Medjugorje anniversary messages 2010

Dear children! With joy, I call you all to live my messages with joy; only in this way, little children, will you be able to be closer to my Son. I desire to lead you all only to him, and in him you will find true peace and the joy of your heart. I bless you all and love you with immeasurable love. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message given to Marija, June 25, 2010

• photo © Emzed

On the same day, the visionary Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez received her annual apparition, promised to her by Our Lady when she confided the 10th secret to Ivanka during her last daily apparition on May 7, 1985.

The apparition, which lasted six minutes, took place at Ivanka’s family home. Only Ivanka’s family was present at the apparition. After the apparition, Ivanka said: “Our Lady spoke to me about the fifth secret and, at the end, said: Dear children, receive my motherly blessing.”

Medjugorje Peace Walk

The 19th annual Medjugorje Peace Walk took place today. It started out at 6.00am from the Shrine of St Anthony in Humac and finished in front of St James church in Medjugorje four hours later.

This year the visionary Ivanka Elez joined the walk and later on Marija Lunetti gave her testimony to pilgrims in Medjugorje.

• photos © EMZED

Benedict outlines duties of a bishoip

The following comments of Pope Benedict XVI are reported by zenit.org

Vatican City, June 21, 2010.

As teachers of the faith, bishops have the task of presenting the truth to the faithful, and of helping them to discover the joy of being loved by God, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this Saturday upon receiving in audience the bishops of Eastern Region II of the Brazilian episcopal conference, at the conclusion of their five-yearly "ad limina" visit.

"In as much as teachers and doctors of the faith," he said, "you have the mission to teach with audacity the truth that must be believed and lived, presenting it in an authentic way."

"Therefore, help the faithful entrusted to your pastoral care to discover the joy of the faith, the joy of being loved personally by God, who offered His Son for our salvation," the Pontiff added.

He continued: "To believe consists above all in abandoning oneself to this God who knows and loves us personally, accepting the truth that he revealed in Jesus Christ with the attitude that leads us to trust in grace.

"Be able to infuse this trust in your people, so that the faith is always protected, defended and transmitted in its purity and integrity."

Benedict XVI said that bishops are the "administrators of the supreme priesthood," and that they "must truly make the liturgy an epiphany of the mystery, that is, expression of the genuine nature of the Church, which actively offers worship to God through Christ in the Holy Spirit."

Additionally, the Pontiff noted the "responsibility of the celebration of the Eucharist," stressing the importance of providing it "so that the faithful can access the Lord's table, especially on Sunday," and the need to "be promoters and animators of prayer in the human city, often agitated, noisy and forgetful of God."

"You must create places and occasions where, in silence, in listening to God, in personal and community prayer, man can find and have a living experience of Jesus Christ who reveals the authentic face of the Father," he said. "It is necessary that parishes and shrines, realms of education and suffering, families, become places of communion with the Lord."

The Pope also asked the prelates "to promote the participation of all the faithful in the building of the Church, governing with the heart of a humble servant and affectionate pastors, looking to the glory of God and the salvation of souls."

In virtue of the task of governance, he said, the bishop is "also called to judge and discipline the life of the people of God entrusted to his pastoral care, through laws, directives and suggestions, as established in the universal discipline of the Church."

This "right and duty" is very important, he added, "so that the diocesan community will remain united in its interior and walk in sincere communion of faith, love and discipline with the Bishop of Rome and with the whole Church."

"Hence, do not tire of nourishing in the faithful the sense of belonging to the Church and the joy of fraternal communion," he exhorted.

The Holy Father added that the bishop's governance will be fruitful pastorally "only if it enjoys the support of good moral credibility, which stems from the holiness of his life."

"Moulded interiorly by the Holy Spirit, may each one of you come to be 'everything for everyone,' proposing the truth of the faith, celebrating the sacraments of our sanctification and giving witness of the Lord's charity," he added.

"Receive with open heart all those who call at your door," the Holy Father concluded. "Counsel them, comfort them and support them on the path of God, seeking to guide all of them to that unity in the faith and in love of which, by the will of the Lord, you must be visible principle and basis in your dioceses."

Late post

I shan’t be able to post Our Lady’s anniversary message until the following day, June 26.

Rome calls.

Medjugorje Anniversary, evening of prayer...

