The Spirit of Medjugorje Online
                                                                P.O. BOX 6614, ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 16512
 

                                        EDITOR: JUNE KLINS    EDITOR EMERITUS: JOAN WIESZCZYK

 SPIRITUAL ADVISOR: MSGR. JAMES PETERSON

WEB PUBLISHER: MEDJUGORJE USA   

 Home  Contact  About Us  Beginners Guide  Links  Archives

 

VOL. 23, NO 2    Published Monthly     February 5, 2010

 

Current Monthly Message of  January 25, 2010
  

THE 25TH DAY OF EACH MONTH, THE BLESSED VIRGIN GIVES A MESSAGE TO THE VISIONARY MARIJA, THAT IS TO BE GIVEN TO THE WORLD.

 

Dear children! May this time be a time of personal prayer for you, so that the seed of faith may grow in your hearts; and may it grow into a joyful witness to others. I am with you and I desire to inspire you all: grow and rejoice in the Lord Who has created you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

 

 

"Best of Spirit of Medjugorje" Volume One and Two


http://www.amazon.com/Best-Spirit-Medjugorje-June-Klins/dp/1420841033/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b                   

 
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Spirit-Medjugorje-II/dp/1434317552/ref=sr_1_2/103-7418550-8095806?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191208108&sr=1-2

 


This beautiful replica of Our Lady of Tihaljina is in St. Colman’s Roman Catholic Church in Turtle Creek, PA.

 

If you would like a pdf of the printed copy we send out, email June at jklins1981@verizon.net and put "February pdf"  in the subject line. Permission is given to reprint original articles in our newsletters, provided that no wording is changed and that "The Spirit of Medjugorje" is credited. To reprint articles from other sources, permission must be obtained from that particular source.  Thank you.

 


Statue of St. Padre Pio in the Yellow Building in Medjugorje

St. Padre Pio, Divine Mercy and the Earthquake in Haiti

By June Klins

 

    I have a fire in my heart for the salvation of souls. So, years ago, when a friend told me that a priest had shared with her a type of prayer he called "anticipatory prayer,” my interest was piqued.  My friend told me that anticipatory prayer means that you can pray for good results for something after it has already happened, because for God there is no time, and He knew you were going to pray!   Fr. John Corapi spoke about this at a conference I attended a few years ago, when someone asked a question about praying for a person who had committed suicide.  Since Fr. Corapi was given, by Pope John Paul II, the title "apostolic teacher"  --  meaning he speaks with the authority of the apostles --  this confirmed for me what I had heard earlier about anticipatory prayer.

   Recently I was reading the book, The Holy Souls," by Fr. Alessio Parente, OFM, Cap.  Father Parente chronicles St. Padre Pio's relationship with the dead.  In Chapter 46. St. Padre Pio spoke about praying for the happy death of a young girl who had already died.  St. Pio said, "For the Lord, the past does not exist; the future does not exist. Everything is an eternal present. Those prayers had already been taken into account. And so I repeat that even now I can pray for the happy death of my great grandfather!"
   Fr. Parente commented at the end of this chapter, "There is a very important moral to be learned here, and it is that we should always pray for the deceased, even those who have died many years ago, because for God there is neither a past nor a future, but all is the eternal present."
   After I read this, I began praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet (a powerful prayer that Jesus told St. Faustina to pray for the dying) for all of my great grandparents, and then began working on my great-great grandparents. I have a list and check it off after I pray for each person. (I had already had Gregorian Masses said for all my grandparents years ago.)
   One morning two weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, I felt very driven to share this, so we can all pray for the salvation of those who died in Haiti. I have been doing that every day since the earthquake. If we all do that every day for a month, and pass this along to others, we should be able to cover everyone. And  then maybe we can do the same for the victims of the tsunami and other natural disasters….

  “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, Who wants all men to be saved …” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

 


Mary's Meals cafe in Medjugorje

Mary's Meals – A Fruit of Medjugorje

By Louise Lotze

 

       Mary's Meals, a charitable organization, was founded by a family from Scotland, the MacFarlane-Barrows, in 2002.  In 1983 this family visited Medjugorje and this visit so affected their lives that it led them to convert their home into Craig Lodge Family House of Prayer.

       In 1992, when Medjugorje was engulfed by civil war, the MacFarlane-Barrow family responded by collecting aid in Scotland for the refugees in Bosnia.  What was meant to be a one-time delivery grew into an organization called Scottish International Relief (SIR), now known as a highly respected and effective overseas aid charity (one of the fruits of Medjugorje ).  To keep its overhead to a minimum it still operates from a small, tin shed in Scotland.

       Today SIR works with the poor and vulnerable around the world.  They have opened homes for abandoned children in Eastern Europe and Latin America, provide health care for poor communities in Africa, and have responded to emergencies such as tsunamis.

       Mary's Meals began in 2002 in Malawi to feed around 200 children.  Today tens of thousands of children are receiving Mary's Meals daily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  Through Mary's Meals the poorest children are encouraged to attend school.  The organization works with local volunteers and uses donations to buy the food, offer training and support to the volunteers who cook and serve daily meals in the school.  For many children, this volunteer is a mother-figure for them and in preschools they even teach the children counting rhymes and alphabet songs.  Founder, Magnus Mac-Farlane- Barrow, knows that education is the best way to escape from poverty.  Starving children are unable to learn due to malnutrition.  The organization is called Mary's Meals to honor Mary, the mother of Jesus, who faced poverty during her own motherhood.

