The Spirit of Medjugorje

Medjugorje Message March 25, 2024

"Dear children! In this time of grace, pray with me for the good to win in you and around you. In a special way, little children, pray united with Jesus on His Way of the Cross. Into your prayers put this humanity which wanders without God and without His love. Be prayer, be light, and be witnesses to all those whom you meet, little children, so that the merciful God may have mercy toward you. Thank you for having responded to my call."

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Time to Let Go

By Fr. Ray Donohue

      What a wild roller-coaster ride this year has been for all of us! Who would have thought at the beginning of the year that this would have happened? How could all this happen?
     These words could have been spoken 2000 years ago when Jesus was arrested, scourged, stripped and crucified. (With the exception of the roller-coaster ride analogy). 🙂
     Things happen. Where is God? God is with you, every step of the way. He never leaves you, not for a second. It is hard to see Him at times, because we see and focus on the troubles, the difficulties, the inconveniences, the unknown. But ALL is known to God. He knows. He understands. God loves You.
     Things are opening up. Churches are now having Holy Masses again, some at full capacity, some still at 25%, or 50% or so, but things are beginning to happen. I can actually get a haircut now, not that I have that much to cut, but what I do have grows and I look like a fuzzy peach gone wild!
     And yet the riots and evil of looting, killing, hurting and destroying property have turned into tearing down statues, first of historical leaders and trailblazers, but now holy and religious statues attacking Saints, our dear Blessed Mother, and Jesus Himself on the Holy Cross of salvation! We need to ask the questions: "Why do people do what they do?" "Why do we lash out?" "Why do we hurt one another?" The answer is very clear: Because we have misplaced God in our lives and substituted the Almighty for "our" way, "our" justice. We forget the 10 Commandments, we forget we are all Sisters and Brothers, fellow travelers on this earth trying to make our way and are called by God to LOVE one another as He loves us. We forget to pray and ask for help, patience, and to do God's Will. Where God guides, He provides!
     Bad things happen. But good things happen too. The good far, far exceeds the bad. If we look for trouble, darkness, arguments, we will find them quickly. If we look for the light, the joy, the peace, it is just a prayer away. Why open the door to darkness, when we can open that same door and find light and a peace that the world cannot give? We know that God is more than generous to give us Graces when we ask. So, ASK! God is so pleased when we ask Him.
     Last year in Medjugorje, Sister Briege McKenna, OSC was there at the same time we were there. I have been on retreats with Sister Briege and have met her there many times, and we have spoken and prayed many times together. When I first met her back in the 1990s, I was on retreat with her with many priests in central New York state. She and Father Kevin Scallon gave a retreat for us priests. We certainly miss Father Kevin, God rest his holy soul. She had just recently given a retreat to Pope Saint John Paul II. Can you imagine giving a retreat to the Pope, who was a living Saint and is now a canonized Saint in Heaven? (If anyone could do it, Sister Briege certainly could!) There were about 20 or so of us priests from all over, and Sister wanted to just pray with us individually for a few moments before the retreat began. When it was my turn to go into the little room where Sister was sitting, there were two chairs. Sister was in one, and the other was near Sister for the priest to sit in. When I went in, I greeted Sister and she asked me to please sit down. What happened next changed my life.

Fr. Ray with Sr. Briege in Medjugorje

Fr. Ray with Sr. Briege in Medjugorje

     Sister Briege, at that time, had never met me or seen me. She took my hand and began praying, "Oh Heavenly Father, Loving Jesus and Most Holy Spirit, I pray for this priest who was called by You to serve You and the needs of others..." Suddenly she stopped. Sister held my hand very tightly and in a totally different tone of voice, with her eyes closed, and now my eyes were closed, Sister continued: "I see that you are in a boat, Father, and a terrible storm is all around you. You are rowing as hard as you can, but the storm is too great! Water is coming over the boat and you are so tired but you keep rowing and the storm is getting greater. As you are rowing, I see the Lord Jesus! He is calling to you: 'Raymond, give Me the oars!' You continue to row, and the boat is taking on more water, the storm is overwhelming, and the Lord once again is calling to you: 'Raymond, give Me the oars.' You are so exhausted and now I see that Jesus is in the boat with you! He is there behind you and calls to you: 'Raymond,' and He gently calls to you slowly and lovingly: 'Give Me the oars.'" Sister paused and her eyes were closed tightly, but her grip on my hands was even tighter. Her voice got quieter, gentler, and she said to me: "Jesus is holding on to you tightly behind you, and He says quietly and gently: 'Raymond, let go. Give Me the oars.'" Sister said: "I see that you let go of the oars, and that you fall back into the Arms of Jesus, Who is holding you, as you are exhausted, and you rest in His arms as He hugs you tightly."
     There was complete silence now. Sister Briege then said to me, in a quiet voice, "Father, you are in a very difficult situation in your ministry, and evil is besetting you from all sides! The devil is there trying to trip you up at every corner, and Jesus is here and is telling you to let go, and allow Him now to direct the ship, as you have done all that you can and you have stayed the course."
     I never have had an experience like that before. Sister Briege, as I said, had never seen me before, we never talked and she did NOT know my name, and yet in her "vision" she called me by my name "Raymond". That was God speaking through her. I won't go into the rest of the retreat, just to say it was amazing and I heard God speak to my heart, and both Father Kevin and Sister Briege were strong instruments of God's Hand and Heart! I felt totally energized and on fire with love for God and my priesthood!
     You see, I was Director of a Newman Center at a prominent college. The students were amazing and wonderful. Sunday evenings, I would celebrate Holy Mass for them at 10:00 pm. I had a Vigil Mass on Saturday, mostly adults who came to the Newman Center, and I had a morning Mass, again, mostly adults who came to the Center. The students were typical young adults and NOT morning people. At the 10:00 pm Mass, we would have well over 200 students and more! I had to start an RCIA for those wanting to become Catholic! I ate all my meals at the college with them, and got to know so many by name. They all knew me and called out all over campus, "Hi, Father Ray!" I had my 3-legged dog "Lucky", who was super loved by everyone, and who loved everyone! They came to me day and night for counseling, or just to talk, to ask questions about the Catholic faith and their Church, and to bring troubled friends to help them find their way. They once brought, in the middle of the night, a young man who tried to commit suicide, and we stayed up all night talking on my kitchen floor until dawn, and I drove him and his friends to a mental health facility, and thank God, he worked it all out. His father, I found out when I called him, worked at the College as a policeman, and until he passed away many years later, he sent me a Christmas card each year thanking us for "saving his son's life". We know that God did that! I had the honor to do his son's wedding 5 years later and baptize his first child!

