St. Paul

By June Klins

    Last June Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed this the year of St. Paul. The following month when Redemptorist priest Fr. John Murray spoke at our annual St. Ann Novena, he used as his theme the life and writings of St. Paul. I would like to share some of the highlights that compare to Our Lady’s messages.

   St. Paul was born about the year 8 A.D. in Tarsus. He lived there till he was 13 and then he went to Jerusalem to study, and when he was done with his studies he was designated to be a Pharisee. Paul was about 26 years old when he had his conversion experience. After his conversion he spent 3 years doing penance for his past sins. (Does not Our Lady ask us to penance?)

   St. Paul is best known for his letters which take up more than half of the New Testament, and are the oldest writings in the New Testament. Although St. Paul was small in stature, he had a strong personality and was very passionate. His mission was not to baptize, but to preach. He was the greatest evangelist of all times. Although St. Paul never witnessed the life of Jesus, he called himself an “apostle” and used the word “apostle” 56 times in his letters. He has been dubbed “the apostle to the Gentiles.” At that time Gentiles were not allowed in the temple, but were permitted in the synagogue, so that is where he preached. Fr. John said that we are called to witness what God has done in our lives (likewise, Our Lady has asked us many times to witness), but like Paul we should go to “fertile ground” and not to just anyone.

   Paul saw himself as a Christian Jew who had met Jesus. He converted from his Pharisee attitude, in which it was thought holiness could be earned. In his conversion experience Paul realized that he had done nothing to merit it, and the focus of his theology after that became grace, a gift which cannot be earned or merited. Paul saw everything as God’s gift and would praise and thank God. The fact that grace builds on nature is an axiom of theology. Grace fulfills us and completes us, and never suppresses us. Self-fulfillment is about cooperating with God’s grace. Grace is recognizing God acting in your life 24 hours a day. Sometimes God comes to us through other people, especially those in need and those who love us. Grace always comes as a response to prayer. (Is that why Our Lady tells us to pray, pray, pray?) Grace can be targeted too, for example, you can say a little prayer when being tempted to gossip, and then cooperate with that grace.

   Fr. John said that St. Paul can teach us much through his conversion story. So significant is it, that his conversion story is told four times in the Scriptures. The Church even sets aside a day every year to remember St. Paul’s conversion, January 25, which also just happens to be “Medjugorje message day.”  Father said that a conversion experience is an experience of loving forgiveness, often experienced in a special way in Confession. Father said that conversion is a lifelong process. (Have we not heard the visionaries tell us that?)

   Father said that in any conversion, like in Paul’s, God takes the first step. It is up to the person to recognize the grace and respond and cooperate with that grace. Herod chose to refuse the grace, and we do the same thing when we respond a little bit or miss it altogether.

   Paul’s conversion was a “metanoia,” a Greek word which means to change your life, to change your way of thinking. (This is what Our Lady asks us to do too – a conversion of heart.) This is opposed to the Greek word “paranoia,” which means to be obsessed with fear. Paul put aside his fear, in following Jesus, who says 33 times in the Gospels “fear not.”

Fear is the opposite of trust. Conversion is not so much about changing your behavior, but learning to trust God.

   St. Paul wrote twelve letters with his name attached to them, and most of them dealt with problems of the communities to whom he was writing. The only letter that does not deal with problems is his letter to the Philippians. This was a letter of gratitude. Paul is the most consistent model of gratitude in the Bible. We can learn much from him. We should count our blessings, starting with our families, and thank God for everything. We should even thank God for the difficult people in our lives. One of the keys to holiness is to slow down and be grateful for our blessings.

   During this year of St. Paul, it would be a good time to read his letters, in fulfillment of Our Lady’s request to spend time daily in reading the Scriptures. St. Paul, please intercede for us in our conversion of heart.

We felt that the following article will help clear up some questions we have been asked in the past few months. Dr. Mark Miravalle’s talk “Is Medjugorje Real?” will be continued in the next issue.

Priests Need Your Prayers, Your Love and Your Help

By Sr. Emmanuel

  As many of you are aware,after Rome suspended Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, the media attempted to damage Medjugorje by associating it with his mistakes.  However, after some time, they’ve slowed down their attack. In fact, linking the fate of Father Vlasic with the fate of Medjugorje so dangerously misconstrued the situation that the media lost much of their credibility in the process.  The interview of Fr.  Ivan Sesar, the Franciscan Provincial of Mostar, has clarified many essential points in the debate. 

   It is obvious to the righteous hearts in search of truth that there has been no official link between Father Vlasic and the parish of Medjugorje since 1987, when the teachings of Fr. Vlasic began to exhibit theological errors.  Along with Agnes Heuspel, a woman from Germany, Fr. Vlasic founded a community in Medjugorje.  Later, he relocated it to Italy.  Little by little, it seems that Father’s discernment was blinded: it was not the Shepherd leading the sheep but the sheep leading the Shepherd.  For him, the ‘inner locutions’ that this woman from Germany claimed to receive became rapidly a stumbling block and, as he did not wish to let go of her locutions  or the community, (regardless of the insistent warnings of his brother priests), he was slowly led into the tragedy that we see today. It is important to underline here two points that will help us understand:

   When a mystical phenomenon appears in the Church, the classical response from the evil one is to create confusion so as to annihilate it. This is how a great number of false mystics surface.  There are many famous cases surrounding Lourdes, Fatima and other approved apparition sites.  Medjugorje is not immune to this phenomenon.