       Mary's Meals has extended its help to Haiti, the most poverty-stricken country in the Western Hemisphere.  Fr. Tom Hagan of Haiti relates:  “Speaking for the children here in Cite Soleil slum I can honestly say that the food that they receive each day at school is the only food that they eat all day.  Without the food from Mary's Meals, they would surely die of malnutrition.  Almost everywhere I go in the slum of Cite Soleil I see children who have not eaten.  They have the extended bellies often filled with worms, and they have hair that should be the color of black changing to an ugly color of orange which is a sure sign of malnutrition.  They have skin that looks like it has been severely burned but it is just the effects of having little or no food.  They have a certain stare in their eyes.  Some of them will pick up dirt and stones and put it into their mouths anticipating food and when they realize that it is not food, they begin to cry.  And when I look at the mothers, I find that they are more difficult to look at than the children without food.  The women seem to age in front of me because it is difficult for a woman, a mother, to watch her child die. It is unnatural for a mother to watch her child die.  Let me just say that every day when I watch the children eating the food, I say a small prayer in gratitude to God for the mission of Mary's Meals.”  (Fr. Tom Hagan, Hands Together, Cite Soleil).

       Prior to the recent earthquake, in Haiti the children fed numbered 14,770 in the Cite Soleil area of Port au Prince and the Hinche area.  The children attended primary schools in the slums of Cite Soleil, and several rural schools in Hinche and Gonaives.

       In Medjugorje, one can visit the Mary's Meals cafe where Milona von Hapsburg is the Mary's Meals Ambassador.  It is situated on the traffic circle around the fenced park.  Originally one could buy lunch there and the profits went to Mary's Meals for the starving children worldwide.  However restrictions were placed on them, and now you can have tea and biscuits as guests, and receive information there by word, picture displays, and brochure booklets about the organization.  The little cafe has become a meeting place for pilgrims.

       Mary's Meals has thus been working in Haiti since 2006, providing meals for over 14,000 children. Since the devastating earthquake in January, more help than ever is needed.  To donate you can call toll free:    800 385 4983,  or visit the website:  www.marysmealsusa.org.

       We invite those who are unable to donate money to pray and fast for the work of Mary's Meals.  They are now feeding over 350,000 children in 14 countries.  Mary's Meals USA was very recently formed as an organization in the United States to give U.S. donors the opportunity to contribute to the mission and at the same time be able to use their donations as tax deductible for IRS income tax purposes. 

Editor's note:  Louise is from Ashtabula, OH.  Minutes before this article was going to be sent to our webmaster to be put on our website, Louise called me with an update to this article. She quickly typed it.

 

Update on Mary's Meals

By Louise Lotze 

   Having just received a letter from Scotland, dated Jan. 20, 2010, there is heartwarming news about help reaching Haiti from Mary's Meals.  As this letter was being written in Scotland, Magnus was on his way to Haiti to work out what next can be done to help.  Mary's Meals is already providing food to earthquake victims who have escaped from the capital, Port Au Prince, and have made their way inland to Hinche.  Mary's Meals' partner there had sent this plea, “Many of them have lost everything and have traveled only with the clothes on their back.  The hospitals are in dire need of medical supplies, food and water.”  Supplies were being put together of urgently needed medicines and have probably been flown there already from Scotland.  Mary's Meals is also bringing in food supplies from the neighboring country, the Dominican Republic.  Since this is just a beginning and the priority is to re-start school feeding this will be done just as soon as they can.

   Mary's Meals latest project had just begun in Haiti just 2 days before the earthquake struck.  The “Barefoot Children” project was in the notorious slum town of Cite Soleil just outside Port Au Prince. They wrote, “It is hard to believe there could be children in even more need than those already attending the schools in Cite Soleil, but our good friends, Fr. Tom Hagan and Doug Campbell, found some.  These are the children whose home is what passes for a street in the slum.  They live amongst the corrugated tin shacks, rubbish and open sewers, surviving as best as they can.  Fr. Tom had an idea and asked for Mary's Meals help.  He said , “We would open our schools to these children in the afternoons, after classes, and attract them in with the offer of a hot meal.  They would receive a couple of hours of teaching – with the help of senior pupils – as an introduction to the world of school.”  We loved the idea and last week ( before Jan 20 ),  several hundred children emerged from the slums into the safe haven of the schools, for food and lessons. Then the earthquake came!”

   Fr. Tom was injured and his home destroyed.  He was evacuated to safety in the US but within 2 days was on his way back to Haiti determined to be with his people.  His main concern it to try and find all our children, including the “Barefoot Children”, and see if they are safe.

   Mary's Meals knows that the people in Haiti are going to need their help in the weeks and months ahead and they need all of our support so that they can offer them food, shelter, medical supplies and hope.  Doug Campbell says:  “We face a long and difficult recovery, and we need more than anything your continued prayers and whatever you can share to help us reopen our schools and projects.  Our hearts are broken for the people, but we believe God spared us for a reason and we need to be part of the “springtime” that is on its way.  Please pray for us.”

 

 

Medjugorje

 

  

   The world in which we live never comes to a warless pause. When one war stops, another begins – often with the assurance that this new war will be the one to end all wars. And that is not true.

   So Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”  And Mary says that peace will come as an answer to prayer. Consequently, the peacemakers must be “pray-ers.”

   I have visited Medjugorje a number of times, and every time I visited, I left with a new energy to carry out the mission for which Our Lady calls us there. But I have also seen – and felt – the lessening of enthusiasm, as world crises ground on with the same old tedium.

   But today we are in a new year.  By axiom, New Year’s resolutions crumble within a month.

   It’s time to break with the war-torn past, and to assume the position Mary invited us to – blessed and prayerful peacemakers, the children of God.

Editor’s note: Msgr. Peterson has recently published a new book called. The Sweep of John’s Gospel. You can write to Msgr. Peterson at P.O. Box 10682, Erie, PA 16514.