29th Medjugorje Anniversary Evening of Prayer
Thursday June 24, 2010 starting 7.30pm
at Christ the Prince of Peace Catholic Church
Portmore Way, Weybridge, Surrey, UK.

Holy Mass, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Special Blessing, Divine Praises.

A spirit of kindness and prayer...

It is the Lord who speaks: “Over the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem I will pour out a spirit of kindness and prayer. They will look on the one who they have pierced... when that day comes a fountain will be opened for the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem, for sin and impurity.
Zechariah 12 : 10, 13

Dear children! Today I invite you to open yourselves to God by means of prayer so the Holy Spirit may begin to work miracles in you and through you. I am with you and I intercede before God for each one of you because, dear children, each one of you is important in my plan of salvation. I invite you to be carriers of good and peace. God can give you peace only if you convert and pray. Therefore, my dear little children, pray, pray, pray and do that which the Holy Spirit inspires you. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, May 25, 1993

Listening to the messages

God sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but when these gave their message, they would not listen.
2 Chronicles 24 : 19

Dear children! I desire to lead you, but you do not wish to listen to my messages. Today I am calling you to listen to the messages and then you will be able to live everything which God tells me to convey to you. Open yourselves to God and God will work through you and keep on giving you everything you need. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje Message, July 25, 1985

Trust in Providence

In one of her early messages to the Medjugorje visionaries Our Lady said: “Each Thursday, read the passage of Matthew’s gospel, 6 : 24-34 ...”

That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are? Matthew 6 : 25-27

• The above photo of a mother feeding her chick was taken outside St James’ church during a homily about Our Lady’s love for her children.

Today... apparition live from Medjugorje...

Greetings from Medjugorje! Today, June 18, at 10pm Medjugorje time (4pm Eastern Time in the USA), the visionary Ivan will experience an apparition of the Virgin Mary on Apparition Hill.

You can watch Apparition Hill live on the Medjugorje Webcam. People are already beginning to climb the hill in anticipation of the apparition, and you will see their flashlights after the sun goes down here.

When the apparition begins, please stay tuned to the webcam and join us in prayer.

Medjugorje Webcam
http://www.medjugorjevideo.com/webcam/bigcam.html

Hollywood wedding in Medjugorje

Hollywood actor Jim Caviezel and his wife Kerry were back in Medjugorje last week along with the family of American film producer Stephen McEveety whose daughter got married in Široki Brijeg last Saturday. McEveety has produced a string of successful films, including The Passion of Christ and Braveheart.

Treasured hearts

For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.
Matthew 6 : 21

• Last week the Church celebrated the feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary – two hearts enjoined, Mother and Son, and each other’s treasure. The wonderful truth is that Jesus and Mary are our treasure also, and we theirs.

The Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary provide all the riches we will ever need, and this is why Jesus also tells us that we should never worry about our life, what we are to eat, nor about our body and how we are to clothe it. He says that we should set our hearts on the Father’s kingdom first, then all our needs be met, and more.

And we are invited to share this providential source, this treasure, with others – all that we are provided, all that we are. In this way we also become a treasure to each other.

Peace is a treasure we all seek: peace in our hearts, in our families and in our communities. Our Lady considers peace as one of the most important treasures to have in our heart but she says that to receive this peace then we must pray for it and when we are given the peace that only God can give we in turn should give witness to this treasure.

Peace in our hearts… what a wonderful treasure to be able to ask for and receive!

Dear children! Today I call you all to pray for peace and to witness it in your families so that peace may become the highest treasure on this peaceless earth. I am your Queen of Peace and your mother. I desire to lead you on the way of peace, which comes only from God. Therefore, pray, pray, pray. Thank you for having responded to my call. April 25, 2009

For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling:
“This is my resting-place for ever,
here I have chosen to live.”
Psalm 131

Medjugorje moments... 2

“Light a candle in Medjugorje, let the flame forever burn…”
so sang Michael Conti, composer of many lovely Medjugorje songs.

It is no secret that millions of hearts have been set alight in Medjugorje, inflamed with the wonderful blessings of the Holy Spirit so generously poured out in this small, Herzegovinian village where Our Lady has been appearing for the past 29 years.

The above image is representative of a heart set on fire when drenched by the wonderful outpouring of grace from heaven, given and received so abundantly at Medjugorje.

