Question and Answers with Ivanka

The following is an excerpt from the question and answer session with visionary Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez at the Notre Dame Medjugorje conference on May 23, 2010:

Q:  Why are you not a nun –  as you see Our Lady?

A: I would like to say first – God gave us all freedom to choose the path that we wish. If He had wished me to be a Sister, He would have given me the call, that I would have known how to go on that path, and not miss it.  When I have my children today, I can tell them also, “Oh, my children, why did I not become a nun [laughter] because today I have to worry about you, and at that time I would only have to worry about myself?”.

  You know, every path of life is a big responsibility, and will have thorns in it.  The one side you have the life in the convent and the monastery; on the other side, you have family life. And in my heart, I felt that my call was to be a mother.

God gave me the grace to be able to give birth to children –  that I’m allowed to raise them, that I may help them to stand on their feet, that they would become good human beings, that they would be a witness to the love of God. I just simply pray that I will receive the strength.  I just always say that I wish my family to be a witness to how all families could be in the whole world.

   I must say, my family has good moments and also falls.  My children are exactly the same as your children.  The first thing that I wanted to give my children, and I think we should give to our children, is give them strong foundations  –  that they have peace, that they know who they are, where they come from, what they are, so that they’re not being misled by the life of today and the world as it is. We have to give our children good, good roots, because the path of life can bring them left and right, and left and right. But, if they have deep roots, they will not get lost, and will stay on the right path.

Q:  You said last night that your mission was for families. I was wondering if Our Lady has had any specific request or concern that we should be praying for our children and our families at this time.

A:  Every prayer that you do from your heart is important and special. There is nothing else.

Q:  I’m 21 years old, and I’ve grown up in a generation where there’s been a deterioration of marriage, and I’m wondering – does She, or do you, have any advice for our generation to restore that sanctity?

A:  I say you must respect and deeply respect the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, marriage. You must pray in the family, and go to Mass because without Mass, no family can live.  We cannot live without Holy Mass. Otherwise, just pray.  Pray, pray, pray.

Q:  Do you know the future of the world?

A:  Pray.  Be not afraid.

Q:  [ from a child] What does Mary’s voice sound like?

A:  I can only explain it to you like this – when you hear that voice, you would like it never to stop, and you would like to hear it for your whole eternity.  It is not music, but it is so gentle and so full of warmth, that you would like it never to stop. And by the way, She speaks Croatian with us.

Q:  I just wanted to know if the secrets are a burden for you?

Explanation of the Holy Mass

Part 1

The following is a transcription of a talk given by Fr. Mark Gurtner, JCL, at the Notre Dame Medjugorje Conference on May 22, 2010:

   A few months ago, I offered to our RCIA program a sort of catechesis on the Mass. I decided it shouldn’t just be for the RCIA, so I opened it up to the whole parish, and to my shock and delight, about 350 people showed up. It was great; we’re not a huge parish, and so it shows us – it showed me – the great hunger that people have to learn about the Holy Mass.

   I think one of the best ways to learn about the Holy Mass is to start right at the beginning, right in the sacristy, with the priest getting vested. So, just real quickly here, let’s talk about what the priest puts on when he gets ready for Mass.

   The very first thing that the priest puts on is called the alb.  You may know this. I brought my alb up here so you could see it.  It’s a long white garment, and it has a very theological and technical purpose – it’s to cover the priest’s street clothes. (laughter)  That really is the purpose of the alb – to cover the street clothes. But actually, there is a theological meaning to that, because by covering the street clothes of the priest, it’s a symbol of what we’re about to do – that we’re actually kind of leaving the world when we go to Mass, because we believe that at the Mass, Heaven and earth intersect. So this putting on of the alb does have a very theological meaning – we’re stepping into a sort of different realm, the realm of the Spirit.

   Next, the priest puts on the stole.  The stole is a symbol of authority, the authority that God has given him to celebrate the Eucharist.  And you can think of the many other times that the priest puts on a stole: in the confessional (the authority to forgive sins); at baptisms (the authority to baptize); and so forth – the symbol of authority. But it also has another beautiful spiritual meaning. It is also seen as a yoke. You all know what a yoke is. A yoke is what is used to tie oxen together so that they can plow the field.  And notice what a yoke always has.  You never just have one ox, right?  You always have two oxen tied by the yoke.  And so, who’s the priest tied to? Jesus Christ.  The priest is yoked to the Lord. And so, they together, plow the field of the Kingdom of God. Isn’t that a beautiful image?