 

 

  

           


Marija's chapel

 

 

Marija’s Apparition on January 1

By Sister Emmanuel

    On the evening of December 31, 2009, Marija asked the Blessed Mother for a special favor, explaining that the next day, the feast of the Mother of God and the first day of the year, many pilgrims requested that they attend the apparition at her home the following day; but because her chapel is very small, she was sad not to be able to offer this opportunity to all who asked.  So she asked the Blessed Mother for a change in location, to make it easier for more people to attend.  She suggested that instead of coming at 5:40 to Marija’s chapel, Our Lady would appear in the evening on Apparition Hill, so that everyone could attend.  The Gospa replied that She would do both on the first of the year, come to the chapel at 5:40, and come to Apparition Hill in the evening.  So, on the evening of January 1st, we were all on Podbrdo, praying our Rosaries under the pouring rain, with our feet in the mud and our hearts in joy.  The apparition lasted quite a while, and Marija told us, “The Gospa came today very happy, with legions of Angels!  She looked at all of us and smiled at us saying, ‘You are my joy, you are my hope!’  Then She urged us to live the messages that She has given us.” This is how we started the year 2010 with Her and with Her Heavenly army of Angels.  We’ll definitely need them this year!  And we entrusted all of you to Her motherly care.

                                                                               Children of Medjugorje, www.childrenofmedjugorje.com

   

 

                                                                                                         Our Lady's Message to Mirjana on January 2, 2010
   "Dear children, Today I am calling you to, with complete trust and love, set out with me, because I desire to acquaint you with my Son. Do not be afraid, my children, I am here with you, I am next to you. I am showing you the way to forgive yourselves, to forgive others, and, with sincere repentance of heart, to kneel before the Father. Make everything die in you that hinders you from loving and saving – that you may be with Him and in Him. Decide for a new beginning, a beginning of sincere love of God Himself. Thank you."

 

 

 

Sacred Scripture  

 

  

The New Year is traditionally a time for making resolutions. So perhaps this is a good time to resolve to read one chapter of the New Testament each day. Of course, you could start with Matthew, and before you know it, you’ll read right through to the end of the Book of Revelation. Another resolution could be to memorize the names of the books of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments - making sure you use the Catholic list for the books of the Old Testament. Or perhaps you would like to think of your own Biblical resolution. No doubt, there are many possibilities. A blessed New Year!

You may contact Brother Craig at www.monksofadoration.org

 

 


Judy and Mirjana

 

A Special Taxi

By Judy Pellatt

    My first visit to Medjugorje was in late April, 2007. I arrived knowing very little, but aware that Mirjana had her monthly apparition on the 2nd of every month. On our first full day, our guide took us up Apparition Hill, but strongly suggested that, because a storm was approaching, we not stay long. It was very much a case of “Hello, Our Lady. Goodbye, Our Lady. I‘ll be back”.

    I was one of the first to descend, and decided that I could probably make it back before the rain set in. However, I couldn’t remember the way we had come, and promptly set off in the wrong direction. I had only gone about a hundred meters when the rain began to fall quite heavily. I remembered having passed a house with a little archway at the bottom of the drive, and so I decided to walk back the 50 meters or so to shelter there. I didn’t think the owners would mind, as I wouldn’t actually be on their property, and anyway, it would only be for a few minutes until the rain passed over. So I took up position under the arch and scanned the skies to try and guess which way the clouds were coming, but couldn’t. The rain just got heavier and heavier, and the sky darker and darker and more menacing.

   After about fifteen minutes, I began to get a bit scared. How was I going to get back? I looked at my watch. It was 5:40 PM. So I said to Our lady, “You are going to have to help me, I have no idea how I’m going to get back. Please send me a taxi or something.”  Within a minute, the man came out of the house, got into a car and reversed down the driveway. I stood aside to let him pass. He wound down the window, and asked me if I was going to the church, and would I like a lift. I accepted gratefully, and got in. He was listening to Radio Mir and the Rosary was nearing completion, so I

didn’t say much at first. After a few minutes, he asked if I knew whose car it was. I thought  it was a bizarre question. How could I possibly know whose car it was? I said, "No." He then said, “ I am the husband of Mirjana and you are sitting where she normally sits.”  I looked at him in utter astonishment, and uttered a rather high pitched “Ohh!”.

   As I regained my composure, the conversation continued, and he told me how they had been in England the previous year. As we neared the church, the rain was lashing down out of the heavens and the thunder and lightning was something else. He knew lots of people en-route and waved at them all. Afterwards, I thought they probably thought I was Mirjana. I do have blonde hair, but it’s short! He dropped me off, and I thanked him profusely and said what a pleasure it was to meet him. I promised to pray for Mirjana. As I walked away, a thunderbolt hit the spot where he had stopped. I had no idea of the significance of 5:40 PM, nor did I know it was Mirjana’s house. I asked Our Lady to “send me a taxi or something,” and She sent me Mirjana’s husband. If that wasn’t an answer to prayer, I don’t know what is!!!!

Editor’s note:  Judy is from Portsmouth, UK.  [The apparition time changes to 6:40 PM with Daylight Savings Time.]

 

 

 Questions and Answers with Mirjana

The following is excerpted from a question and answer period with Mirjana in Pittsburgh, PA, on April, 19, 2000.  Mirjana’s  sense of humor was evident that day. She said that Our Lady wants us to smile.

 

Q:  Do you ever long for Christ to come when you are feeling weary?

A:  When I feel tired, and when I feel weary, I pray. Prayer is my conversation with God. Prayer is my rest. Therefore, if   you feel “powerless,” take the rosary and pray. Call upon dear God to be with you. And then, say to your Mother what you have in your heart. Then, you will feel better.

 

Q:  How do you handle a Catholic son or daughter who is married to a non-Catholic spouse?

A:   In this matter, I can only tell you what I personally think. This is not what Our Lady says. It is dangerous when people say what I am thinking, and say it is what Our Lady says.  I have daughters, and I would really love that they get married to a Catholic, but if they would meet someone who does not believe in God, my view of that would be that God put that person on that path because obviously they can do something about it. And I would pray for them.

 

Q:  How is Fr. Jozo?