You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
And so you provide for the earth;
you drench it furrows,
you level it, soften it with showers,
you bless its growth.
You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
The hills are girded with joy.
Psalm 64

I wish all of you to be the light for everyone and that you give witness in the light. Dear children, you are not called to the darkness, but you are called to the light. Therefore, live the light with your own life. Thank you for having responded to my call. part Medjugorje message, June 5, 1986

Start of Medjugorje parish novena

The parish of Medjugorje began a nine-day Rosary novena yesterday to prepare for the 29th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions (celebrated on June 25) and in thanksgiving for the many graces received. The Rosary novena will be prayed everyday at 4.00pm on Apparition Hill.

Consecration to the Two Hearts

Dear children, My invitation that you live the messages which I am giving you is a daily one, specially, little children, because I want to draw you closer to the Heart of Jesus. Therefore, little children, I am inviting you today to the prayer of consecration to Jesus, my dear Son, so that each of you may be His. And then I am inviting you to the consecration of my Immaculate Heart. I want you to consecrate yourselves as parents, as families and as parishioners so that all belong to God through my heart. Therefore, little children, pray that you comprehend the greatness of this message which I am giving you. I do not want anything for myself, rather all for the salvation of your soul. Satan is strong and therefore, you, little children, by constant prayer, press tightly against my motherly heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.
October 25, 1988

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most loving Jesus, when I consider your heart and see it full of mercy and tenderness, my own heart if filled with joy and confidence that I should be so kindly welcomed by you.

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light. Matthew 11 : 3-30

Dear children, I invite you to open the door of your heart to Jesus as the flower opens itself to the sun. Jesus desires to fill your hearts with peace and joy. part message, January 25, 1995

Medjugorje moments... 1

Two hours into a mid-October afternoon and a gentle breeze caresses the wooden cross attached to a broken string of simple wooden beads, lovingly threaded to the polished steel frame that surrounds the statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace. A prayerful offering from a sharing heart, restored and strengthened on the Hill of Apparitions. Two hearts entwined – forever.

Pray for our priests...

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.
Luke 4 : 18-19

Dear children! Today I call you to look into your hearts sincerely and for a long time. What will you see in them? Where is my Son in them and where is the desire to follow me to him? My children, may this time of renunciation be a time when you will ask yourself: “What does my God desire of me personally? What am I to do?” Pray, fast and have a heart full of mercy. Do not forget your shepherds. Pray that they may not get lost, that they may remain in my Son so as to be good shepherds to their flock.
Medjugorje message, March 18,2009

Pray for priests. There is no confession without the priest. It is God himself who forgives sins through the priest. The priest is the sign that God has not abandoned his people. We need holy priests. Pray for your confessor. Fr Jozo Zovko ofm

Give my love to others...

During one of the apparitions, the visionary Marija asked: “Blessed Virgin, do you have something specific for me?”

The answer was, “Yes, I have. I give you my love so that you may give it to others.”

If in these days we are without peace, without love, without reconciliation, this means we have not opened our hands.

Fr Slavko Barbaric OFM

The Fire of Love

King Ahab called all Israel together and assembled the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Elijah stepped out in front of all the people. “How long” he said “do you mean to hobble first on one leg then on the other? If the Lord is God, follow him, if Baal, follow him” But the people never said a word. Elijah then said to them, “I, I alone, am left as a prophet of the Lord, while the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty.” 1 Kings 18 : 20-22

“I have come to you with open arms in order to take you into my embrace, under my mantle. I cannot do so as long as your heart is filled with false glitters and false idols. Clean your heart and allow my angels to sing in it! At that time I will take you under my mantle and I will give you my Son – true peace and happiness. Do not wait, my children! I thank you! ” Medjugorje message, August 2, 2005

• The light that Our Lady calls on us to accept in her latest message to Mirjana on June 2, is not the glittering false light offered by the world today, the false idols we are tempted to worship as did the prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah, but the light of the Holy Spirit instead.

In their false belief the prophets of Baal called on the name of their god to bring down fire on their sacrifice as they performed a hobbling dance around the altar raised to honour their idols.

But the fire never came. The fire of the Holy Spirit finds no home in those who worship false gods. But when Elijah called on God, his prayer was heard. His sacrifice, his offering, his faith and belief, was set on fire and consumed by the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 Kings 18 : 20-39

The Sacrifice set ablaze by love...