   By the old rite, before Vatican II, the priest would kiss the stole, and priests still do that today, as a sign of the gratitude

of being able to be yoked to the Lord to do His work.  We do that so often, you know, because we celebrate so many Masses, kissing the stole. You know sometimes, I have to tell you, when I put a scarf on when it is cold out, sometimes I…oh, wait a minute…that’s not a stole! (laughter) We do get into our habits!

   Sometimes, then a priest puts on a cincture to kind of hold everything together, and then finally, the chasuble, the outer garment. I didn’t bring one with me, but you know what that is – the outer garment. The chasuble comes from the Old Testament. The high priest would put on a chasuble to go into the Holy of Holies to make the yearly sacrifice for the people of Israel. And as you may remember, sacrifice in the temple in the Old Testament times was bloody business. You know, they were sacrificing animals with knives, and were cutting their throats. Sorry to be so graphic, but that’s what was happening, and there was a lot of blood flowing around. And the purpose of the chasuble in the Old Testament was to protect the high priest’s undergarments, so the chasuble caught the blood, in other words. Caught the blood. Now the priests in the New Covenant, priests of Jesus Christ, still wear the chasuble, because it is the garment of sacrifice. And what happens when we come to Holy Mass?  We come into the presence of the one Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  And so, the chasuble is the sacrificial garment. We know that the Mass is not a bloody sacrifice.  It is the unbloody appearance, if you will, of the one Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. But, nonetheless, that chasuble is the garment of sacrifice.

   You know all the colors that we use for the different seasons which help us enter into that season more fully. Incidentally, you’ll notice again – I’ll point out – there’s only one time that a priest wears a chasuble, and that is when he is celebrating Mass. The chasuble is never worn in the confessional; it’s never worn for baptisms; it’s never worn for Benediction. It’s only worn at Mass, with one exception. Anybody know what that exception is? Good Friday. On Good Friday, the priest wears a chasuble because the Triduum is seen as one Mass, if you will, altogether.

   OK, so then we go to the back of the church, and we get ready to begin the Mass. Most parishes, on most Sundays, start with an opening song. I know some people like to sing, and some people don’t like to sing, but the song we sing at the beginning of Mass is really kind of an important thing, because there’s something about singing that brings us together as one. There’s something about singing that mentally helps us to come together.  And when we come to Mass, we’re coming from all different kinds of places.  You know, we’re coming from our home, if you’re a father or mother with your children, wrestling with them, getting them ready, getting them in the car.  Maybe there’s been a tiff between the children, whatever it is.  You’re a single person if you’re a priest. We’re all coming from all different kinds of directions.  So when we come to Mass, and we begin to sing, we all begin to come together, through that song.

   The priest and the ministers come down the aisle in the entrance procession, sort of, again, a very important, symbolic part of the Mass. It represents our pilgrimage to Heaven. If we could have everyone in the church go in that procession, we kind of really would, because that’s what’s happening at Mass. We are continuing our walk to Heaven, our pilgrimage to Heaven – also symbolic of what the Israelites would do in biblical times. We see Jesus and Mary and Joseph doing that – pilgrimaging up to Jerusalem. How many of you have been to Jerusalem?  A few of you. When you come to the base of Jerusalem, you look up, and you will see Jerusalem on the hill.  The Israelites would sing, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, my happy home,”  as the song goes.  And so, we, too, are pilgrimaging to our heavenly Jerusalem, and the priest walking down the aisle with the ministers symbolizes all that for us.

   The priest kisses the altar because it is on this altar that the one Sacrifice of Jesus will become present. And then we begin the Mass with the Sign of the Cross.

   We do the Sign of the Cross so regularly that maybe it can skip us by a little bit. But think about what that Sign of the Cross is. If someone asked you  – someone, say, who didn’t ever hear about God, or never heard about the Church, didn’t ever hear about the Lord Jesus – if someone asks you, ”Explain your faith to me”  –  really, the only thing you would have to explain, at least to begin with, is the Sign of the Cross, because in the Sign of the Cross, is contained the very core of what we believe, right?  “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” – the Trinity, at the heart of what we believe that God is one God in three Persons – a community of life and love: the Father pouring Himself out to the Son; the Son receiving the Gift of the Father and returning the gift of Himself back to the Father. And Their exchange of love is so real that, that exchange itself is another Person, the Holy Spirit.  And in the sign of the Cross, that Jesus died for us so that we could share that very life with God, so that we could be a part of the mystery of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And so, in that simple gesture, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,”

contains the very heart of what we believe, and we begin every Mass with that.

