THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE P.O. BOX 6614 ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

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1 THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE P.O. BOX 6614 ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA SUBSCRIPTION RATE - FREE WILL OFFERING - PLEASE SEE PAGE 8 If this is the first time you have received this newsletter, and you would like a Beginner s Guide, please contact us for one. EDITOR: JUNE KLINS EDITOR EMERITUS: JOAN WIESZCZYK SPIRITUAL ADVISOR jklins1981@verizon.net FR. WILLIAM KIEL VOL. 27, NO. 3 PUBLISHED MONTHLY March 2014 CURRENT MONThLY MESSAGE OF FEBRUARY 25, 2014 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! The second message of these Lenten days is that you renew prayer before the cross. Dear children, I am giving you special graces and Jesus is giving you special gifts from the cross. Take them and live! Reflect on Jesus Passion and in your life be united with Jesus! Thank you for having responded to my call (Our Lady, 2/20/86). The picture above was taken in Humac, not far from Medjugorje. Dear children! You see, hear and feel that in the hearts of many people there is no God. They do not want Him, because they are far from prayer and do not have peace. You, little children, pray - live God s commandments. You be prayer, you who from the very beginning said `yes` to my call. Witness God and my presence and do not forget, little children: I am with you and I love you. From day to day I present you all to my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.

2 During the month of March this year, there are several days that can help focus our intention on our spiritual life Ash Wednesday, World Day of Prayer, Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and The Annunciation of the Fr. Bill Kiel Lord. As we think of these days, two words seem to be important in helping to make them significant in spiritual growth prayer and fasting. Ash Wednesday brings us to fast, abstinence and a special day of prayer, as we begin the Lenten season. The World Day of Prayer, Saint Joseph s day, and the Annunciation make us aware of the importance of prayer in our spiritual life. Fasting is a message that is given to us in the Bible many times. The prophets fasted and called others to fast. Jesus fasted. The lives of the saints reveal many who fasted and prayed. Wednesday and Friday were introduced as fast days in the early Church. The practice of fasting in our faith calls us to eat two meager meals that would equal our main meal. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of lenten fasting for Catholics. Another way of fasting is to consume only bread and water on each Wednesday and Friday a great sacrifice, but very powerful when combined with our prayers. When we combine fasting and prayer in our lives, we will recognize the strength that is given us in our endeavors. In Scripture, Jesus told His disciples that a certain type of evil spirit could only be delivered from a man through prayer and fasting. How do we see the two enriching us? We attach ourselves to God through prayer, and by fasting we detach our heart from the good things that tie us to this world. The late Father Slavko wrote, Fasting will lead us to new freedom of heart and mind. Fasting is a call for conversion directed to our body And as we free ourselves from things outside of ourselves, we also free ourselves from the passions within us that are keeping our interior Prayer Intentions of Pope Francis for March Respect for Women: That all cultures may respect the rights and dignity of women. Vocations: That many young people may accept the Lord s invitation to consecrate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel. As of February 25, 2014, there have been 7,353 Masses reported for Our Lady s intentions. March A Month of Transition By Fr. Bill Kiel life in chains. If we fast with the heart, we will not lose confidence that God wants something good for us through fasting; we will look forward to growing in repentance and forgiveness; we will come to embrace freedom from material goods; and we will deepen our joy in our God. As we continue to strengthen our relationship with God through prayer, Fr. Slavko said, Prayer will increase in quality and become free when it is combined with fasting. If we are convinced that the Virgin Mary asks each one of us to be Her mouthpiece in this atheistic world, we ought to be willing to fast, and this fasting will then assure us of a dynamic strength. Through witnessing our faith in the world, we are living the discipleship we are called to through our Baptism. During this month of March and the Lenten season, let us continue to journey to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May prayer and fasting open your hearts and help you discover the Heavenly Father through my Son. In discovering the Father, your life will be directed to carrying out of God s will (Our Lady, 1/2/11). Statue of Fr. Slavko at Mother s Village in Medjugorje February 2, 2014 Message to Mirjana Dear children, with motherly love I desire to teach you sincerity, because I desire that, in your actions as my apostles, you be exact, resolute, and above all sincere. I desire that, by the grace of God, you be open for a blessing. I desire that by fasting and prayer you obtain from the Heavenly Father the cognition of what is natural and holy Divine. Filled with cognition, under the shelter of my Son and myself, you will be my apostles who will know how to spread the Word of God to all those who do not know of it; and you will know how to overcome obstacles that will stand in your way. My children, by means of a blessing, God s grace will descend upon you and you will be able to retain it through fasting, prayer, purification and reconciliation. You will have the efficiency which I seek of you. Pray for your shepherds that the ray of God s grace may illuminate their ways. Thank you. Our thanks to Susannah Klins, Sue Taccone, Vickie DeCoursey, Mary Tirak, Rose Leach, Barb Sirianni, Kathy Luschini, Sue Kirby, and Diane Niebauer for their help with the February mailing. We thank Mike Golovich and Louise Lotze for their photos in this issue. We also thank Pat Berrier, our proofreader, and Jason Klins, our webmaster. THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE March 2014