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! Luke 12 : 49

Dear children! Also today I call all of you for your hearts to blaze with more ardent love for the Crucified, and do not forget that, out of love for you, he gave his life so that you may be saved. Little children, meditate and pray that your heart may be open to God’s love. Thank you for having responded to my call. November 25, 2007

Accept the light...

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No-one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5 : 14-16

Dear children, today I call you, with fasting and prayer, to clear the way by which my Son will enter into your hearts. Accept me as a mother and a messenger of God’s love and of His desire for your salvation. Free yourself of everything from the past which burdens you and gives you a sense of guilt; of everything that brought you to error - darkness. Accept the light. Be born anew in the justice of my Son. Thank you. Medjugorje message, June 2, 2010

Dear children! Today I invite you to open yourselves to God the Creator, so that he changes you. Little children, you are dear to me. I love you all and I call you to be closer to me and that your love towards my Immaculate Heart be more fervent. I wish to renew you and lead you with my heart to the heart of Jesus, which still today suffers for you and calls you to conversion and renewal. Through you, I wish to renew the world. Comprehend, little children, that you are today the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Little children, I invite you and I love you and in a special way implore: Convert! Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje message, October 25, 1996

A ‘Year for Reconciliation’?

It was June 19, 2009, that Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests.

What is to follow? Perhaps a year set aside for promoting the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation?

Benedict’s pontifical mission is one of reconciliation.

Love for the Father

Be of just and innocent heart that I may lead you to your Father...
part Medjugorje message, March 18, 1996

Each one of you shall become in simplicity, similar to a child who is open to the love of the Father.
part Medjugorje message, July 25, 1996

If your hearts are open to the Father and if they are full of love toward him, then why any fear of what is to come?
part Medjugorje message, March 18, 1995

I am your Mother and I always want you to be closer to the Father and that He will always give abundant gifts to your hearts.
part Medjugorje message, January 31, 1985

Dear children, these are the days in which the Father grants special graces to all who open their hearts.
part Medjugorje message, December 25, 1986

Faith... Hope... and Love

In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13 : 13

FAITH...
Dear children! Also today I call you to pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes life for you. Little children, at this time, in a special way, I pray before God to give you the gift of faith. Only in faith will you discover the joy of the gift of life that God has given you. Your heart will be joyful thinking of eternity. I am with you and love you with a tender love. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Medjugorje message, November 25, 2005

HOPE...
Dear children! Also today I call you to pray for peace. Pray with the heart, little children, and do not lose hope because God loves His creatures. He desires to save you, one by one, through my coming here. I call you to the way of holiness. Pray, and in prayer you are open to God's will; in this way, in everything you do, you realise God's plan in you and through you. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Medjugorje message, March 25, 2003

LOVE...
Dear children! Today also I am calling you to live and follow with a special love all the messages which I am giving you. Dear children, God does not want you lukewarm and undecided, but that you totally surrender to Him. You know that I love you and that out of love I long for you. Therefore, dear children, you also decide for love so that you will long for and daily experience God's love. Dear children, decide for love so that love prevails in all of you, but not human love, rather God's love. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Medjugorje message, November 20, 1986

Help from the Lord...

I lift up my eyes to the mountains:
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 120 : 1

Dear children, I am with you and I desire to help each of you to live and by living, to witness the good news. I am here, dear children, to help you and to lead you to heaven, and in heaven is the joy through which you can already live heaven now. Thank you for having responded to my call!
part Medjugorje message, May 25, 1991

Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only goal of our labours. St Therese of the Child Jesus

The Body and Blood of Christ

The Lord fed his people with the finest wheat and honey;
their hunger was satisfied.

Accepting the light...

“...of everything that brought you to error – darkness. Accept the light. Be born anew in the justice (righteousness) of my Son.”
part Medjugorje message, June 2, 2010

You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Ephesians 5 : 7-9

When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: “I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life. John 8 : 12

There are times when the light vanishes behind darkening clouds; then comes the wind, sweeping them away, and brightness spreads from the north. Job 37 : 21

I have sinned and left the path of right, but God has not punished me as my sin deserved. He has spared my soul from going down into the pit, and is allowing my life to continue in the light. All this God does again and yet again for man, rescuing his soul from the pit, and letting the light of life shine bright on him. Job 33 : 27-30

Closing of the Year for Priests

A letter from Fr Patrick

Dear Friends in Christ: Greetings and Peace in the Name of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

I send the following important announcement concerning the Closing of the Year for Priests.