   On the other hand, when a believer receives inner locutions, it is absolutely essential that these events be assessed by someone competent in the Church. In fact, nobody can be at the same time the receiver and the interpreter of what he receives, and even less the one who imposes what he has received on others. A third party must do that for him, and must distance himself prudently in order to escape the enemy’s trap. The tree is not to judge the value of its own fruits, but the gardener. Here obedience is key, as well as humility.  Satan will never defeat someone who is obedient!  The Church’s wisdom and the mystics have affirmed this process. In the case we are looking at today, the ‘locutionist’ had become the leader, and her words were becoming law above the prudent pastoral guidance expressed by the Franciscan superiors.  Here lies the first mistake, and it is so common nowadays! In some prayer groups for example, some messages impose themselves on the community as direct, unavoidable revelations from God through the person receiving them. Without the safety net of the Church, it is no wonder that all sorts of deviant behaviors ensue, especially in the domain of morals, and we may end up crediting God with saying things that are objectively contrary to the Gospel.

   As for Medjugorje, it is far from being condemned.  On the contrary, it seems that the perspective from the Holy See is positive. On September 16th, when the waves of scandals against Medjugorje were inundating the media, the visionary Ivan Dragicevic was invited to participate in an evening of prayer in the big Cathedral St. Stephen in Vienna (Austria), where thousands of faithful attended!  At 6:40 PM he received his daily apparition of Our Lady while a deep silence enveloped the church!  This event speaks for itself.  On the other hand, it is highly possible that in the near future, Rome makes known some changes of its new commission for Medjugorje which should give some new direction for the life of the parish in Medjugorje. Fr. Ivan Sesar said last month, “We are ready to welcome a new commission for Medjugorje.”   

   Let’s act!  Each one of us is free to believe or not believe that Mary appears in Medjugorje, and even the visionaries express a deep detachment about it, “I am telling you what I see, and you are free to do what you please with it”, they answer, smiling to whoever states he doesn’t believe in these apparitions.  But if a priest of Jesus Christ is hit in his priestly ministry because of a failure, no one can consider himself as detached, even less can he rejoice at this tragedy.  A priest remains a priest for Eternity, and his being put aside from his ministry is a deep suffering for Christ and for His body of which we are members.  This is why, rather than dwelling on this sad story, I wish to propose a concrete action for us: since we will celebrate Fr. Slavko’s birth into Heaven on November 24th, let’s start a 30-day novena to him, starting on October 24^th [since it is too late for that now, you can start it anytime], for the sake of Fr. Vlasic and those who are still following him!  Let’s also extend this prayer to our favorite Franciscan saints: St. Francis, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Padre Pio, the 30 martyrs of Siroki Brijeg, etc… Doing so, we will actively help Jesus heal His Church, Her most beloved sons, all priests, and in a particular way, Her son Tomislav, our brother! What sort of novena?  We can choose by our own effort, but let’s unite in a common decision, namely to say a spontaneous prayer each day, from the heart, to those Franciscan saints named above, and let’s offer Our Lady at least a decade of the Rosary for this intention.  As a sacrifice, let’s have at least one Mass celebrated. The Mother of God said to Mirjana, “Priests do not need your judgments, rather your prayer, your love and your help! Priests are also human beings, and today it is difficult for a priest to remain faithful.  May your pastors be in your hearts and in your prayers.” O Mother of the High Priest and of all the priests, please intercede with us for the sanctity of the priests, and give us many holy priests!

                                                                                        Children of Medjugorje, www.childrenofmedjugorje.com (10/15/08)

Mirjana’s Message, December 2, 2008

"Dear children! In this holy time of joyful expectation, God has chosen you, the little ones, to realize His great intentions. My children, be humble. Through your humility, with His wisdom, God will make of your souls a chosen home. You will illuminate it with good works and thus, with an open heart, you will welcome the birth of my Son in all of His generous love. Thank you dear children."

Thanks to Pat Berrier, Barb Sirianni, Diane Yochim, Louise Lotze, Vilma Smith, Cindy Bielanin, Marge Spase and Dawn Schaaf for help with the December mailing.  Thanks to Anne O’Leary, Louise Lotze, Joel Vidonish , Mike Golovich and Johannes Dittrich for their photos this month. And thanks to Tillie Ann Kotsko for sending us Kateri Biggers’ painting, which we used for our Hail Mary card. The cards were blessed by a priest and touched to a first class relic of St. Anthony. To receive one of the cards to give away to someone to bring them back to the faith, please send us a self-addressed stamped envelope.