3 Medjugorje Visionary Living a Normal Life By Louise Hall It is one of the world s biggest football clubs and among the thousands who eagerly watch AC Milan are Medjugorje visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti and her family. Now living in Milan and with four boys in the house or, as she jokes, five, including my husband there is no getting away from the matches. Marija did, however, escape the tyranny of football at the end of February [2013], when she traveled to Ireland to talk about her experiences. She immediately greets me with a hug. Her conversation is jovial, and one story seems to flow effortlessly into another. We go from talking about the latest football games to talk about Scotland and her friend, Margaret, who came to Medjugorje for the first time in I knew nothing about Scotland, Marija says, only about Scottish wool. She admits to soon becoming an expert as we talk about Scottish whiskey and the Loch Ness monster. Margaret, she is like my sister and would come and stay with me for months. She loves football and would go and watch the matches in Glasgow, Marija explains. From here our conversation goes from football to radio, and Marija talks fondly about Fr. Livio Fanzaga, the founder of the station Radio Maria that is transmitted all over Europe. It seems that life is really no different for a seer who purportedly has daily apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and for that of an everyday mother whose tasks involve running a house and raising kids, in between trying to fit in a football match or listening to her favorite radio program. I was curious to know how Marija finds bringing up four boys in modern day society. After all, she has come a long way since 1981, when she was just a teenager living in the small farming village of Medjugorje, when the apparitions first began. I had a beautiful experience last year. My young boy, he chose me as the best mother in the class, she says in her broken yet soft English, smiling at the kind gesture from a son, which any mother would adore. I have problems like everyone else, she said sincerely. It is an honest statement why would she be treated any different or be immune to the trials and tribulations of life? Marija talks about how the family, like many others, attends Mass every Sunday, but she admits that it is hard to get teenage boys out of bed so early at the weekend. She feels it is better to get to Holy Mass early rather than late in the evening. It is better to do it at the beginning of the day, to start the day with joy, she says. It seems, however, that her children sometimes have a different opinion. They say to me, you know all my friends are sleeping till midday, and I knew I was beginning to have problems, and then I needed to do something, she says. So with the natural talent most mothers possess when it comes to quick thinking and problem solving, Marija came up with a solution to her dilemma she decided to make pancakes. I decided to make pancakes and fill them with Nutella, she explains. They are ready for nine o clock every Sunday morning. The kids love it. They smell it and all get up and get dressed. Also, when they have their friends for sleepover, I make crepes and Nutella. It has become almost like a tradition. Marija doesn t stop there. When she drives her son to the cinema and they are inside the car, she says to him, Let s make a little prayer. They say the Guardian Angel Prayer and although the seer says that it might seem like nothing, she insists that it is so important. What starts off as something difficult, she says, becomes easy and then becomes very normal. There are many things that are normal for Marija and her family, and making the Sign of the Cross and saying the Blessing Before Meals is part of their Marija speaking in Medjugorje regular routine. However, she admits that it can be difficult for them when they are in different places, and Marija feels that many Catholics are not strong enough to be able to display their faith. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the Medjugorje visionary, it is the little gestures and actions that count. She talks of one day when she visited a school and how she had some miraculous medals with her. She noticed a Mama who looked very sad and troubled, and she gave her one of the medals she was carrying, and told her to pray, and that Our Lady would hear her prayer. I gave her the miraculous medal because Our Lady makes miracles in people s lives, she says. You would wonder how the six visionaries have coped with such intense scrutiny. If these purported apparitions are continuing, do they feel that the messages are finally filtering through? We always said that Our Lady called us to grow in holiness, she says. We try to. It is not easy, but it is our choice. To be better better Christians, better person, better Mama. We try to set an example and try to make a new situation. Our Lady wants