The Spirit of Medjugorje

      The following is an excerpt from a talk given by Paul Ruggieri at a Gospa Missions Retreat on 9/22/18.
      Did you notice that throughout history God has chosen the height of mountains to reveal certain truths and save people? For example, Noah and his boat came to rest at the top of a mountain - with the only people left in the entire world. Moses went up high on the mountain to encounter God and receive the Ten Commandments. Jesus revealed to Peter, John, and James what His glory looked like in the Transfiguration - again, on a mountain.
      Fast forward to almost 2,000 years later: I accomplished my goal and was hired by KDKA [in Pittsburgh, PA]. A manager was introducing me to employees and we came upon a man named Tom Rutkoski [his story is in our December 2009 issue]. The manager said, "I'd like you guys to meet our newest editor, Paul Ruggieri." Tom looked up and said, "Did you ever hear of Medjugorje?" Honestly, I thought it was a new piece of television equipment, so I replied, "No." I was afraid of being questioned. Tom then said, "It's a small village in Yugoslavia where the Blessed Mother is appearing to a group of kids." I thought, "Oh boy, a big city religious nut!" Those thoughts of Tom being a nut began to fade, as each day he would seek me out and present new newspaper articles offering stories of miracles occurring in Medjugorje.
      My mother had been dealing with ovarian cancer for about a year. We had recently received word that it was terminal. I knew then that I had to take Mom to Medjugorje. Practically speaking, I had very little faith at that time, but Tom's evidence showed me that the possibility of a miracle did exist.
      Tom began organizing trips there, and I wanted to go. My first major task, however, was to convince my wife, Marie, that we had to take my mother to a communistic, atheistic country on the other side of the world, so God could heal her. I remember saying, "We have never done anything to show God that we love Him. Maybe by making this trip, it will be enough to show Him that we care, and maybe He will heal Mom." Marie agreed. That was miracle #1!
      My mother was easier to convince, so we bought three tickets to Medjugorje soon after. Over the next several weeks before our trip, my mother became sicker with each passing day. By the time the journey was upon us, she was too sick to go. Her tumor was so large that she appeared to be pregnant, and the tumor was attached to organs which made it inoperable. Tom refunded her ticket but told me that if I went there for my mother, she would be healed. That statement made me nervous. I replied, "Tom, you shouldn't be talking like that. I'm a friend, and will forgive you if that doesn't happen, but you should be careful." He said, "I'm not sure why I'm saying that, but go and see what happens."

