The Spirit of Medjugorje Online

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! Today I call you anew to conversion. Little children, you are not holy enough and you do not radiate holiness to others, therefore pray, pray, pray and work on your personal conversion, so that you may be a sign of God’s love to others. I am with you and am leading you towards eternity, for which every heart must yearn. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

September 14 is the feast of the Triumph of the Cross. The Cross above, which hangs behind the outside altar at St. James in Medjugorje is called the San Damiano Cross. You can read more about it on p.4.

Medjugorje

When St. Paul says we do not know how to pray, he tells us that the Holy Spirit will come to our aid. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask within His own value system as it is expressed in the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus was teaching the apostles to pray, He indicated that before any petition in prayer we should look at the majesty of God and give Him praise. Then we ask for bread, not caviar. And we ask that in accepting His loving forgiveness, we should extend that to all others. That’s the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Lady says that prayer leads to the end of wars within ourselves and in our communities and, please God, in the whole world.

The Gifts on Our Lady’s Birthday

By June Klins

On September 8, the Church celebrates Our Lady’s birthday. As we mentioned last issue, Our Lady told the visionaries that Her real birthday is on August 5. This year August 5 was on a Wednesday, which is normally a fast day, but when feast days and special days like this fall on a fast day, the people in Medjugorje do not fast. They fast on another day of the week. That is what I also did this year. And so when my son Jason suggested we have a picnic on August 5, I was able to enjoy the goodies guilt-free, cake and all.

Shortly after we arrived at the picnic spot that day, my grandson Thomas, who would be celebrating his 3^rdbirthday at the end of the month, began looking up in the sky and he excitedly questioned, "Hey, what is that in the sky?" He was very animated. I asked him if he meant the bird flying by, but he did not answer. Someone else said, "You mean that jet?" He did not answer at first and then reluctantly said yes. But the jet was not the direction where he was looking and the jet was nothing out of the ordinary to make him so excited. Later it dawned on me that he may have been experiencing the miracle of the sun, because he was looking in that direction. Two days later I asked Thomas about it. I said, “Remember the day you were looking up in the sky at the picnic, were you looking at the sun?” Thomas excitedly replied, “Yes, it was going crazy. It was wild like me!!!" He said there were many colors coming from it, “blue and red and pink and purple and orange…” In his innocence of childhood Thomas was not the least bit frightened by what he saw, like the people in Fatima when they witnessed the first recorded sun miracle. He was just as excited as he retold the story several times, including in front of the video camera.

Although Grandma has still never seen the miracle of the sun, I was thrilled that Thomas received this gift on Our Lady’s birthday. According to the Catechism of the Catholic church, “God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator. Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.” (CCC #1147)

When someone questioned why he received this gift since he is too young to really appreciate it, I said that I felt it was as much for everyone else who hears this story as it was for him. This story is for the “doubting Thomases” out there (excuse the pun!). Pope Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” And what better witness than an innocent child who could never make up something like this. "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” (Mt 11:25)

So we thank Our Lady for this beautiful gift that She gave us on Her birthday. And we also thank Our Lady for saving Thomas’ father’s life on Her “other birthday,” September 8, in 2001. Happy birthday once again to Our Lady. Thank You for Your “birthday favors.”

Editor’s note: The story of Thomas’ father’s miracle on September 8, 2001, has been published in this newsletter twice and can also be found in Volume II of The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje.”

Sacred Scripture

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt. 5:44) Jesus teaches us. A whole spirituality could be formed on this passage. And indeed have. Saints lived out their whole lives loving their enemies and praying for those who persecuted them and doing other good things for them. St. Thomas Moore who, it is true was a man who delighted in humor, tipped his executioner!