I invite your prayer for priests, especially during these three important days in Rome.

The Vatican Congregation for the Clergy has announced that Pope Benedict XVI plans to close the Year for Priests by inviting every Catholic priest Catholic priest to join him in Rome from 9-11 June 2010.

Every Catholic priest in the world, of whom there are around 407,000, is invited to the meeting, which will have the theme of “Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of the Priest.”

The programme, announced by the Congregation for the Clergy, indicates that the first day of the gathering will take place at the Basilica of Saint Paul-Outside-the-Walls and will have as theme "Conversion and Mission." The activities will include prayer, a conference to discuss the subject, Eucharist adoration, an opportunity for Confession and a Mass.

On day two, June 10, the theme will be “Cenacle, invocation to the Holy Spirit with Mary, in fraternal communion.” The venue for the morning reflections will be the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, while in the evening a "priestly vigil" will be held at Saint Peter's Basilica.

The vigil will consist of priests offering their testimonies, singing and adoration of the Eucharist. Pope Benedict XVI will be present at the vigil and will greet the priests.

The Year for Priests will be brought to a close on Friday, 11 June, which is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Benedict will preside over a Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica to conclude the Year for Priests.

The final day of the meeting will have “With Peter, in ecclesial communion” as its theme.

Thank you kindly for your prayer, concern and love for Priests.

Sincerely in the Lord, Father Patrick

Accept me as a mother...

Accept me… as a mother… as a messenger of God’s love… accept the light…

We all seek acceptance in life… of who we are, our worth, our value and place in our families and society. Non-acceptance and even rejection is the root of much of the tragedy we see in today’s world. So often we fail to see the Jesus in others.

Should we be surprised when we remember that Jesus was despised and rejected by many in his time on earth – and still is.

In the message of Our Lady given to Mirjana yesterday we are twice presented with the word “accept”. “Accept me… as a mother… as a messenger of God’s love… accept the light…”

It is not the first time that our Blessed Mother has called us to “accept”. More often she invites us to accept the messages, and live them, especially her call to prayer and conversion. She must have her reasons for this. Yesterday, she emphasised her desire for us to accept her as a mother. Is not a mother an expression of God’s great love for his children? It is not easy to reject a mother’s love, but it can sometimes be taken for granted.

A mother wants only the best for her children. We are told that a mother always knows best. And how true this is especially in the case of our Blessed Mother. She knows what is best for everyone of us. This is why she says, “Accept the light.”

This is why she has said on another occasion, “Today I extend my hands towards you. Do not be afraid to accept them.”

This is why she has said previously, “Accept the love of my Son and erase fear, pain and suffering and disappointment for your heart.”

This is why she calls us to leave sin and to “accept prayer at all times, so that you may in prayer come to know the meaning of your life.”

This is why she tells us that if we pray then we will “be able to accept others with love and to forgive those who have done evil against you.”

This is why she invites us to “pray that you may be able to accept sickness and suffering with love, the way Jesus accepted them.”

Acceptance is a key that turns the lock on a closed heart and opens the door to God’s grace, to be born anew, to be right with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in all our ways; to allow and accept the Lord into our heart, the domain that truly belongs to him, and so accept the power to really become children of God.

And there are those who hear the word and accept it, and yield a harvest, thirty and sixty, and a hundredfold. Mark 4 : 20

June 2 message to Mirjana

Dear children, today I call you, with fasting and prayer, to clear the way by which my Son will enter into your hearts. Accept me as a mother and a messenger of God’s love and of his desire for your salvation. Free yourself of everything from the past which burdens you and gives you a sense of guilt; of everything that brought you to error – darkness. Accept the light. Be born anew in the justice of my Son. Thank you. Medjugorje message, June 2, 2010

I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon. Isaiah 42 : 6-7

When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Galatians 5 : 1

At last I admitted to you I had sinned; no longer concealing my guilt, I said, “I will go the the Lord and confess my fault.” And you, you have forgiven the wrong I did, have pardoned my sin. Psalm 32 : 5

The Lord God says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so I shall keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. Ezekiel 34 : 11-12

• Accepting the light... comment

• Accept me as a mother... comment

• listen to Fr Neil’s audio commentary on this message to Mirjana.