Fr. Ray when he
was younger

Fr. Ray when he was younger

     Most of the adults were fantastic and associated with the college in one way or another, but a small group of the adults were those who left their parishes, or were asked to leave their parishes, and they came there to make it "their own" parish. By this I mean, not in any good way, and certainly not Catholic in any way at all! The priest who was there before me begged me NOT to take the position as director, as they were terrible to him. Again, this was a small group of maybe 15 or 20. But they were powerful and very intimidating. I can get along with anyone, or so I thought! They used their own "Scriptures", where every reference of God was neutered. No longer was God called the "Father", because they said that was sexist. They took away the most beautiful image of God as a personal loving "Father" and referred to Him in a generic role of "Creator". They got rid of all the holy water and the fonts, took away the Crucifix, and at times, against their own "rules", they referred to God in a feminine gender, even to call Him a "goddess". The first thing I did was burn that book, and get the Holy Scriptures back! They hated me for that.
     I worried leaving on my day off to visit my mother and take her shopping and mow her lawn, etc., because when I would come back to the Newman Center, ALL the holy water would be gone, the fonts hidden, the Crucifix I put up was missing, my vestments were missing, and worst of all, the Blessed Sacrament was missing from the Tabernacle! They would take the Most Blessed Sacrament when I was gone and, I agonize when I remember all this, they would throw the Blessed Sacrament out for the birds to eat! They said that Christ Jesus was only Present when the people were there, and when the people left, Jesus was not present and it was just bread. I had to hide the Blessed Sacrament from them! They would come up to Holy Communion with one hand out for the Blessed Sacrament, while the other hand held a cup of coffee!!!! This was at Holy Mass! I told them I would refuse them and they need to fast at least 1 hour before the reception of Communion. This is all true, and I faced this every week! I told them they were NOT to have any coffee at Holy Mass. They hated me for this. Can you even imagine this? I had to deal with this for 3 years, and got no support from my diocese. They didn't believe all that was going on. But, who would?? I had a hard time believing any of this was going on. It was evil and un- Godly.
     Now you can see what I was facing and how it was revealed to Sister Briege that after 3 years there, trying to make it Catholic and doing the same things, I could do no more, and I did all that I could. By the will of God, I was offered two beautiful parishes that I just loved–very holy and Catholic people–and we all thanked God, for He put a Religious Order priest in at the Newman Center. When the adults called to complain and get the priest in trouble, as they did weekly with me, he would tell them to call his Order's Provincial, and as he was in another state, the Provincial would tell them if they didn't like it, to leave. God knows what to do and when to do it. Give Him the oars!
     We have to want God's way and not our way! We have to pray and ask for guidance from God. Pray to your Guardian Angel. I said before that all we have been going through is a Test from God, and an opportunity! Jesus did things His Father's way. "Not my will, but Your Will be done," Jesus prayed. Can we pray like Jesus did? Will we pray like Jesus did?
     Christians are called such because they are "Christ-Like". To be Christ-Like we have to bear crosses in this life, but they are not punishments, they are pillars to strengthen us. They show us what we really and truly are made of, and what is truly in our hearts. They show us God is with us, and we can undergo every sort of trial in this life, and come out stronger, happier and holier!
     
     I couldn't even begin to tell you all the students who asked me to perform their weddings, baptize their children, from near and far. I keep in touch with so many of them. They are all regular church-goers and live good Catholic lives. The students saw, as the disciples saw in Jesus, the beauty of God and His ways!
     We all go through dark times. But God is there to lead us into His light of holiness and goodness and peace. Don't walk in anyone else's darkness, but let them walk in your light! God calls you to be a light for others, and others to be a light for you! Remember, when bad times come, sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms His child in the storm. Let go of the oars. Give God the oars. I love you all and pray for you each day in all my Holy Prayers and in all my daily Holy Masses. I surround you and all you love in Holy Prayer.
     In Jesus and Mary, our Mother,
     ~Father Ray 🙂


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