A:  Fr. Jozo went to a kind of desert to pray for one year. He is not good. He had a few surgeries, and he simply needs rest. So he will be one year on vacation.

 

Q: Do you speak to other visionaries, other than the ones from Medjugorje, like the visionaries from Garabandal, Spain?

A:  I never met any other visionaries but these in Medjugorje. [pause]  And that is enough! [laughter]

 

Q: On the lighter side, when your companion, the visionary Ivan, came to St.  Marys, PA, he let us know that he is a big Pittsburgh Steelers football fan. We took him to meet the players and watch them practice, and they gave Ivan a replica of Heinz Field and a Steelers jacket. The Steelers won the Super Bowl. Are you also a Steelers fan?

A:  I simply love football. I would die without it. [pause] I’m just kidding. I have no idea what this sport is. [laughter]

 

 


Cardinal Schönborn

 

   On December 28, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, arrived in Medjugorje. Fr. Tomislav Pervan announced that the cardinal had arrived in Medjugorje that afternoon and had spent time in Adoration and then some time at the back of the church in prayer. As he left the church, the cardinal was reported saying: "Who could make these things up? Who could invent this thing? Man? No, this is not a human opera." During his stay, the cardinal met with the Franciscan priests and spent time with visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti. He visited the Community Cenacolo and heard confessions. He gave a talk in St. James Church and was the main celebrant for the New Year’s Eve Mass in St. James Church.

    If you would like to read his New year’s Eve homily or an interview with him by “Vecernji List” newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 4, 2010, you can scroll down to the end of this issue.

 

Cardinal Schönborn Speaks in Medjugorje

     On December 30, 2009, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, and a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a powerful, lengthy talk at St James Church in Medjugorje. The cardinal’s talk revolved around the theme of God’s mercy, and he did not hesitate to praise Medjugorje.

   His first words as he stepped to the podium were, “Hvaljen Isus i Marija,” a Croatian phrase that means, “Praised be Jesus and Mary.” This is a common greeting among the visionaries and Medjugorje villagers. The cardinal repeated it several times and urged the crowd to repeat it with him.

   He went on to say, “When you look at a place like Medjugorje, you can see a superpower of mercy. Many merciful deeds were born here or they were supported here.”

   During one poignant moment of his talk, Cardinal Schönborn urged the crowd to stand and join him in singing the well-known Medjugorje song “Gospa Majka Moja”. He smiled warmly, as he sang along.

   Delving further into the topic of mercy, Cardinal Schönborn said, “What a deep feeling of compassion there is in Jesus. Many deeds of mercy in the Church were born exactly in this way, like Mother Teresa, who couldn’t accept people dying in the street; or Mother Elvira, here in Medjugorje, the founder of Cenacolo Community. She couldn’t stand to see young people destroying their lives with drugs. What is this deep, profound emotion that we call compassion?”

   While concluding his talk in Medjugorje, the cardinal said, “I believe that many experiences in the Church demonstrate something that is impossible from a human point of view.

   While some had expected the cardinal’s visit to Medjugorje to be private, he has instead surprised the town by being very visible. He has spent his time concelebrating Mass at St. James Church, climbing Apparition Hill with visionary Marija Lunetti, praying in silence at Adoration, and, perhaps most notably, giving his talk today in the parish church with the Franciscan friars at his side.

                                                                                                                                             www.medjugorje-online.com

 

 


New Year's Eve Mass in St. James

 

  "I  Want to Return to Medjugorje”

   In an interview given to kath.net Cardinal [Christoph] Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, has made more comments about his time spent in Medjugorje recently. He said that it was rather unusual for a Cardinal to visit Medjugorje as a pilgrim, but has since discovered that several other cardinals and bishops had been there, but in a very "private" way.

   He added that Medjugorje is now one of the greatest pilgrimage sites in the world to travel to. The cardinal also confirmed that Medjugorje had played an important part for many young priests on their personal path to the priesthood.

He referred to the annual Youth Festival at Medjugorje, and said that, other than Taize, there is no other place that gathers so many young people, and that this reflects the global importance of the phenomenon.

   Cardinal Schönborn revealed that he had listened to Confessions for two and a half hours in Medjugorje, and that many of the penitents had not received the sacrament for 20 or 30 years. "How does this tree bear such fruit?" the cardinal asked.

   He went on to speak about the phenomena of apparitions around the world, and said that apparitions have their own language, that they provide simple uncomplicated messages which can get to the heart of the Christian message. He said that in Medjugorje the messages have a distinguishing feature with Our Lady's call to peace and revealing Herself as the Queen of Peace.

   The cardinal confirmed again that the official position of the Church is as the Zadar declaration of 1991 made by the Yugoslav bishops' conference. He said that this declaration has been confirmed at least twice, and an ideal guideline to keep to.

   On the question of the Church providing a definitive ruling when the phenomena are completed, the cardinal said that there are many Marian apparition sites where an ecclesiastical verdict is not pronounced, but still pilgrimages take place. He also stressed that `official' pilgrimages to Medjugorje (pilgrimages organized at diocesan level) cannot take place, but support will be given to the spiritual needs of pilgrims who go there.

   The cardinal also pointed out the deep level of prayer witnessed at Medjugorje, and that the pilgrims show an incredible desire to return. He said that he could only explain that the closeness of Our Lady is good for the people, and that he definitely wants to return to Medjugorje.

   When asked if Medjugorje was a place of grace, the cardinal said, “To doubt that grace flows from Medjugorje, it would be necessary to close our eyes,” and the evidence was very obvious that graces spring from Medjugorje.

   As to the messages and locutions, Cardinal Schönborn said that when Rome investigated the claims of Sr. Faustina, who received daily messages from Jesus, it was very critical, but the phenomena stood the test of time. He emphasized that the Church is always very cautious in this respect, and it is a good thing.

