The Spirit of Medjugorje Online

ON 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! Also today I call you to pray, pray, pray. Little children, when you pray you are close to God and He gives you the desire for eternity. This is a time when you can speak more about God and do more for God. Therefore, little children, do not resist but permit Him to lead you, to change you and to enter into your life. Do not forget that you are travellers on the way toward eternity. Therefore, little children, permit God to lead you as a shepherd leads his flock. Thank you for having responded to my call."

The picture above is one of the stained glass window panels in St. James Church in Medjugorje.

At Medjugorje, Mary’s plea to us for the sake of peace is that we pray, pray, pray. She wants us to find purpose in praying to find joy in prayer.

And in our society which has become so secularized and self-seeking, prayer has easily become a ten-minute interruption of our “real” life.

Halloween, instead of becoming a reason to rejoice in the heroism of all hallows has become a costume party. Advent is almost lost from our consciousness because there is no money in it for merchants, and there is no time for it because of the shopping for gifts, which are an invitation to rejoice in them for themselves instead of having them as a reminder of the greatest gift of all at Bethlehem.

Our response to Our Lady’s call to sacrifice and pray for peace actually has become a statement of our identity. If you have heard Mary’s pleas, then tell me how they have affected your way of life (especially your interior life) and I can assure you, in the response you give me, you have told me who you are and how much you care about the future of the planet.

Thomas Daniel Klins

Special Requests from the Editor

As the magi traveled at this time of the year to visit a special Baby, so too will I be traveling to visit a special baby - my first grandchild, Thomas Daniel. This will be my first time to see Thomas, since he lives in England. I am telling you this because I need to ask your patience during the next month. The January issue may be a few days late because school resumes for me shortly after my return. (For those of you who are new – I teach high school math by profession.) I would also request that you not renew your subscriptions in December, so that I may optimize my time to plan the next issue before I leave. Historically many people renew in December, but

I promise I will not remove anyone from the mailing list in December or January. New subscriptions are still welcomed, however, and donations for our book project are still welcomed. In fact, we just got a new shipment of books and will reduce the suggested donation to $13. Our book The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje” makes a great Christmas gift both for the receiver and for Baby Jesus, who will be thrilled that you are helping to spread the Medjugorje messages of peace, love, and joy – the messages of Christmas. A blessed Christmas to all of you and your families!

Message to Medjugorje seer Mirjana Soldo, 11/2/06

"Dear children, my coming to you, my children, is God's love. God is sending me to warn you and to show you the right way. Do not shut your eyes before the truth, my children. Your time is a short time. Do not permit delusions to begin to rule over you. The way on which I desire to lead you is the way of peace and love. This is the way which leads to my Son, your God. Give me your hearts that I may put my Son in them and make my apostles of you -- apostles of peace and love. Thank you!"

Reported guide Miki Musa: "Afterwards, in conclusion, Our Lady said for us not to forget our shepherds in our prayers."

On Prayer

This year please join me in a very special prayer. Please pray that people celebrate Christmas as the Birth of Jesus, not the secular and commercial version. Pray that it is lived as truly, as the Church calls it, the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that people first celebrate Advent with prayer, fasting and almsgiving and wait until Advent is over to celebrate the Christmas Season, which lasts all the way until the Sunday of the Baptism of Our Lord. The world begins and ends Christmas too early. Please pray that this year many will celebrate the Birth of Jesus in a holy and prayerful way, with the Babe, His Mother and Saint Joseph. Pray that people will celebrate a Bethlehem Christmas. Medjugorje told the visionaries that when we pray for a Holy Soul by name, he or she can see us!

You can contact Brother Craig through his community's website www.monksofadoration.org

St. James at Christmas

Christmas and New Years in Medjugorje

By Anita Pehar

Before Christmas, it is our Croatian tradition to have the early-dawn Mass at 6 AM called “zornica” ( in Croatian zora means dawn) celebrated throughout Advent time. Here in Medjugorje it is a special 9 day novena in preparation for Christmas. In the morning we have morning Mass and then in the afternoon at 2 PM we pray the Rosary on Apparition Hill (as we do on every Sunday all year around). So the first day of the novena is December 16th, and it will finish on December 24^th.

As Christmas is a family holy day, we are making all the plans for everybody to be present at family prayer on Christmas Eve and then lunch on Christmas Day. Some of the Pensions will have to be open, since we will have some pilgrims coming to Medjugorje for Christmas time.

There will be a huge number of pilgrims coming after Christmas to spend New Years with us. In Medjugorje we have a special program with the Holy Mass celebrated at midnight on December 31, so the first hour of the new year a person spends in church with God. We always loved the idea.