Do we love our enemies - realizing that it may be the difficult person at work (who finds us just as difficult) rather than a uniformed soldier following the orders of world leaders safe in their homes? Few of us will be persecuted, as are our brothers and sisters in Burma, China and elsewhere, but we may be insulted, hurt and ignored. Often by family members! We are called to forgive and do good things for them. Yes, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Brother Craig can be contacted at monkadorer@verison.net

Mirjana and interpreter Miki Musa at the Totally Yours Conference

Questions and Answers with Mirjana

The following questions are excerpted from the Question and Answer Session with Mirjana at the Totally Yours Conference in St. Charles, IL, 4/26/09.

Q: Does Our Lady appear to the visionaries wherever they are?

M: Our Lady appears to us no matter where we are in the world. The only thing that is important is that that place where the apparition is to be is to be worthy of Her presence, because Our Lady has been in Medjugorje over 27 years, and She never addressed us with the words, for example, “Dear Croats.” She only says, “Dear children.” So there are no boundaries, no states for Her. For Her we are just Her children on earth. That is why it doesn’t make any difference where we are. It is important that Her message is heard, so what God desires of us is heard.

Q: Does Our Lady carry a rosary?

M: Our Lady carries a rosary sometimes.

Q: What does Our Lady’s voice sound like?

M: That is the only thing I cannot even explain closely, because many people would come with that question. When experts from New York were studying acoustics, the sound engineer, she brought me all kinds of sounds and voices and I put headphones in my ears and she was playing it to me, but I could not hear anything that is close to Our Lady’s voice. Because in order to say what it is like to be with Our Lady, I have to have something that is at least similar to that on earth. For example, when I say “gray dress” it is similar to our gray color, but something that would sound like Our Lady’s voice I have never heard. I would personally say that would be the voice of love.

Q: Have you ever touched Our Lady?

M: I have never touched Our Lady. Even if I could see Her for a hundred years, I would always know She is the Mother of God, and I’m just one of those walking on the earth. Truly, sincerely talking from the bottom of my heart, I have to tell you that I never felt the need to do that because when She looks at you, it’s like She’s embracing you. There is nothing else you desire but that She would just continue to talk to you and look at you, because that is as if She was hugging you and kissing you.

Q: Does Our Lady speak about abortion?

M: I lived in Sarajevo and many girls would abort just like nothing and it caused me a lot of pain because of those children. They were telling me that those children were in Limbo, and I simply didn’t accept it. So when I finally had enough courage I asked Our Lady. She said to me, “Be not afraid – those children are with me. There is no Limbo.”

Q: How can we pray from the heart?

M: Our Lady says, “Pray from the heart.” I can only tell you the way I understand that. I think that when I pray, for example, when I do “Our Father” prayer, that everything that would go through my mouth would go through my heart first. For example, if I say, “Our Father,” that I can feel within my heart that God is my Father, so that the prayer wouldn’t just be a repetition of words, but it can be really what you feel in your heart. For me personally, that would be prayer with the heart. Every single day, before I pray, I do one Our Father, praying to God to help me pray better, because we can always pray better. Same as we can always be better people because prayer is our conversation with Our Father and prayer is our rest. So we can always do it better. Many pilgrims, when they come to Medjugorje, say that when they do their Rosary their thoughts are wandering. So they ask what to do. What is that kind of prayer? I always say, “Do not waste good time judging your own prayer, just try to pray better. Pray to God to help you. But if you pray the Rosary and you still feel your thoughts are wandering all over, then you better start to talk to Our Lady like a mother and ask Her why is that so, why you simply can’t concentrate in prayer, what is bothering you, everything that you have in your heart, just give it to Her and after that try to pray.”

Message to Mirjana, August 2, 2009

“Dear children, I am coming, with my Motherly love, to point out the way by which you are to set out, in order that you may be all the more like my Son; and by that, closer to and more pleasing to God. Do not refuse my love. Do not renounce salvation and eternal life for the sake of transience and frivolity of this life. I am coming to lead you and, as a mother, to caution you. Come with me.”