   He then added it was also very important that the fruits are not hampered, and he was particularly impressed by the amount of good works resulting from Medjugorje. He specifically mentioned the Cenacolo Community and Mother’s  Village founded by the late Fr. Slavko Barbaric.

   He spoke about Medjugorje in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the "sensus fidelium", the faith of the people. He said that the messages play an important role for pilgrims to stay "connected" to Medjugorje, and that without the initial momentum, there would be no Medjugorje today, but he did not want to speculate "recognition" and that for him as a bishop,  it is important that nothing in the messages is contrary to faith. He added that in this time Our Lady manifests Herself as Queen of Peace, and that is the theme of the messages from Medjugorje -  peace with the emphasis on conversion, because when we are at peace with each other we are at peace with God.

   The cardinal was asked that, in the light of people's lives changing at Medjugorje, is there anything he does differently since his visit. The cardinal responded by saying that if there was, he would not say, but he knows through a long association with Lourdes, that a close union with the Mother can lead to God. He stressed the pastoral care of Our Lady in bringing people to Her Son, and how Her words can touch hearts and get people to say "Yes".

   When asked if he would report his impressions to the Holy See, the cardinal stated he went on pilgrimage for personal reasons, but he does not conceal his attitude on Medjugorje from his brothers, which has deepened since his visit. He confirmed that he has spoken with many bishops, and will continue to do so, and that this was part of the Church view and judgment. He added that as a visiting cardinal to Medjugorje, it brought consolation to the people who were there on New Year's Eve.  

 

 

 


Statue of St. Therese in the Yellow Building in Medjugorje

 

After Mass one day last month, two of our subscribers gave me the following prayer to use in our newsletter, since this is the “Year of the Priest.”  That very afternoon, I found that same exact prayer on a prayer card of St. Therese of Lisieux lying on the floor of my home office. I have no idea how it got there! Obviously the Lord wants us to pray it.

Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Your tempted priests; for Your lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests; for the souls of Your priests in Purgatory. But above all, I recommend to You the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priests who absolved me from my sins; the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way, (especially…).  O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.           

 

 

 Be a Winner, Not a Whiner

By June Klins

   I tutor high school students in math. One day, I had a student who kept moaning, "I can't do this," and "I'm going to fail the test tomorrow."  I told him that, of course, he would never get it, and would fail, if he kept telling himself that. Then I pointed to a sign I have in my room that says, "Repeat often: I am a winner, not a whiner." The student stayed after school, and we continued to work. He never made another negative comment the rest of the time, and he began to experience success. When he left that day, he said he felt more confident. His grade gradually improved, and now, two years later, this student is doing quite well.

   As I was thinking about this student, it occurred to me how this same attitude can relate to Our Lady's messages. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of living Our Lady's messages, saying that we cannot do it -  that we will fail. This is especially true with fasting. Before I ever tried fasting on bread and water, I remember saying - like my student -  that I could not do it. How could I say that, though, when I had not even tried?

   After getting some help from our “Heavenly Tutor,” I did eventually try the bread and water fast, and I found it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. With God’s grace, I was successful and more confident to try it again, and again and again. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9)

 On January 25, 2001, Our Lady said, “Little children, the one who prays is not afraid of the future and the one who fasts is not afraid of evil…  I am with you and am teaching you, little children.” On July 21, 1982, Our Lady said that fasting can suspend the laws of nature. Could the earthquake in Haiti have been prevented by our fasting?

   Don’t be afraid to ask our “Heavenly Tutor” for help.  Repeat often, "I am a winner, not a whiner.”

 

 


Mt. Krizevac

 

A Miracle for Alice from Medjugorje

By Virginia Spaeder

   It was October 13, and my husband and I were scheduled to ascend Mount Krizevac.  We were up early so that we could be to the bottom of the hill by 7:30 AM.  Our guide said that the climb would be less crowded if we went up early. 

   After picking out a nice walking stick from the assortment that was lying there, I was ready.  It began to sprinkle lightly, so I donned my rain bonnet.  As soon as all of our group had assembled, we began our ascent.  The guide warned us that if any of us had back problems, a bad heart, breathing problems, or anything that would render us incapacitated, when the heart gets taxed to its limit, not to attempt this climb. This “Hill of the Cross” is one mile of steep climbing, very rocky, and it could be dangerous since a light rain had begun to fall, making the rocks very slippery.  She did not want any “heroes” since the helpless victims would have to be carried down.  One lady decided to bow out.  It was probably a very wise decision.

   We were now ready and eager to get to the top.  We began our journey with Station I – Jesus is condemned to death.  We meditated at each Station as we went. Whoever decided to put Stations of the Cross along the pathway was a very wise person.  It was the only thing that provided an occasion to rest a bit and catch your breath.  The climb at first did not seem to be too treacherous…until the Eighth Station. From this point to the top was very steep.  I began to breathe heavier.  At about 11:00 AM, we finally reached the top.  We took group pictures and then began to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. The guide said that we could lead a decade if we wanted to.  I thought about this, and decided that I would do the Third Mystery- the Crowning of Thorns – for my friend Alice.

   Alice is a dear friend of mine who had gotten up one morning and fell.  She discovered that her left side was not functioning properly.  She could not navigate without some help from her husband.  She was hospitalized twice with no improvement.  Her husband decided to check her into a convalescent home for physical therapy.  Alice spent a month there, but was unable to achieve any improvement in her motor skills because of the extreme pain she was in.  Her body began to deteriorate – her left side was virtually paralyzed, while the right side was almost completely non-functional.  She had been reduced to living in a wheelchair, couldn’t feed herself – just wasting away. The doctors ordered an MRI – a sophisticated X-ray scan.  They discovered that Alice had two vertebrae in the neck area that were pressing on her spinal cord.