I came for the first time several years ago when my parents decided I was adult enough to be with my friends for New Year's Eve, and that first experience will stay with me forever. Father Slavko was taking care of us at that time. There were so many young people from all over, and it was just a great experience. All the prayers and Holy Mass, all that wonderful music, and then we had a celebration in Domus Pacis with Father Slavko playing the harmonica for us as we were dancing .. ahhhh.

Anyway, this year too, there is an announcement that Domus Pacis will be open for youth to come and spend a three day retreat for the New Year. Of course not everyone will be able to come since there are just so many beds in the house. But I am sure that if you decide to come to Medjugorje for the New Year, it will be a good decision.

As I hear from my friends there will be a group of young people coming from all over Europe.

I wish you all a wonderful Advent time.

Editor’s note: Anita and her husband and daughter live in Medjugorje, where they own a gift shop.

Operation Christmas Smile

By Virginia Villahermosa

I remember many years back, when I went to visit the "Alay Ng Puso"(literally-Offering of the Heart) house of Mother Teresa in Binondo, Manila, Philippines. I rang the gate and much to my surprise itwas Mother Teresa who opened the gate. I was bringing a pair of slippers for Panchito, a 12 yr. old hunch back who was one of their wards. I told her it was the only gift I can give Panchito, as he was barefooted a day before when I was there. This was the answer of Mother Teresa that I will never forget: "My daughter, that is not important," pointing to the slippers, "what is important is when you can let a CHILD SMILE, then Jesus is smiling at you." It is because of this unforgettable quote of Mother Teresa that I was inspired to launch "Operation Smile" 3 years ago. Every Christmas our Medjugorje Group gives gifts and holds a Christmas party for street children. They not only smile but laugh their hearts out during parlor games. This 18th is our gift-giving and Mary's Meals in Medjugorje

Christmas party for them. In recent years it has evolved into "Mary's Meal" where our Medjugorje prayer group feeds these children three times a week. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all!

Editor’s note: Virginia is one of our overseas subscribers. She wrote for us a few years ago about her TV show and radio show she hosts in the Philippines, “Medjugorje, Food for the Soul.”

Mother’s Day in Panama

December 8 is a special day here in Panama. It is Mother’s Day. I always place white roses and carnations on my Gospa statue, and light a candle the night before. Our Lady is the number one Mom, so I am so happy to celebrate this day knowing She is our Heavenly Mother. Happy Mother’s Day, dear Lady!

Editor’s note: Ali is also one of our overseas subscribers. We thank her for sharing her culture with us.

Confessions on the lawn in Medjugorje

In Medjugorje, 'People are Turning to God'

by Archbishop Harry J. Flynn

Source: St. Paul -Minneapolis archdiocesan newspaper, The Spirit, October 19, 2006

Some years ago when I was first a bishop in Louisiana, it must have been 1988, I was making my first "ad limina" visit to the Holy Father in Rome.

The other bishops of Louisiana were with me and, as was the custom of John Paul II, we were invited in to enjoy a lunch with him. There were eight of us at the table with him.

Soup was being served. Bishop Stanley Ott of Baton Rouge, La., who has since gone to God, asked the Holy Father: "Holy Father, what do you think of Medjugorje?"

The Holy Father kept eating his soup and responded: "Medjugorje? Medjugorje? Medjugorje? Only good things are happening at Medjugorje. People are praying there. People are going to Confession. People are adoring the Eucharist, and people are turning to God. And, only good things seem to be happening at Medjugorje."

That seemed to have ended the discussion and we went on to another topic. But, I will long remember the very skillfully cautious response of our Holy Father.

A Pilgrimage Adventure

Just two weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit Medjugorje. A good friend for more than 50 years, Jim McHale from Connecticut, has been wanting to go to Medjugorje for some time. His wife was not inclined to go at this time for many reasons, but mostly because she is preparing for the marriage of their daughter in New York City.

We flew from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Prague and from Prague to Split in Croatia. We remained in Croatia for two evenings before we traveled up the mountain to Medjugorje in Bosnia along the Adriatic Sea.

It is quite an adventure in arriving in this little mountain village which has apparently become famous because of the alleged apparitions that take place there.

We were fortunate enough to have made contact with Stephanie Percic from Minneapolis. Stephanie was making her 100th pilgrimage to Medjugorje and leading a group of people from the Twin Cities, Crookston and Duluth and some from other parts of the country.

Having been there so many times, Stephanie is well-known to the villagers. Certainly that helped us a great deal in getting about.

The drive from Split into Medjugorje is a beautiful one, indeed. The road snakes around the Adriatic Sea and up the mountain. At times it might seem a bit perilous but the beauty is overwhelmingly inviting.