The outside altar at St. James in Medjugorje

Anniversary Week 2009 and the Cross of San Damiano

By Louise Lotze

The 28^th Anniversary Day in Medjugorje was totally different from previous years. I had come expecting very hot weather (it was 112 degrees F. for the 25^th Anniversary ). Well this year we had rain the entire evening and it was cool and I had need for a flannel-lined jacket.

The Mass began at 7:00. The Gospel was read in about 15 different languages for all the various nationalities who were present. I was wearing earphones and using my tiny radio to hear the English translation for the homily given in Croatian. I couldn't take notes since I was holding my umbrella, but the homily mentioned President Obama and the scandal at the U.S. elections over the abortion issue as well as the Notre Dame scandal with President Obama getting an honorary degree. Father Corapi was mentioned as he had forewarned the voters before the election about the evils for our nation of electing a president who protected the right for abortions. Father Corapi's life and his television program were mentioned as well. The homily went on to say that 60% of people suffer from addictions: alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, and television. (I would have added the internet as one ). This all takes one away from the family where conversation is lacking. We don't have time for our children or family prayer anymore

Five of the visionaries were present; (Vicka had broken her hip and was in a cast and not present). They came forward and prayed the Magnificat at microphones as we had been doing this at Mass for the 9 days prior to the Anniversary, with different visionaries taking turns on the previous days.

After the Mass we continued with prayers for the sick, the Croatian Rosary, blessing of religious articles and then the Glorious Mysteries. This ended at 9:30 p.m. I stayed there, expecting Adoration to begin at 10:00. I noticed everyone leaving so I asked what was happening and no one spoke English. I didn't see the outside altar being set up for Adoration, so I assumed it would be inside the Church, which was already packed tight due to the rain. I headed over to the yellow hall where Adoration was televised from the Church altar. It was quite lovely; I had a great dry seat and a clear view of the monstrance and Jesus. I stayed until 11:20 when it ended. For those of you who have never experienced Adoration at Medjugorje, it is not all silence. There is beautiful music, prayers sung, prayers recited in several languages, silent pauses for adoration and meditation, and you feel like it is Heaven on earth. I have never experienced this prayerful format anywhere else in the world or at any of the other Marian shrines I have visited. It is unique to Medjugorje.

Even though it was in the opposite direction from my pansion ( hotel ), I felt compelled to return to the outside altar. To my delight the gates were unlocked and the lights were lit. I quickly scampered up the steps to the altar and beyond it to view up close the newly hung San Damiano Cross which had taken the place of the large painting of Our Lady of Medjugorje which had been there 2 days earlier. I had seen this Cross on the morning of June 24^th, but from a distance. I learned that Italy had donated it in honor of the 800^th Anniversary of St. Francis getting the message. It is a replica of the original Cross. The San Damiano Cross is the icon cross that St. Francis of Assisi was praying before when he received the commission from the Lord to rebuild the Church. The original cross hangs in the Basilica of St. Clare in Assisi. The Franciscans cherish this cross as the symbol of their mission from God. It is the Franciscans who care for the parish of Medjugorje and tend to the needs of the pilgrims who flock there.

I was truly honored to get up close to this icon. It was exquisite and breathtaking to behold. I was able to take pictures and even get a side view of the Cross to see the raised ( bas relief ) golden nimbus ( halo ) just like the original icon. Everyone behind the altar was told to leave the area then, and I expressed my delight over the Cross to the man who was clearing us out so he could lock the gates. He agreed that it was indeed a beautiful gift for Medjugorje. My wet clothes were somehow forgotten after glimpsing this treasured icon. I had chosen Adoration over going to Apparition Hill for a late night apparition of Our Lady to Ivan's prayer group, and I feel God had blessed me with this close-up view of the San Damiano Cross, not only for myself but to share with many others worldwide through my treasured photo.

Editor’s note: Louise is from Ashtabula, OH.