   Surgery was scheduled, but first Alice had to be put in traction.  They put a metal “halo” around her head which was secured by 4 metal screws – which were drilled into the skull- two in her forehead and two in the area behind her ears.  From this contraption hung 20 pounds of weight.  She could not turn her head or move in any direction without help from the nurses.  To look at her, you would think “bride of Frankenstein.”  It was truly her “crown of thorns.”  I watched her suffer like this from last August through October and into November.  She had to wear this “fashion statement” from the medical profession for three months.

   Meanwhile, back on Mt. Krizevac, the third decade of the Rosary was fast approaching.  When this decade was announced, I jumped in with the “Our Father.”  With each “Hail Mary” I thought about Alice and how much she had suffered with her surgery.  By the third “Hail Mary,” my emotions took over, my voice was cracking and coming out between sobs…the tears were streaming down my cheeks.  I didn’t think that I could go on.  But I was determined to finish my decade for Alice.  At this point, a lady standing next to me reached out, put her arm around my shoulder and reassuringly whispered, “You can do it…you can do it.”  She whispered these words of encouragement throughout the rest of the decade.  When I turned to look at her when I had finished the tenth “Hail Mary,” my eyes went to her name tag.  Her name was “Alice.” (Thank you, my dear Blessed Mother, for sending this woman to me when I needed her. I thought.)

  When I returned home from Medjugorje, I found out that my friend Alice had had a tremendous improvement in her physical condition and would be able to go home sooner than expected.  When I asked her husband when all this had happened, he told me that “it was about a week ago”…the same time that I had been praying on Mount Krizevac for her.  When I visited Alice and related to her what happened to me on Mt. Krizevac, she told me that “her decade” (which was assigned to her by our Rosary Society) was the “Crowning of Thorns.”

   Today my friend is the Alice we all remembered. It is truly a miracle. Thank you again, my dear Blessed Mother.    

 

 

Ginny’s Gregorian Masses

By June Klins

   The above story appeared in our November, 1995 issue, and was also reprinted in Volume I of The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje.” The author, Ginny Spaeder, who was also our proofreader for many years, died last year on September 25.  As mentioned in our November issue, a collection was taken to have Gregorian Masses said for Ginny. I asked for a sign when the Masses were over that Ginny was indeed with Our Lady and Jesus in Heaven. I did not do this for myself, but as a testimony to the power of the Mass, particularly Gregorian Masses, in helping to Holy Souls get to Heaven faster. I read, years ago, that St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, had asked for a sign that her father was in Heaven, and every time I have done this, I have gotten a sign, often in an unusual way. Our God is a God of surprises.

   I never told a soul that the sign I asked for was a “crown of thorns.”  I chose the crown of thorns because of Ginny’s Medjugorje story. She had been so tickled that some other publications had used her story. She was especially happy, when, a few years ago, Bernard Gallagher, of England, requested permission to use the story on his Medjugorje website, www.crownofstarsblogspot.com,   When a man in Germany read the story, he recognized Ginny’s name and contacted Bernard for Ginny’s email address. This man had been a foreign exchange student who lived with Ginny’s family many years before.  Ginny was thrilled when they were able to renew their friendship  -  all because of her story about the crown of thorns. It really is a small world! That is why I chose the crown of thorns.

   Two days before Ginny’s Gregorian Masses ended in November, I got a personal sign regarding the crown of thorns, but it was not until nine days later that I got a concrete sign to share with others. In the mail, I received from one of our subscribers, a holy card with Our Lady holding a crown of thorns!  What a great sign this was, because not only did I get the crown of thorns, but Our Lady as well!  Ginny belonged to many Marian organizations, was head of the Rosary makers for our diocese, and was very devoted to Our Lady.

Editor’s note:  To learn more about Gregorian Masses, you can read our November, 2009, issue. It is available online in our archives, www.spiritofmedjugorje.org/nov2009.htm.

 

 

 

 

Prayer Cloth Testimony

   A lady named Hanna sent us the following testimony:

   “My husband had a finger that would not bend back once it was flexed, and it was also painful when an attempt was made to straighten the finger. This lasted several months. He investigated possible surgery and found out that
surgery was a temporary solution, and that the condition would return. The condition is caused by inflammation and hardening of the ligament on the palm of the hand below the fingers.
   “Finally, I decided to place the prayer cloth within the palm of the affected hand, and recited a simple prayer requesting that the pain would  disappear, and the condition return to normal. Two days later, my husband told me that the
pain disappeared, and that the finger could be bent back in position without pain.
   “Some of the hardened ligament is still present, but the finger can be moved, bent, and it is basically as normal as it was last year.  This event took place several months ago and the finger is still normal without pain or any sign of a
bent finger. We are thankful to God for hearing our prayer.”

 

 

Interview with Cardinal Christoph Schonborn

The following interview was published in “Vecernji List” newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 4, 2010.

Interviewer: Medjugorje is again in the center of attention, church and public as well. Though the visit of Cardinal Shonborn is private, it did not leave anybody indifferent because he is a member of Congregation for Doctrine of Faith. We talked to Cardinal while he was visiting Medjugorje. “We came here to be close to the Lord’s Mother”, you said during the Christmas Eve Mass, Your Eminence. These words had a great echo. We would like you to explain them? ť

Cardinal: We cannot deny that pilgrims have been coming over here for past 20 years, as we cannot deny what they experience in Medjugorje and how close they feel to the Blessed Mother. This is my first visit, but since I’ve been a Bishop from 1991. I have noticed the fruits of Medjugorje.

 

Interviewer: What kind of fruits are you talking about?

Cardinal: I will give you couple of examples: vocation calls for priesthood. Lots of our young priests have received their vocation call here, but not strictly in Medjugorje but because of Medjugorje. The second thing is conversions. I am impressed that that happens in every level of society, from noble families, industrials down to the common little people.