Loving hands

Like the eyes of a servant on the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy. Psalm 122 : 2

Pray and let the rosary always be in your hand as a sign to satan that you belong to me. Thank you for having responded to my call.
part message, February 25, 1988

Dear children! Today I come to you with a motherly desire for you to give me your hearts. My children, do this with complete trust and without fear. In your hearts, I will put my Son and his mercy. Then, my children, you will look at the world around you with different eyes. You will see your neighbour. You will feel his pain and suffering. You will not turn your head away from those who suffer, because my Son turns his head away from those who do so. Children, do not hesitate. Medjugorje message, May 2, 2007

Marija in Spain

The Medjugorje visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti travelled to Spain for three days at the end of May giving her testimony and witness to thousands of people in three cities, Barcelona, Madrid and Seville.

Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez, the first of the Medjugorje visionaries to see Our Lady, visited the U.S. last month to witness at two Marian Conferences.

Mary is the Mother of Missionaries

Medjugorje prayer card available once more...

Later this week I shall be taking delivery of another printed batch of The Mother Who Loves Me prayer card. The prayer is a five-decade litany incorporating phrases from Our Lady’s messages.

If anyone would like copies sent to them (they are free!) just EMAIL me for further details with your postal address, stating how many copies your would like.

• To date, 85,000 copies have been distributed.

Some responses...

• Thank you for the gift of 3 Medjugorje Prayer Cards. This was very significant for us because on Saturday we had a statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje erected in our Peace Garden and your gift was for us a very personal touch from Our Blessed Lady. God bless you and your ministry. – Sr Patricia

• Would you like send any cards to Poland? My wife and I are waiting for our child, but still waiting. I think that it will be nice pray to Mary in this intention. If you may send us 5 prayer cards to us and I share them also with my parents and sister.
God bless you! – Sebastian

• I am a school chaplain and wondered whether you could send me some copies of the prayer card for children at school. – Louise

• Would you mind sending 25 prayer cards to me? I have made 25 rosaries and I would like to include a prayer card with each rosary I give away. Thank you so much. – Lucy

• Please send ten of the new prayer cards. There is a weekly Adoration at which I would like to leave some copies. – Carol

• Someone recently gave me one of these cards and it's beautiful. I don't know if you send them to America, but if you do may I request 50 from you? – Yes we do, Deb!

• Would it be possible to send me twenty of these lovely litany cards, as I would like to distribute them to interested friends and work colleagues? – Gillian

• I would like to have 50 copies for my prayer group and to give to those who come to Adoration at our church. – Perri

• Thank you so much for sending me the beautiful prayer cards. I am giving them out at my Charismatic prayer meeting tonight. What a blessing to be able to share some wonderful memories of my pilgrimage to Medjugorje last July! – Mary

• We will be havving a celebration for the Anniversary of Our Lady's Apparitions in Medjugorje on 25th June. (of course) Could you please send me 200 copies of the litany? – John

• Can you send me 500? We have a big congregation. – Inmate, British prison.

• Hi, I have just returned from a very blessed pilgrimage to Medjugorje. On our last evening a Canadian friend gave us a copy of the prayer card and told us what a great effect it had had on her Canadian pilgrims (lots of tears!!) Our group said the litany yesterday morning as we said farewell to Medjugorje and it was a beautiful time of prayer. I have promised to try to get hold of the cards for our prayer group in Liverpool. Could you possibly send me 100 copies please. It's a wonderful, powerful prayer that I feel should be promoted and it will be a privilege to help. – Helen.

• Hi, I have given out the 20 prayer cards you sent to me and people love them! I can keep passing them out to prayer group members and and my Marian Community if you send more. If you can send another 50 I can easily find people who would love to have one! Thanks, and may God bless you and Our Lady protect you! – Maureen

• On the 22nd of June I will go to Ireland for 3 days to a Charismatic Conference in Athlone. There will be at least 1000 participants. So maybe I can have 1500 for that occasion; plus 500 if you want to give to the prayer group I go to. – GS

• Would you mind sending 10 prayer cards to me? I will be sharing about Medjugorje to the Catholic Indonesian community in Phoenix, AZ. There are about 20 of us, hopefully the message will be well-received.– Priska

• Thank you so much Brendan! I received 15 BEAUTIFUL prayer cards and was able to share them tonight at Eucharistic Adoration with some friends. – Eileen

• Thank you so so much for the cards of the litany of the Blessed Mother people loved it, can you send me 25 more cards. – Margarita

Mother of Missionaries

MARY IS THE MOTHER OF MISSIONARIES, SAYS POPE
Reflects on Mystery of Visitation at Prayer Vigil
Vatican City, June 1, 2010 (Zenit.org).