We arrived in the village on a Friday afternoon. There were 30,000 to 40,000 pilgrims there for the weekend. I was quite impressed with them all. They were from all over the world -- countries throughout Europe, the United States, Ireland, Canada and the Philippines. Italy was well represented also.

On Saturday morning we heard one of the visionaries speak and I must say that everything that he said was very solid. Someone in the audience asked him a question about "Communion in the hand." His answer was very direct and very simple. "DO what the Church permits you to do. You will always be safe."

The great moment, for me, was the hearing of confessions every afternoon from 5 p.m. until 10 or 10:30 p.m. There were 46 priests hearing confessions in various languages. What a great grace that is onto itself: "People turning toward God."

I just walked and around and looked at the lines. There were 26 confessional stations in which there was a priest and then 20 more priests hearing confessions in temporary stations. This happened also on Sunday afternoon from 5 p.m. until about 8:30 p.m. I heard confessions in English, and it was a great grace for me and a wonderful experience.

The Chapel of Adoration was most edifying. People came in quietly to adore the Eucharistic Lord and to pray. Everything seemed to have been so orderly and quiet, as were the groups of people in the streets and on the hills saying their Rosary and praying.

I celebrated the noon Mass on Sunday in English. The church was packed to overflowing. There are pews outside on all three sides of the church in which people can hear the Mass but they cannot see it. Once again the faith of so many people touched me deeply.

A Yearning Within

This past week we celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch. In his letter to the Romans, Ignatius wrote: "Within me is the living water which says deep inside me: 'Come to the Father.'" There is something of that yearning in all of those pilgrims who visited Medjugorje. Somehow there is something deep within them which keeps crying out, "Come to the Father." They do this through devotion. They do it through their love for Mary. They do it through their love for Jesus Christ. "Come to the Father" is deep within each one of us.

On Monday morning, our pilgrimage was coming to a close. I celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Eucharist for the pilgrims who were led by Stephanie Percic. So many of them were from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and I was impressed by their strong faith and their promise of prayer for the entire archdiocese.

...All in all, after the journey to Medjugorje, I keep pondering the words of John Paul II as he was eating his soup on that day sometime in 1988: "Medjugorje? Medjugorje? Medjugorje? Only good things seem to be happening at Medjugorje. People are turning to God."

www.spiritdaily.com

In Heaven with Jesus this Christmas

By June Klins

Last year I was discussing the souls in Purgatory with a friend. I told her that the spiritual director of our Medjugorje prayer group had told us to NEVER assume anyone went straight to Heaven. Although he was a living saint, he still insisted that we have Gregorian Masses said for him when he died. When I said that, Mary (not her real name) decided that she should have the Gregorian Masses said for her husband, who had passed away 12 years ago. She had some extra money that month and felt that this would be a good way to spend it, especially since the money goes to the missions. Then she said that in the spring she would have the Gregorian Masses said for her son, Pete (not his real name) who had died a number of years ago. She was worried about his soul because he was not able to go to Confession before he died and had been away from the Church.

A few weeks later Mary told me that she got a letter stating that the Gregorian Masses would start in November and would end on Christmas Day! She was really excited because she knew Our Lady's message that said, “It is not on All Souls Day, but at Christmas, that the greatest number of souls leave Purgatory.” (1/10/83)

Then one day during that month, one of her sons told her that he had a strange dream. He had dreamt that someone in the family had won the lottery, but the one who won it was Pete, the son who had died. Right away she felt that perhaps her husband did not need the Masses she had said for him and that they were being applied to Pete. She did not tell anyone in the family about the Gregorian Masses though. I was the only one who knew.

As it got closer to Christmas, Mary decided to ask for a sign to know that her husband made it to Heaven. (St. Therese, the Little Flower had asked for a sign after her father died, so we thought it was OK to do this.) She did not specify a particular sign.

On Christmas Day one of her other sons bought a present for everyone, even though they had all agreed not to exchange since money was tight. What he bought for everyone was in a box and on it he had written the words, "From Dad and Pete." (Remember they have been dead for many years.) Inside was a beautiful Christmas ornament that said "I am in Heaven with Jesus this Christmas." There was also a little poem inside with a similar theme. I emphasize that no one had known about the Masses!!!! She sure got her sign!

Pete did indeed "win the lottery" - but he got the best prize of all!