Flying from Vienna, via Zagreb to Split I was asked by security guard where I was going, and I told him I was going to Medjugorje. All of a sudden his face started shining, and he told me that he had his conversion in Medjugorje as well. Couple of weeks ago on one small railway station, one worker told me his story. His wife died of cancer and he was desperate and his friends brought him to Medjugorje. He has received the strong and living faith over here. The third evidence are the healings. A young man who was addicted to drugs told me that he was almost forced by his friends over here. He told me while the bus was entering Medjugorje something happened with him. Especially he was healed immediately and all of us know how long that healing lasts. The fourth evidence are the prayer groups. I’ve known this Medjugorje Prayer Group from Vienna since the period when I wasn’ the Bishop. I’ve known them since 1980’s. To us Dominicans it was very meaningful that these people pray for hours and their church is always full. The Dominican churches in Vienna are rarely so full, on Thursday nights the church was always full. They stayed faithful to the prayer yet today. Jesus said that the bad tree doesn’t bare any fruits. Which means: if the fruits are good than the tree is good as well.

 

Interviewer: For pilgrims Medjugorje is a miracle and they expect a message from the Holy Seat until the Official Church would approve the supernaturalism of the Medjugorje events. It has been speculated for a period of time about the movements of Holy Seat. What do you know about this and what is your opinion about the demands to recognize Medjugorje?

Cardinal: I do not have detailed information about this matter and that is not my assignment .But I am standing to the statement made by Bishop’s Conference of Yugoslavia and Congregation for Doctrine of Faith of the Holy Seat. That statement for me has always been reasonable and smart. I will remind you about three statements made about Medjugorje. The first of all are phenomena. I am dogmatist and I was a professor of theological dogma. “Non constat de supernaturalitate”ť- which means that Church hasn’t given the final judgment about supernaturality of phenomena and hasn’t given any statements. So it has never denied or confirmed.ť

 

Interviewer: This sounds a diplomatic answer, what this really means in the practice?

Cardinal: It simply means that Church hasn’t given its final judgment and decision. I am personally convinced that this is correct. While these phenomena are still going on, the church is hardly going to give or make its final judgment and decision. These phenomena are the center of Medjugorje. It has started with the children who said that they saw Our Lady and the messages she gave through them. What has developed from that is the second phenomena which will be studied by the church on the second level. From the very beginning a huge number of pilgrims have been coming to Medjugorje. The intensive prayer life has developed here and many humanitarian organizations have been born here.

 

Interviewer: Church has divided the matter of Medjugorje from the pastoral work. But still a large number of pilgrims come over here. What position should we take about this matter?

Cardinal: The concrete ways of pilgrimages have been over here and that is a practical challenge for the church. That’s why the bishops from ex Yugoslavia said in 1991. that the official pilgrimages shouldn’t exist. I do not want and I cannot organize official pilgrimages to Medjugorje in my diocese as we did to Rome or Holy Land. But the Bishops Conference or Rome have never forbidden pilgrims to come to Medjugorje which is the main part of the third statement.

 

For us Bishops, for me this is very important .The believers must get the pastoral care. As the Archbishop I see my homework in that. If I as a bishop see that in my diocese hundreds, thousands of believers convert, pray, heal than I as a Bishop must take care that all of them get that pastoral care. That’s why I supported all these things as for example community of the “Oases of Peace” , which was started because of Medjugorje. I think that all of this has influence on us bishops, especially those dioceses which pilgrims do come to Medjugorje and they need to get good pastoral care. So in all of those conversations I had with other bishops about Medjugorje I encouraged them to support their pilgrims.ť

 

Interviewer: You had meetings with visionaries, you climbed Apparition Hill. What do you say about this?

Cardinal: I would say ironically that Our Lady did not choose simple hills. I am fascinated with the coherence of Medjugorje to other Marian shrines, apparition sites. I always say that there is a grammar of Mary’s apparitions. That style has something special with Our Lady.ť

 

Interviewer: In what way is it connected?

Cardinal: There are 3 elements which are connected with this phenomenon. Almost always Our Lady appears to children. Those were not especially intelligent children or holy children but normal. Bernadette did not know how to write. She was 14 almost as children over here. Secondly, Mary gives the messages through the children. It is insulting for one bishop. Why does Our Lady not come to the bishop’s house? Why does she come to a hill filled with stones or by the river? This is not practical. In Fatima she appeared in the bushes. She gives the messages through children because children are not complicated. The third element: it looks like Our Lady has her own program. In Fatima she had appeared before Russian Revolution and she gave a message. When rationalism was on its highest level she appeared in Lourdes. She appeared in Yugoslavia in the moment when we did not have an idea that Yugoslavia would fall apart in the time when the Catholics, Muslims and orthodox were living together. She appears with the name Queen of Peace. 10 years after that the first of 4 wars on Balkan Peninsula brakes out. And her first message was peace through conversion, prayer and this first message has its weight, strength, credibility. Maybe we could go further to Guadalupe, Mexico. When Europe started invasion of America, Our Lady appeared to one Indian who had to go to his bishop to tell him what to do. I think that theologians have to study the syntax of Mary’s apparitions and in that context to study the phenomena of Medjugorje.

 

Interviewer: Peace is prayed for in Medjugorje all the time, but the political peace is not correct, the state is in problems and the Croats Catholics are in the worst position. What would you suggest to the International Community which is run now in this country by your co-citizen Valentin Inzko?

Cardinal: The problem over here is that too many countries are involved in this such a small country which that way cannot overcome these problems. Long lasting peace can be formed only if everything is just for everybody. This is a challenge for European policy. I am happy that Valentin Inxko is now in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina and I expect that he gets a bigger support from the European community. I am sure that what is going on in Medjugorje supports that peace. And people from all over the world do come to this small Herzegovina which has never been known in the world, if I want to speak ironically. Look, how many Koreans come to Medjugorje! This is a hope that these people will be apostles of peace in their countries, peace which comes from Medjugorje. If it is prayed for peace in the world on one place, than that is a special blessing for one country. And Our Lady respects all three religions. Orthodox believers honor Our Lady, Islam doesn’t respect any other person that much, but Mary. For Croats Catholics who are minority in this country the apparitions among them are the great comfort.