   The priest then greets the people: “The Lord be with you,” or “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  And there’s a third one, all coming from St. Paul – ritual greetings from the priest to the people, and to the people back.  And really, it’s from Jesus Christ.  You know, in about a year or so, this is going to change.  Have you heard this?  Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has decided that there are some changes in the translations, and one of those changes is going to be that when the priest says, “The Lord be with you,” you’re going to say, “And with your spirit,” just like, sort of, in the old days, I guess – it’s before my time, I have to say. But there’s a reason for that, because that “And with your spirit” refers to Jesus’s presence in the priest.  You see, we’re not speaking back to the priest as the person who is the priest, but as Jesus, present in the priest. Does that make sense to everyone?  And that’s what we’re going to be saying back now – “with your spirit”  –  because it reminds us that the priest isn’t just “Mark Gurtner” up there.  It is Jesus Christ in the moment, Who is with His people.

   By the way, that reminds me, that in every Catholic church, of course, we have the tabernacle which contains the Real Presence of Jesus in the church, but, apart from the tabernacle, as far as the Mass itself goes, there’s really three foci in a Catholic church. The three foci are: the altar, the ambo, and the presider’s chair, the celebrant’s chair. And in these three things, we see how Jesus Christ is present through the priest. We see that Jesus is Priest, Prophet, and King.

   What does a priest do?  A priest offers sacrifice, so the altar represents Jesus Christ, the High Priest.  What does a prophet do? Proclaims the Word of God.  The ambo represents Jesus as the Prophet.  And what does a king do?  He administers; he reigns over. And the celebrant’s chair is symbolic of Jesus’s reigning over His priestly people.

   I love, when I celebrate Mass, that symbolic action of me sitting in the celebrant’s chair – and remember, it’s not me, Mark Gurtner. It’s Jesus, in and through me, and every priest who celebrates Mass, Again, a beautiful symbolic moment of Jesus Christ, Who loves His people, being with them, watching over them, reigning over them, being close to them. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?  I bet you never thought about that at Mass, when the priest sits in that chair, and there is Jesus Christ with His people, loving them. By the way, it is great to be a priest. (applause)

To be continued next issue…

I Believe in Miracles

  By Diana M. Pullen

   Ever since I had first heard the story of Medjugorje, I had hoped that I would someday get the chance to visit there.  However, when I was finally approached with the opportunity to go to Medjugorje, I came up with many reasons why I couldn’t or shouldn’t go.  First, the reasons I thought I shouldn’t.

   I had heard stories of Medjugorje from my mother, who had been there, and from several books I had read about it.  In my mind, it was a special place where people went to be healed, either physically or spiritually.  At that particular point in my life, I was fortunate enough to feel that I did not need any healing.  My health was great, I believed in God, I went to church, and I prayed every night.  I had already been blessed with a very happy life.  So, why should I go to Medjugorje when there were so many “other people” that needed to go more than I did?

   Now for the reasons I couldn’t go.  Time and money.  I did not have enough vacation days left in the year, and the trip was going to cost more money than I had available at that time.  Well, my boss, without completely understanding the meaning behind this trip, told me to take as many extra vacation days as I needed.  OK – time is not a problem.  That same week, I received a bonus through work and my tax refund in the mail.  OK – money is not a problem.  My mother had told me, “If you are meant to go to Medjugorje, it will happen.”  Well, now that I had no more reasons that I couldn’t go, I took it as a sign that perhaps I was meant to go – even if I wasn’t yet sure of the reason.

   In the weeks before my trip to Medjugorje, I thought a lot about what I would experience there.  I still had a strong feeling that I should have a reason for going.  Then I started to think about the “other people” that I felt needed to go more than I did.  Maybe instead of asking for things for myself, I should be bringing petitions for others.  So I began to think about all the people in my life and the things that would make their lives better.  I came up with many, but I concentrated on three and was touched the most by one.  Here is the story of Audra.

   In the first year that I had worked at my company, I had become good friends with one of my co-workers, Noemi.  We often would talk about what was going on in our lives and the problems we were dealing with.  One of the most painful problems that Noemi had was with her seven year-old daughter, Audra. When Audra was four, she was hit by a car while she was crossing the street.  She was lucky to survive, but she sustained severe damage to one of her legs.  For the next three years of her life, Audra suffered through several surgeries, casts, and physical therapy sessions.  The last surgery that she had done, at the end of 1995, was supposed to correct a limp she had which was caused by her legs being different lengths.  The surgery put her in a full cast for months where she could not go to school or move around at all by herself.  Noemi agonized with her little girl who was in pain, bored, and discouraged.  They suffered together.  When the cast finally came off, a new problem was discovered.  Her leg had been set improperly, and now Audra could not completely straighten it.  Now she had even more of a limp, and she had to endure very painful physical therapy to try to correct the problem.  There was even talk from the doctors of more surgery and another cast.  It was almost summer, and all Audra wanted was to be able to run and play outside with her friends, so the thought of another cast devastated her.