Editor’s note: Gregorian Masses are a series of 30 Masses said on 30 consecutive days for the repose of one soul. They derive their name from Pope St. Gregory the Great who was first to popularize this pious practice. St. Gregory relates in his Dialogues how, when he had finished the series of 30 Masses for a departed monk, the monk appeared to tell he had thus gained entry into glory on completion of the Gregorian Masses. The hallowed tradition has been declared “a pious and reasonable belief of the faithful" on the authority of the Sacred Roman Congregation on Indulgences.

Questions and Answers with Jakov, 6/21/06

Q: When Our Lady comes to Jakov on Christmas – this is the annual apparition Jakov has every year for Christmas - what kind of dress does Our Lady wear?

A: For Christmas, Our Lady is always dressed in a golden color and Our Lady appears to me with Baby Jesus on Her arm.

Reflection on Advent

By Fr. Jozo Zovko, OFM

Here we are in the holy time of Advent, which is intended to prepare us and our way to the Lord who is coming. He only comes to the hearts and families that are open. He comes where He is waited for.

This letter is a call to prayer to all hearts and families that are closed. It is a call to all the hearts that will be led astray by glittering shop windows and imposing advertisements of 'Santa Claus.' It is a call to prayer to each of you, so that the heart of every person may come to recognize that without Jesus there is no Christmas. That He is Christmas. That everything else is a lie and deception.

Our prayer community prays for an open heart to the Lord, whom we meet in the Sacraments of the Church. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation we open ourselves to Him in the Eucharist. In that meeting, our soul becomes filled with peace and the Christmas joy. The meaning and the goal of the ‘Incarnation’ is that none may be lost and all may be saved. The Father sent His only begotten Son for this divine plan. He continues this marvelous plan with man and through man. Therefore, our call is a part of the general call and concept of salvation. Our prayer, our vigils, our fasting and our good works are needed by the Lord. When you pray, you are prepared to place your life at the disposal of the Lord. When you pray and fast your soul asks as St. Francis did: “Lord, what do you want me to do?” For grace to touch man, it makes use of man. It uses our smile, our perspiration and our generosity. Our call is to be united with the great family of 10,000 members who pray with us, who see as we do, who keep vigil and wait for every word of the Mother, like Jesus in Nazareth did, to put it into life. In this way, growing in grace and wisdom, they bear fruit with their perseverance.

At the close of a year, statistics are compiled, plans are made for the following year, rewards are given to the most worthy, and so on. How happy we will be when we go before the manger and embrace Jesus with our prayer. How happy we will be when we come to adore Him and when we give our heart as the most

Fr. Jozo

treasured gift to the Mother, the Queen of Peace. How happy we will be when, like the Wise Men, we present our gifts to Him. These gifts are the thousand upon thousands of pilgrims of all ages and thousands of priests who brought their fatigue and their crosses to Medjugorje and found restoration. These gifts are also those who converted and came to know Jesus and the Church. They are the numerous Bishops who have come from all parts of the world to seek the light and the strength for their life and work as shepherds. They have returned from Medjugorje carrying the treasure of faith, the experience of the living God, of God the Merciful Father Who forgives, heals and gives strength.

Dear brothers and sisters, I reflect on this year about to close and on its events. I must give thanks for the immeasurable gifts that we have received as the Church. The Queen of Peace has chosen us to live the messages by praying for our prayer-partner. Today when we ask ourselves who that prayer-partner is, we see that it is every pilgrim who seeks the Lord with deep wounds from his daily life and work. Our prayer-partners are all those who have come to the Mother to find consolation and peace. In the desert, Jesus said to the chosen disciples: “You give them to eat.” They responded, saying “We have nothing to give.” Today we do have something to give, because we have prayer as a gift in our heart and it is prayer that nurtures, heals and is a blessing.

I write this letter to you that you may continue Our Lady’s work. That you may persevere in the apostolate of the little and the humble who daily gather new souls to prayer and to the Sacraments. I write to you in the name of all the pilgrims that you may never lose heart. Persevere on the way of evangelization of the world and conversion of today’s generation. The Wise Men revealed their way and gifts to Our Lady and St. Joseph as they were led by the star. Every pilgrim is the ‘Wise Man’ of today. We must not show anguish or indifference like Herod and the others but a great Christian love that points to Jesus and the Mother

Dear prayer friends, with your lives, show the way to the Lord, the way to the King of Peace. United with you, and for you in sincere prayer for a Merry Christmas and a holy birth of Jesus. To you and your families I wish every blessing in the New Year.

Editor's note: This reflection was written during Advent, 2005.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

By Mike McSpedon

Just sharing something that happened the other evening during family prayer time. After we finished praying the Rosary it was our youngest daughter's turn to read the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. Angela, who is in first grade is a good reader for her age, but she misread with full conviction part of the prayer as follows: "And do Thou o Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell *Santa* and all the evil spirits that roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls."
We all had a good laugh thinking about poor old Santa down there! I shared this with my parents, and my father said, "It's not a bad idea with all the commercialization of Christmas..."