 

 

Cardinal Schonborn Celebrates New Year's Eve Mass in Medjugorje

   December 31, 2009 – Thousands of people from all over the world chose to shun traditional New Year’s Eve revelries and instead sought a holy experience in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina.

   Throngs of pilgrims converged on St. James Church and the surrounding area to take part in an historic New Year’s Eve Mass celebrated by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the archbishop of Vienna and an esteemed member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

   Cardinal Schonborn has been in Medjugorje since December 28 on what was originally thought to be a private visit. The cardinal has surprised the faithful, however, by making his visit very public. During his talk in St. James Church on December 30, 2009, he went so far as to call Medjugorje a “superpower of mercy.”

   During his homily at the New Year’s Eve Mass, Cardinal Schonborn said the following: “Dear brothers and sisters here in the Church and on the squares in front of the church and in the yellow hall. We are all conscious of the fact that it is a big privilege to not have to celebrate the New Year with champagne.” The crowd laughed, and the Cardinal added “Maybe later,” which was followed by laughter and clapping.

   He continued: “But now we are allowed to celebrate the beginning of the New Year with Mary and Joseph and with the child that is lying in the manger and with the shepherds. These days, we have all come to Medjugorje to be especially close to the mother of the Lord. To be more exact, we have to say that we have come here because we know that the mother of the Lord wants to be close to us.

   “With her, we want to begin the New Year. And the first thing that moves me when I think about the manger and the shepherds is that there were no angels present. Although here there is an angel at the nativity set, but in the gospel there are no angels waiting there. They were on the field with the shepherds… an entire host of angels. But Mary and Joseph only heard about it. The shepherds told them.

   “You also didn’t see the Gospa. But there are people here who told about it. And we trust that the Mother of God really is close to us. Belief comes from hearing. And it impresses me that first, in the gospel of today, there is talk about hearing. We have to listen to the good news first. We have two ears, two eyes, and only one mouth. That means we have to listen much, watch much, and then talk also. And what are we supposed to say? We are supposed to report what we have seen and heard. The world needs a new evangelization and that is only possible through people for whom it is impossible to keep silent about what they have seen and heard.

   “We all have received the faith. And through baptism we all have received the task to pass on the faith. The shepherds related what they were told. And from there it went on. The gospel, the good news was told and those who told it were believable. Those who heard also saw that the word and life harmonize, that what the witnesses saw is also true in their life.

   “How can we be witnesses of the good news? First, by looking to Mary. Mary kept all that happened in her heart and pondered it. Brothers and sisters, what we need most in this time is prayer. I’m saying this with a sadness of some sorts. I know that I’m praying not enough. I know that prayer is life. Without the living relationship with God our life becomes dry end empty.

   “What does the Mother of God tell us all the time? Pray. Take yourself time for prayer. Is that a good resolution for the New Year? For us priests and deacons. For us all. Time for prayer. It gives so much strength and so much joy. So much clarity. Let us ask Mary that she helps us to pray more. When we pray our word is also filled with life. And then our testimony is credible.”

   "I want to tell you something about what the Apostle Paul told us. The Year of Paul is already over, we are now in the Year of Priests. But the word of the Apostle Paul was so strong because it was filled with life. In the reading of today he talks about God sending his Son so that we can become sons. The daughters are not excluded here. Daughters and sons are meant together. But Paul says we are called to become sons, not slaves. Like Jesus is Son of God we are supposed to be allowed to call God Father. In the beginning of this year the Apostle Paul tells us: You are sons and not slaves.

   "I believe Medjugorje is a place where a lot of people confess. Confession is deliverance from the slavery of sin. Nothing makes us less free than sin. God wants us as sons: Freedom of the children of God. And for that he gifted us with the sacrament of reconciliation. We are to have a new relationship with God, to be allowed to call him Abba. Jesus invited us to that in a way that we trust Him, that we trust God. There is so much fear of God in us (or, "we are so afraid of God").

   The cardinal went on to say "Jesus, I trust in you," in Croatian and Polish, and then continued "Pope John Paul II left us this message: Trust in the mercy of God. Trust in the mercy of Jesus.

   "Trust can be heroic sometimes, if life becomes difficult. If a marriage becomes a burden, if an illness oppresses us, if we don't know what becomes of our work; then to say Jesus I Trust in You; that can be heroic. Trust; that really is an act of faith. And again we look to Mary. Who has made and gave this act of trust, of faith, more than Mary? Jesus I Trust in You. That is to be our program in the coming year.

   "It is almost midnight and it is cracking," the cardinal said as he pointed towards the firecrackers going off outside. "But we are not cracking, we are praying. We are not cracking but we are singing.

   "And a last word: The shepherd returned, praised God, praised him for what they heard and saw. We, too, will return home. In order that we can become witnesses of the gospel, we have to praise God first. The shepherds praised God for what they have seen and heard. I hope that we can all drive home, travel home after these days here and praise God for what we have seen and heard. Then people will also believe us when we tell, then our word will be credible.

   "Now it is almost midnight. It is exactly the right moment to profess our faith. With this faith we are going into the New Year. God bless this year."

*Special thanks to Pandora from the Medjugorje Forum for this translation of the homily. www.medjugorje-online.com

 

A big thanks to  Louise Lotze, Vickie DeCoursey, Marge Spase, Dianne Yochim, Barb Sirianni, Gina Adams, Cindy Bielanin, Agnes Trott, and Sue Taccone for their help with the January mailing. Thanks to Don Spaeder, Mike Golovich, and Andy Gibb  for their photos in this issue.

The Spirit of Medjugorje
P.O. Box 6614
Erie, PA 16512