   Hearing all of this from Noemi made me very sad for them both, and I often prayed for them.  When I decided that they would be one of the special petitions that I would take to Medjugorje, I debated over whether or not I wanted to tell Noemi what I was doing.  I wasn’t sure how she would react to the story of Medjugorje, or what her religious beliefs were, and I didn’t want her to think I was crazy.  After much thought, I decided that I would tell her.

    I told her the story of Medjugorje, and of the miracles that had been attributed to it.  I said that I would pray for her and Audra while I was there and I would put in a special petition to the Blessed Mother.  Noemi was overwhelmed and very grateful that I had thought of them.

   My experience in Medjugorje was more fulfilling and enlightening than I had ever expected.  I learned a lot about my religion, and how much I was actually lacking in my spiritual life.  While I was there, I also prayed for my special petitions. I lit candles for them outside of St. James church, I thought of them every time I said the Rosary, and I sent them, in written form, to be given to the Blessed Mother by Vicka during one of her apparitions.  I brought many gifts back with me to give to my family and friends.  One gift I brought back was a small pink crystal rosary in a black drawstring rosary pouch. These were rosary beads that had been blessed by several priests and the Blessed Mother during Vicka’s apparition, and they were for Audra.

   When I returned to work on Thursday after my trip, Noemi was out of town on business.  When she finally returned, I told her about my experience and gave her the small black pouch with the rosary inside.  She was very thankful and said she would give them to Audra that night.

   The next day, when I got to work, I received a message from Noemi.  It read, “Audra was very grateful.  She said your prayers must have worked.  I couldn’t believe it.  I will have to tell you about it.”  When Noemi got in to work she came to tell me the story.  The previous night, she got home and was sitting there with her husband, when Audra came running in the front door yelling, “Mom, Mom.  Look at my leg!”  She could almost completely straighten it, and she wasn’t in any pain.  Noemi asked her what had happened, and Audra said that she didn’t know except that all of a sudden she noticed that it was straight, and it didn’t hurt.  Noemi was in shock, not only because of what had happened with Audra’s leg, but because of what I had told her about Medjugorje.  She waited until later that night to give Audra the rosary and to tell her about my prayers for her.  Audra was very grateful and truly convinced that the prayers made her leg better.  She told Noemi that they should also pray together every night, and if her leg started to hurt, she would hold her rosary on it to make it better.

   On their next visit to physical therapy, the therapist was stunned that Audra’s leg had gone from a 30 degree angle to a 10 degree angle so quickly.  They considered a 5 degree angle to be a complete recovery, and they felt that it would take more surgery and possibly years of therapy to get even close to that.  They could not explain the sudden improvement.

I can explain it – miracles. The miracle of Audra’s leg brought on an even greater miracle in those that it touched – a realization of the importance and power of God.  At last, I found my reason for going to Medjugorje. 

Conversion from New Age

By Lee from Pennsylvania

   I went to a secular college after 12 years of Catholic school.  At the time, I wasn't aware of what was happening, but I was being fed relativism.  Slowly, I lost my faith through my college years, and made many choices where I disregarded the Ten Commandments. This was because I no longer believed there was an absolute truth, so why bother.  I read many books by feminist authors, and in particular, Joseph Campbell and Marianne Williamson.  These books were an opening to a very dark period in my life. I dabbled with tarot cards, crystals, and went on a Forum lecture.   All along, I was looking for the truth, because I have always been interested in spiritual things, but I didn't have a solid foundation, and was easily led astray. 

   I became a very angry person, and I felt harassed at times.  But, praise God, I heard about Medjugorje and began reading all I could find.  A member of my internet prayer group mentioned a charismatic prayer group in my area, so I went.  I was told, through Word of Knowledge, by another member of the charismatic prayer group, that I had an attachment to books, and I needed to get rid of them.  So I purged my closets and bookshelves of everything, and put many New Age books in a trash bag and took them to a dumpster.  When I came home, I found about 20 dead flies on the inside window sill of my home.  This did not scare me; I think it was a confirmation from the Lord that I was messing around with ugliness, and He was removing all of this from my life. 

   I began to go to confession regularly, and fast, as best I could.  This was a major turning point in my life.  I eventually went to Medjugorje about nine years ago, and am longing to go back.  My prayer this day, and most, is for conversion – conversion of my heart by God.  There is so much that I need to be healed of, and the process is a long one. 

Medjugorje