The Cross on Mt. Krizevac

The Cross on Mt Krizevac

By Drazana Cuvolo-Pedro

I was born in Ljubuski, about 15 minutes outside of Medjugorje. When I was 17, my mother took me there and I was not interested in anything going on at the time (it was 1985). I witnessed what I later found out was a miracle. I saw the cross on top of Mt. Krizevac spinning. Some Italian ladies got down on their knees and started crying; my mother was not anywhere near and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. I never told anyone in my family about this. About 7 years later I picked up a book about Medjugorje and found out the cross is made of steel or iron or some other material and weighs several tons. People have witnessed it spinning and this has become one of the miracles of Medjugorje. I was amazed and felt blessed to have witnessed this. I have been back home several times, most recently last summer with my 12 year old daughter. I have told her and others about what happened to me. Some people choose to believe and others are skeptical, but I know what I saw that day was indeed a miracle. When I am in Medjugorje I always feel at peace and pray to the Gospa and thank Her for allowing me to witness this.

A “shared” cross in Medjugorje

Accepting the Cross

By June Klins

It was January 30^th and I had really had it with the snow that had been falling, it seemed, non-stop since early November. When my van got stuck in a snow bank, I was not excited to hear that we were second in the nation for totals of snow. When I finally got home, the snow plow had plowed my driveway in knee high. There was so much snow I was afraid my van would be hit where I had to park, so I needed to use my snow blower right away. When it did not start, to say I was not a “happy camper” is an understatement. And the pretty little flakes continued to fall. Grrrrr ! Then I remembered that the good nuns in grade school always told us that God listens to the prayers of little children, so I called my not quite two and half year-old grandson Thomas and requested that He ask God “ to make it stop snowing.” Without missing a beat, Thomas replied, “It will stop snowing when the summer comes, Grandma.” For once I was speechless. Did he ever tell me! It was as if he had said to me, “It is winter, Grandma, and it is going to snow. Accept it and move on with your life.” What a lesson from a two year old.

Much has been written on the mystery of human suffering and we could drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out the reasons for our suffering. Fr. Angelus Shaughnessy, OFM, Cap., in a talk he gave on suffering, stated that suffering is a “minor mystery, ” unlike the Mystery of the Trinity which we will never comprehend, and that when we get to Heaven we will know why we had to suffer and what value our suffering had. What a great consolation! I had never heard that before, but I heard Fr. Angelus say it twice now. So now, instead of wasting energy asking, “Why me?” we can concentrate on praying to accept our suffering. Maybe our suffering is not so trivial as a pile of snow to shovel, but whatever the case, we should pray for the grace to - as the good nuns used to tell us - “Offer it up.” Fr. Angelus wrote, in his Reflections on the Way of the Cross, “The key to all sanity (good mental health), the key to all good spiritual health (sanctity) is ACCEPTANCE.” How very true.

A friend of mine lost her husband rather suddenly a few years ago. Her eight children were grown and gone when her husband died, and as she was unlocking the door to her house the night of the funeral, she realized this would be the first time in her life that she would be living alone. She thought to herself, “I’m going to hate this.” Immediately she heard an interior voice say, “Don’t say you will hate it. Say, ‘I ACCEPT it.’ “So that is exactly what she did and has never turned back. This acceptance is the secret of her joy. She sets a wonderful example for everyone she meets. How awesome the world would be if everyone would accept their crosses like this.

Another example of acceptance is our own proofreader Ginny Spaeder who is battling cancer. Ginny told me that shortly after she was diagnosed she went to our Carmelite monastery and the sister she spoke with told her that she was in a win-win situation. If she gets a miracle healing, of course that would be a winning situation, but if not, she would soon be with the Lord and what more could you want? Although Ginny is very weak at this stage, she accepts her situation, is grateful for all the loving prayers and kindness she has been shown, and will continue to proof for us as long as she can.