Christians are asked to go beyond their comfort zone to bring Christ to others, and it is Mary who is their companion and “solicitous mother” in their missionary endeavors, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this Monday evening in the Vatican Gardens at a traditional Marian celebration to conclude the month of May. After a procession and recitation of the rosary, pilgrims gathered at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to hear the Holy Father's meditation on the mystery of the Visitation.

“In the Virgin Mary who goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, we recognize the most limpid example and the truest meaning of our journey of believers and the journey of the Church herself,” the Pontiff said. "The Church is missionary by nature; she is called to proclaim the Gospel everywhere and always, to transmit the faith to every man and woman, and to every culture.”

“Mary's is an authentic missionary journey,” the Holy Father continued. “It is a journey that takes her far from home, drives her to the world, to places that are foreign to her daily customs, makes her reach, in a certain sense, the limits of what she could reach.

“Herein lies, also for us, the secret of our lives as individuals and as Christians. [...] We are asked to come out of ourselves, of the places of our security, to go to others, to different places and realms. It is the Lord who asks this of us.”

And it is the Lord, Benedict XVI said, who gives us "Mary as a traveling companion and solicitous mother. She gives us security, because she reminds us that her Son Jesus is always with us."

Service and evangelization

The Pope noted how Mary had gone to visit Elizabeth, and stayed with her for three months. Elizabeth, he said, is “the symbol of all elderly and sick persons, more than that, of all persons in need of help and love.”

“And Mary – who described herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" – makes herself the handmaid of men," he added. “More precisely, she serves the Lord whom she finds in brothers.”

The Holy Father explained that Mary’s charity did not stop with service, but rather "reaches its culmination in giving Jesus himself."

When the unborn child in Elizabeth's womb jumped upon hearing Mary’s voice, “we are, thus, at the heart and culmination of the evangelizing mission,” the Pope said. “We are in the truest meaning and the most genuine objective of all missionary endeavor: to give men the living and personal Gospel, which is the Lord Jesus himself.”

“Jesus is the true and only treasure that we have to give to humanity,” the Pontiff continued. “It is of him that the men and women of our time have profound nostalgia, even when they seem to ignore or reject him. It is of him that the society in which we live, Europe, the whole world, is in great need.

“To us has been entrusted this extraordinary responsibility. Let us live it with joy and commitment, so that ours will truly be a civilization in which truth, justice, liberty and love reign, fundamental and irreplaceable pillars of a true orderly and peaceful coexistence.”

Fiction triumphed by Truth

It was 29 years ago this month that the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark first appeared on cinema screens, June 12, 1981.

Starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in search of the Ark of the Covenant, the movie became a huge success and grossed millions of dollars worldwide.

Remarkably, just 12 days later, June 24, 1981, the “Ark of the Covenant” appeared in Medjugorje for the first time, revealing the Infant Jesus in her arms.

Fiction triumphed by Truth.

Since then, millions of pilgrims have visited Medjugorje and discovered the promised treasure of priceless peace brought into the world by Mary, Ark of the Covenant. The graces given are immeasurable, beyond the value of the dollar, but not beyond the value of prayer.

June events in Medjugorje

There are two major events at Medjugorje scheduled for later this month. The anniversary of Our Lady’s first apparition 29 years ago is celebrated on June 25. This is followed three days later on June 28 by the 15th International Seminar for Priests which ends on July 3.

The theme of this year’s priests’ seminar is: “Take courage, I have overcome the world.” (John 16 : 33)

Speakers at this year’s event are some of the Medjugorje Franciscan priests: Fr Tomislav Pervan, Doctor of Biblical Theology ; Fr Miljenko Šteko, Doctor of Theology with specialization in spirituality; Fr Danko Perutina, Master of Theology with specialization in Mariology; Fr Svetozar Kraljević, the Head of Mother's Village.

Further information about the International Seminar for Priests can be found at the Medjugorje Parish website.