in the diocese or had a brother religious who is also a priest within a 3 hour radius of his parish do something that was scandalous or was disobedient, and as a result of that other priest’s actions some 3 hours away, the good pastor was indicted for being disobedient. But we would all quickly ascend to the idea that this is not acceptable, this is not fair. This is guilt by association. Well, indeed, historically there have been tensions between the bishop and the Franciscans which have lasted approximately 400 years and they began with the Muslim-Turk invasions when many of the Franciscans stayed with the people and in that situation some of the diocesan priests decided to leave.

Christmas Wheat

   One of the traditions still followed today in Croatia is the planting of wheat grains on St. Lucy’s Day, December 13.

The wheat grains, called “zito” are planted in a simple round container of dirt which has a red, white and blue ribbon attached around the outside. In the middle is placed a big red candle. The soil is kept moist by daily watering, and by Christmas Day the wheat has grown tall enough to make a beautiful Christmas wreath! Because wheat is the symbol of the Eucharist, the wreath is often placed near a nativity set on Christmas Day. It can also be used to decorate the table on Christmas. In some of Croatia’s areas, an apple is placed in the middle of the wheat. In the Gorski Kotar region of Croatia, a small glass with water and oil is placed in the center of the wheat, on which a floating wick (a dusica – from the word for soul, dusa) is placed. Its glow can be seen through, rather than above, the wheat. The glow represents the soul within each of us. 

   After Christmas, the tradition is to give the wheat to the birds.

 Editor’s note: If you would like to grow some Christmas wheat, the wheat grains or wheat berries, as they may be called, can be purchased at almost any health food store.

Thank you to Chris Maxwell, Marge Spase, Diane Yochim, Louise Lotze, Vilma Smith, Cindy Bielanin and Vickie DeCoursey  for help with the November mailing. Thanks to Joel Vidonish, Johannes Dittrich and Romilly Fenlon for their photos this month. Thank you to Margaret Igel who made us more prayer cloths to share with our readers.