"Dear children! In this time of grace, pray with me for the good to win in you and around you. In a special way, little children, pray united with Jesus on His Way of the Cross. Into your prayers put this humanity which wanders without God and without His love. Be prayer, be light, and be witnesses to all those whom you meet, little children, so that the merciful God may have mercy toward you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Featured article from February's Spirit of Medjugorje
I'm Here Waiting For You Every Day
By Jane Monica Spurrier
In 1987, on my third trip to Medjugorje, I purchased a book
called Modern Saints by Ann Ball, and therein was a story
about St. Charbel. I loved him instantly and discovered, lo
and behold, he was canonized on my birthday, October 9th.
I lived in New York City at the time, and my church was
Notre Dame on the upper west side by Columbia University.
Daily Mass was said in the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
each day at 8 A.M. One particular Saturday, I woke up
late, and was so hungry I ate my oatmeal.....but didn't leave
myself enough time to fast before Communion. I kept
praying, "Oh Jesus, what miracle could allow me to receive
You?" I knew I needed one hour of fast time. This kept
on, and when the Consecration occurred, I did not have the
required one hour to receive. During this time, a rather odd
looking old man entered the side door. He was dressed like
a monk, but didn't look like our Franciscans. I was rather
annoyed by his appearance, since I thought he was some
psychotic New Yorker.
After Mass ended, I stayed in the
grotto to pray. I noticed to my right I
could see into the sacristy and there was
the priest who just said Mass changing
out of his vestments and the "odd"
looking monk changing into vestments.
The little monk was coming out to say
Mass! We never have a second daily
Mass, but this visitor was going to say
one, and this would give me the chance
to receiving Our Lord! I was overjoyed.
During the Mass, the monk was
praying in a language I didn't understand. It wasn't
Latin, because I know Latin, but I couldn't decipher what
language it was. I was the only one there, and during the
Consecration, the monk looked at me and his eyes said, "Do
you want to receive?" I eagerly nodded back "Yes!" We both
could understand each other without saying a word.
When Mass was over, I went in to thank the pastor (the
first priest who said Mass and functioned as the altar server
for the monk). I said, "Father, you don't know what a great
miracle this was, that I got to receive Communion!" The
monk smiled with a look of abundant joy, happiness and
humor – the look of someone who laughs a lot and is very
happy. The pastor didn't seem to get my point.
St. Charbel
The next day I went back again. I saw the pastor and
couldn't stop telling him what a great miracle it was for
me. Then I said to him, "Father, by the way, who was that
priest?" "I don't know," he replied, "I never saw him before."
I couldn't believe my ears! What priest would allow another
one to say Mass without knowing who he was?
Several months went by. I opened my book of Modern
Saints again. I turned to St. Charbel and honestly, almost
had a heart attack when I saw his picture. HE WAS THE
MONK!!! He had appeared to say the Mass for me. Can you
imagine? I later found out he has appeared numerous times
since his death. I was glad I didn't know at the time who
he was or I would have had a stroke. St. Charbel had a great
devotion to Mass and the Blessed Sacrament.
Anyway, I haven't seen him since, but I know there is a
picture of him in Charlie's store in Medjugorje. I've asked
those brothers to sell me the picture, but they declined
because it was a gift given to them. I thought the miracle of
St. Charbel was so awesome, and then today a voice inside
of me said, "But I'm there waiting for you in the Eucharist
every day, to show you how much I love you. I sent Charbel
so he could carry Me to you…that's how much I wanted to
receive you, too."
Jesus waits for us every day in the Mass. He performed
the greatest miracle on earth when He created the Eucharist.
A small piece of bread, blessed, transformed into HIS
presence, waiting for us. The graces we receive at Mass are
incalculable. Don't miss this opportunity to meet Jesus in
person...
Editor's note: This story is a reprint from our October 2003
issue. Jane told me her story while we were on a pilgrimage to
Medjugorje in 2002, so I asked her to write her story for us. I was
excited when my granddaughter picked St. Charbel as our patron
saint this year and wanted to share this beautiful story again.