       So, Marie and I went to Medjugorje without mom. To be honest, the first four days we felt nothing special and began to wonder why we were even there. But, on about the fourth day, a feeling of peace came over everyone in my group. There were about 40 of us. It became stronger every day, to the point where it felt like we had stepped into the edge of Heaven.
      One day while we were there, Marie and I were at the bottom of Apparition Hill. There was a lot of commotion outside of the shop we were in, so we went out to see. We were astounded to see a perfect crucifix. It was made from clouds hanging above the hill. It was resting in an otherwise cloudless, clear blue sky. You could see the eyes, nose, mouth, crown of thorns, and even muscle tone in His arms. It hung in place for about twenty minutes, and the face turned to the right. It became the profile image of the Blessed Mother holding Baby Jesus - while the rest of the crucifix stayed in place. After about five minutes or so, the profile image turned back, and became the face of Jesus again. It hung in place a little while longer and only then began to fade away. The only time I did not have my camera with me - I'm still crying about that one!
      On the plane ride home, I had an aisle seat. I remember praying, "Blessed Mother, I want to make a deal with you." Instantly, I felt Her standing next to me with Her arms folded, looking down at me. I said, "If you will obtain a healing of my mother from your Son, I'll go into all the Catholic schools in the diocese of Pittsburgh that I can get into, and talk to the kids about Medjugorje and rock and roll, or whatever." As soon as I finished saying this, She was gone - like a light switch.
      We arrived home and Mom was still alive. She sat up in bed and asked us about the trip. Over the course of the next month, my mother seemed to get better. We were cautiously optimistic.
      One night, my sister called me. She said they had just taken mom to Connellsville Hospital and they could not find the tumor. She was in an ambulance and on her way to Pittsburgh to be evaluated. They did a sonogram and still could not find the tumor. Then, they did a CAT scan and brought in a specialist to verify that this was the same person they had pictures of from just two weeks before. It revealed what was a small amount of tumor, so they cancelled an elective surgery and took my mother straight in. It was a combination of the three most aggressive cancer cells and they found that she had cancer in her liver. About an hour later, my other sister called, and she said they found a tiny bit of tumor and took it out. There were no longer cancer cells on any of the organs, and there was no cancer in her liver. She told me they declared mom cancer free!
      As soon as I hung up the phone - again like a light switch - the Blessed Mother was standing there. I could not see Her, but I could feel Her presence so strongly that I might as well have. Right over top of my thoughts, Her beautiful voice streamed. She said to me, "Okay, I did my part, now what about you?" I thought, "Oh wow, my promise on the plane!" The Blessed Mother was now gone, I had a miracle on my hands, and I was panicked. The Queen of Heaven took my promise seriously and I had to fulfill my end of the bargain.
      I had never spoken to any group about anything, and while I could tell the Medjugorje story, I felt rock and roll music videos had to be addressed. MTV was coming on strong and kids were dressing and acting like the performers. Also, I felt that these videos were breaking down moral values, but I could not explain it. Keep in mind that this was 1990, and it was before the internet. Researching information amounted to visiting libraries and phone calls to experts, though none of which bore any fruit. More than a month passed, and I was stressed about this situation. The Mother of God was expecting something from me and I had to deliver.
      One night, at about 11 p.m., I said to Marie, "I'm not going to bed. I am going out to the dining room table and waiting for the Holy Spirit to give me the information I need. I am not leaving until it happens. The Mother of God is expecting something from me and I must fulfill my promise. I will stay there until I die. I would rather die than disappoint Her." Marie replied with an "Okay" and a "goodnight".
      Now at the table, I sat down with a notebook and pen. Alone now I announced, "Holy Spirit, forgive me for talking to you this way, but Your spouse, my Mother, expects me to deliver on my promise. I am not leaving this table until you give me the information. So please, give it to me." After a minute, a few words occurred to me, so I wrote them down. Before I was finished, I had eleven handwritten pages that explained the psychological process in which all multimedia can break down moral values. I had to read it a dozen times just to understand what I had written. I had my presentation.
      I bought a diocesan directory and went to every school and parish that would let me in, and then joined a Catholic youth evangelization team and crisscrossed the country speaking at youth conferences.
      One year after our first trip to Medjugorje, my mother was back to work as a nurse and she decided that we should make another trip there to say thank you. Once again, I called Tom, and the three of us were off on a series of unexpected experiences.
      On the last day of our trip, we were praying rosaries on Apparition Hill. My mother was sitting about 20 yards from Marie and I, when an older Bosnian-looking woman approached us on a path from the left. She was walking with a few goats and, as she came closer, I could see Her eyes. They were like blue lights! I addressed my wife saying, "Marie look at that woman. What do you notice?" She said, "Wow, look at her eyes." I replied, "I think that is the Blessed Mother." She agreed, telling me that she thought it was, too. I wanted to go over and ask Her. I stood up, and Marie pulled me right back down. She reminded me that the evil one can also appear as an angel of light. This woman walked past everyone and stopped at the end of our path. Then She looked at Marie and I and nodded approvingly. Nervously, I gave a little wave, (but I thought, ‘If this is the evil one, I don't want to wave to him'). She then continued to walk, and went directly over to my mother. When my mother looked up, she reached down and held her hand. My mother started crying. They seemed to be communicating without words. After a minute this woman looked back to Marie and I, nodded again, and continued walking with her goats over the hill.
      I quickly went over to Mom and rushed her, asking, "Mom, don't think I am crazy, but was that the Blessed Mother?" She replied, "Yes," as she was still crying. "Wow, what was she telling you?" I inquired. "The Blessed Mother didn't say a word," Mom answered. "I know, I could see Her, but She was telling you something." "Yes," she said, "She was telling me that no matter what happens... everything will be okay." My immediate reply was: "That's great! Your cancer is gone, and the Blessed Mother just gave you this good news." She then snapped at me. "No, that is not what She was saying. She said, ‘No matter what happens, everything will be okay.' That is completely different." This conversation took less than a minute, so I then went over to the side of the hill - I could see the path the whole way - and She and the goats were completely gone. It normally takes about 15 minutes to walk down.
       The next day we left for home. The further we got away from Medjugorje, the sicker my mother became. The next day she went to the doctor. Bad news - the cancer was back and this time in a different area. My mother died a short time later, in May of 1993, on Mother's Day.
      If she had never gotten sick, the blessings of faith and truth would never have come my way. So many people despair without realizing God might just have another great plan in the works. Mother Angelica used to say, "If it's happening, it's God's will." It is all for our good. God blesses those who receive His blessings with gratitude.
      Editor's note: Paul lives in Greensburg, PA and works at WQED TV. He also owns a video production business. He has earned 31 Emmy awards and various other awards for his work. Although he did not have his camera when he saw the white crucifix, fellow pilgrim, Joseph Hooker, did, and he graciously gave permission for us to use the photo above.

       The information the Holy Spirit gave to me (I named "Music-Picture Association") works like this: Imagine that you have an album or a CD collection. We recognize the music we like in our collection by the image on the front. If you like hard rock music, for example, this image could be a monster with red flaming eyes. Every time we see the image, a reinforcing, pleasing sound follows, and we begin to associate the two together. Soon the demonic image is pleasing to us or "real cool". Each time it was seen, something pleasing followed (the music). Posters and T-shirts with similar images become part of our lives because we naturally want more of what is pleasing. A typical person who watches music videos will watch a favorite video many times over again. Immediately, there is a favorable reaction to a favorite song when the video comes on. While the video is playing, visual images are flashed on the screen while the music is heard. Some of these images may be offensive, immoral, or even satanic. Is it noticed? Probably not, since the music is so enjoyable and produces such a good feeling. The fact is that most people prefer to listen to the song and try to ignore any offensive scenes. When a person does "not notice" immoral or satanic images in the videos of the music, or if they notice but "don't care" because, "it's the music that counts," a subtle change slowly takes place within them. They subconsciously begin to associate whatever act is taking place in the scenes with the music attached to it. That is the way the human brain works. When a person repeatedly sees these negative images combined with hearing the pleasing sound of the music they like, the two become associated - the negative or immoral images lose their offensiveness and become acceptable or even pleasing.