Of course there are many other examples of people who have accepted their lot in life. My own father is one. He has accepted my mother’s Alzheimer’s and lovingly cares for her 24/7. It would be so easy to complain about how his life has been turned upside down by this debilitating disease, but he has learned to do things he never in his life would have dreamed of doing – cooking, laundry, cleaning, and of course, doing everything for my mother. He says that there is no point in complaining. It cannot change anything, and can only make matters worse, like adding fuel to the flames.

The best cartoon I have ever seen was one sent to me by email about year ago. There was a little guy that was walking with a cross, and he kept cutting pieces off of it to make it easier to carry. Then he got to the edge of a cliff and needed a bridge to get across. The original cross would have been just the right size for him to use as a bridge, but unfortunately, he had cut it too short and it was useless. The last frame shows him standing there regretfully pondering what to do. Someone once told me, “We are the carpenters of our own crosses.”

The Lord knows exactly what kind of cross we need to get ourselves and others across to the “other side.” I found the following advice in a church bulletin: “Trusting in God won’t make the mountain smaller, but will make the climbing easier. Don’t ask Him for a lighter load, but ask Him for a stronger back.” What words of wisdom.

On September 11, 1986, Our Lady said, “Dear children! For these days while you are joyfully celebrating the cross, I desire that your cross also would be a joy for you. Especially, dear children, pray that you may be able to accept sickness and suffering with love the way Jesus accepted them. Only that way shall I be able with joy to give out to you the graces and healings which Jesus is permitting me. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Epilogue: After the conversation with my grandson about the snow, the snow began to melt and although we still had snow the rest of the winter, I never once had to use the shovel or snowblower the rest of the winter! The nuns were right!

“There is nothing more holy in this world than to work for the good of souls, for whose salvation Jesus Christ poured out the last drops of His blood.” ~ St. John Bosco

Apparition Hill

My Assignment from Our Lady

By Theresa G.

   I went to Medjugorje at the end of May and while I was praying on the top of the Apparition Hill, I felt that Our Lady was calling the priest of my parish to go there so that She could renew his priesthood mission. I felt really awkward about that, I generally do not feel things about other people.
   I did not know if it was my imagination or it was a real message for him. I also knew that he did not believe in Medjugorje, and that he had no desire to go there. I pondered in my heart what to do. I prayed. I thought it could be my imagination, but also that if this were a real message for him, I had no choice but to tell him. The fact that he didn't believe in Medjugorje really put me off. Eventually I decided to tell him, but with great humility and love (explaining that it might have been my imagination). It took me almost 2 months, but I finally went to see him, gave him a blessed rosary from Medjugorje as a present and told him what had happened to me.
    I could not believe my ears when he told me that he's been questioning his vocation since last year and he has thought of giving it up completely (you would never tell this - everybody in the parish loves his enthusiasm and love for God!) and recently he has asked God and Our Lady to tell someone what he should do and if he was meant to go to Medjugorje...That person was yours truly.
Father kissed the rosary from Medjugorje that I gave him, thanked me a lot for being open to Our Lady's voice and for the courage of delivering Her message. He said that he felt already renewed in his priesthood mission and that he will soon go to Medjugorje.
I'm so amazed, Our Lady has used someone like me (I'm so unworthy!) to deliver Her message in such a powerful way! This has been a huge grace both for me and for the priest of my parish. I've experienced the real presence of Our Lady with Her maternal love for Her priests! I felt the love of Our Lady for the priests...what a grace!
I've also learned that we have to pray for our priests, because even when we think that everything is fine with them, the enemy does not leave them alone, and they might be struggling even if we do not see anything. We really need to pray for our priests every single day, they are so much in need of our prayer and fasting!

Editor’s note: Because of the personal information about the priest, the author has used a pen name.

Our Lady, Mother of Sorrows,

pray for Priests, your special sons.

Strengthen their faith and love of Jesus

in the Most Blessed Sacrament,

so that they may turn to Him

for the grace they need to live

a life faithful to their calling.

Bring comfort,

consolation and courage

to those who are suffering

under the weight of the Cross.

Give them the love of your Son

and zeal for the honor and glory of God,

and the salvation of souls. Amen.