Editor’s note: Mike is from Spotswood, NJ.

Reflection of Our Lady on the Risen Jesus

By Bernard Gallagher

This ‘flowing’ image of Our Lady was captured on Thursday, September 14, 2006, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. The reflection appears on the ‘weeping’ knee of the Risen Christ sculpture in Medjugorje. The picture card is that handed to pilgrims at Fr. Jozo’s talks. The reflection was recorded unintentionally and not composed by the photographer. Those familiar with the Risen Christ sculpture will know that water has been ‘weeping’ from the knee area of the structure since the summer of 2000. No ‘official’ explanation of the phenomenon has ever been given.

It was my first day of the pilgrimage, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, and it wasn’t until after the above photo was taken that I noticed it had a reflection image on the ‘weeping’ knee of the Risen Christ sculpture. It’s one of the advantages of having a digital camera. Instant results.

Almost immediately afterwards I decided to walk the Way of the Cross that surrounds the towering Resurrection theme, saying a couple of short prayers at each station. It was when I reached the fifth station – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus – that I sensed similarities with the photo I had just taken. After completing the Stations I rushed to PhotoDani to have the image printed – I ordered 10 copies. Within 30 minutes they were in my hand and I began to show the special image to people. Very soon I was back at PhotoDani asking for more copies – 150 this time. Word had started to get around Medjugorje about the photograph and soon more people began approaching me for copies. This continued right up until the end of the pilgrimage.

On the last evening I made my way to the Risen Christ to pray a

Rosary. I was sitting at the 9 o’clock position and there were perhaps 60 or 70 people in the area. It was then I noticed a smartly dressed man with a collar and tie and wearing a jacket, walking around the structure. He didn’t seem as if he was on pilgrimage.

The man then approached me and said: “Are you American?” “No,” I answered, “I’m English.” He then sat down close beside me as I continued praying. I was curious as to why he sat so close and then passed him a copy of the photo I had taken earlier. He looked at it for about a minute and then said, “This is amazing!” I responded, “There’s nothing miraculous about it, but it is a special image.” Again he said, “This is amazing!” And once more I repeated myself. Then the man said, “No, it is amazing because I am the man who financed the Risen Christ project. I am from Slovenia and so is my friend the sculptor. That is why I financed it. I have just arrived here after driving five

hours from Slovenia. See my car is parked over there on the gravel. I have come directly to this place.”

His name was Rudi and he went on to explain how the crozier carried by John Paul ll was the inspiration for the design, and about how the previous Pope himself treasured a silver replica of the Risen Christ sculpture given to

him.

“The Medjugorje Message”

Editor’s note: Bernard stressed to me that the picture is a reflection of the picture Fr. Jozo distributes. It is much better seen in color. It can be seen on his website, www.crownofstars.blogspot.com, as well as ours.

Spreading the Blessings

We will continue indefinitely to lend out the prayer cloths with the “tears” from the Risen Jesus statue. If you would like to borrow one, send a self-addressed stamped envelope and include your phone number (mandatory). If you would like to keep one of the ones we made, please send a legal size or larger self-addressed stamped envelope with $.52 postage on it. The blessings are the same for both cloths; the only difference is that you cannot make more cloths from the cloths we made. We are very grateful to subscribers Ann O’Leary, Marty Morris, and Sylvia Menconi for making more cloths for us that we can make available to our readers.

One subscriber told me she made 186 cloths, and had depleted the supplies of men’s handkerchiefs at all the K-Marts and Wal-Marts in her area! Quite a few people told me that they, or others, who were prayed over with the cloths that were made, felt heat emanate from them. There have been many more graces and healings which we will share in future issues. But the grace I am hearing about the most is the sense of peace that people experience.

As of this writing we have most of our original 25 cloths back. This is not good! We want people to borrow them, make more, and spread the blessings! What a great Christmas present you could give to people – to spread the blessings of Medjugorje! That would be a gift not only for them but for Baby Jesus as well! He wants to give us blessings!

We would also like to thank subscriber Mike Golovich who went to Medjugorje in October, bought us more cloths and wiped them with the tears on the Risen Jesus. We are making these available to our overseas subscribers, since it was not easy for them to borrow the ones we originally brought from Medjugorje. We want the blessings from these cloths to spread throughout the world!

Editor’s note: If you are a new subscriber and do not have the instructions how to make more, please let us know and we will send them to you. Or you can visit our website and read it in the October issue.