The Triumph of the Cross in the Home

By Father Angelus Shaughnessy, OFM, Cap.

There is a town, Siroki Brijeg of 13,000 inhabitants in Herzegovina, Croatia that has not had a single divorce in living memory. The town has suffered for decades at the hands of the communists and for centuries from the Moslems. They attribute the success of their marriages to the crucified Lord.

When a couple think they have found their lifelong partner, they don’t say, “ I have found the perfect man; I have found the perfect woman.” No, they say, “ I have found my cross.” And when they come to church for the marriage ceremony, they bring their own large crucifix with them. This is how they exchange their vows: the crucifix is placed upon the altar. She places her hand on the corpus of the crucifix. He puts his hand on top of hers; and the priest wraps the stole over everything on the cross. They know that if either one leaves the cross, the marriage is in danger.

So when they have their problems (as they will) they do not rush off to a counselor or an attorney or to some psychologist or psychiatrist. They go to the crucifix which is mounted in their home. As soon as the marriage ceremony is over, that is where they pray together and learn to solve their differences, and they teach their children where to turn as well.

Editor’s note: The above was excerpted from “Mother Love,” a newsletter published by the National Office of of the Archconfraternity of Christian Mother, Winter 2008.

Youth Festival 2009

The Youth Festival in Medjugorje

By Father Neil Buchlein

Greetings from "Take Me Home Country Roads, West Virginia." To be honest, I'd rather still be "HOME" in Medjugorje. When one has a "mountain top experience" no matter how long it may be, one has to come down and get back to the "business of everyday life." I returned from the Youth Festival on Saturday evening (August 8) after spending an overnight in Detroit due to the lack of flights.
This was my first experience of the Youth Festival after having traveled to Medjugorje 14 times. I was totally amazed at the prayerful experience even with over 50,000 people, including 500 priests. The talks in the morning and the music were very, very good. The group did get to hear Ivan, Mirjana, and Ivanka (who rarely speaks). Sad to say, they did not speak at the Youth Festival, but in the park in the town. The Bishop has forbidden them to speak being connected with the church.

   It was a privilege to be able to see so many people, both young and old who were so hungry for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I was able to participate with many of my "brother priests" to be able to welcome back so many "prodigal sons and daughters." Isn't it wonderful that the Bishop of Mostar has the septic tank of the world in his diocese?! Think about it. People from all over the world come and are reconciled back and yet he does not know it. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a powerful Sacrament. "Try it - you WILL like it."
   When it came time for the Holy Mass it reminded me of Jesus feeding the 5000 plus, (because women and children were not counted). People came and were hungry for Word and Sacrament. Then after Holy Mass, thousands upon thousands stayed to adore the Lord on the altar. No agendas - just wanting to be united with Our Lord who was dispensing His unfathomable mercy and peace. What graces were received and what graces are still being poured forth as all those people are now back at home looking to live for the first time or to renew themselves in living the Messages. I could not help but wonder how bad of a headache and stomachache Satan must have had in seeing all of those people, especially the young people turning away and turning towards Jesus!
   It is always easy to get caught back up in the daily routine of life especially after one has come back from such a deeply spiritual experience. So many have not been able to go and yet still have such a strong yearning for our Blessed Mother's messages and are able to put them into practice. How happy this must make Our Lord and His Mother as so many once again seek to become more united to Him.

Editor’s note: Fr. Neil is from Hurricane, WV.

Our thanks to Cindy Bielanin, Louise Lotze, Vicky De Coursey, Chris Maxwell, Marge Spase, Agnes Trott, Dawn Schaaf, Sally Dugan and Joan Leysa for help with the August mailing. Thanks to Tom Klins. Bernard Gallagher and Louise Lotze for their photos. Thanks to Caroline Cawley for making us more prayer cloths and to Louise Lotze for bringing us more original prayer cloths from Medjugorje to help spread the Medjugorje blessings.

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