to change all of the world, and we are just one little piece of the world. When we are better, our families are better, society is better, and Our Lady likes this. She wants us to be more holy. We always say when we are better, our work is better we say pro-life, pro-good, pro-help and charity. Put God in first place in your life. When you have God, He can help you and you can t go wrong. It is true that life is not always a smooth and easy road to travel, and being a parent brings more challenges than most. Marija only hopes to become an example for people, and says that we are all important in the eyes of God. Nobody is exempt from troubles, and at the same time, nobody is excluded from God s love. What God does give, she says, is the possibility to change your life. Editor s note: Louise is from Ireland. She is the editor of Medjugorje: what it means to me, a collection of 25 testimonies from Irish people about what the village of Medjugorje means to them. Her second book will be released in October. March THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

4 When I was 19, and a non-practicing Presbyterian, I got pregnant out of wedlock. As my boyfriend did not want the child, I got an abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy. It traumatized me for many years; I suffered from depression, nightmares, and the eating disorder of bulimia. I sometimes drank heavily, too. Then some miracles happened. In 1991, when I was 32, I was led to the Catholic faith after reading the book Medjugorje, the Message by Wayne Weible. I read it in one weekend. I taught myself to pray the Rosary. I prayed that weekend, God, I can believe everything about this Church, but I cannot yet believe all the doctrines about Mary. If She is real, let Her become as real to me as when I became born again at age 13. IMMEDIATELY I was filled with the sense of being wrapped in loving female arms, and I knew She was real. She is the strongest woman in the universe, and Her Son does forgive us EVERYTHING. I officially joined the Church a few months later. When I made my first Confession, the abortion was the first thing I confessed. I still did not feel convinced it was forgiven. That was In 1997 I began to go to charismatic prayer meetings and met my spiritual director, Father Joe James. I began to go to Confession with him once a month. He had been to Medjugorje several times and had taught all his parishioners to live the messages of Medjugorje. Father James was running a retreat center in Slaton, TX near Lubbock. He decided to have the Rachel s Vineyard retreat for healing after abortion. The team came out from Boston in 1998 and did the first one in our area. What a wonderful joy to know that my baby is in Heaven, that I have forgiven myself for killing that child (who I believe is a girl and named Alice)! How free it made me. If I had not read Wayne Weible s book, I would not have become Catholic. I would never have met Our Lady or known that She is my Mother forever. I would never have been led to a Rachel s Vineyard retreat or to the years of work with Father James that also healed and saved my marriage. A priest at a novena I attended years ago said that a fellow priest was approached by a non-catholic woman one day who said to him, Do you believe in the Bible? The priest replied, Yes, I do. We wrote it! Father said that sometimes people want to know which came first the Bible or the Church like which came first the chicken or the egg. But the answer is clear the Church came first. The Church, through the Holy Spirit, chose which books were the inspired Word of God. Father said there are some gospels that were thrown out because they did not contain the whole truth. For instance, My healing from Abortion By Judith Johnson Judy (right) with her friend, Mary Ford I am one of the people Our Lady spoke of that believes, even though they have not come here through the witness of those who have been to Medjugorje. Last June (2013), I got to go to Medjugorje, finally, after 22 years of praying to Mother to please make a way for me to travel there. It was everything I had imagined and more. I met a dear lady from Canada who became my best friend. I saw healing of relationships between people that certainly I wouldn t have seen in my own little world. We attended Ivan s apparition. It was an incredible experience to look into Ivan s eyes, shake his hand and realize that he sees Our Lady every day. I was converted climbing Krizevac from being a person of polarized political beliefs, to being one of praying that all hearts be opened to love and to find the love of Jesus, as Mother has asked over and over again at Medjugorje. There were little subtle things that worked out on that climb; it was raining two to three inches an hour, and we were pushing each other up that mountain with such joy, soaked to the skin with cold May rain realizing that Her Son died after climbing HIS mountain, crucified for every single person in the world, including those I consider to be enemies. Before I went, I thought there were worldly solutions to some of the problems in the world. Now, I know that Jesus is the only thing that can save us. Prayer is the only way we will find solutions, and His way is the ultimate goal and the utmost good for our lives. I only pray two things now: for His will to be done, and for all of Mother s intentions. I trust in Jesus and Mother, in the Holy Trinity with God the Father, to care for all else and all of my needs. I am convinced that Medjugorje is a little piece of Heaven in a special valley on Earth, put there so that our beautiful Mother can draw as many people as possible into Her loving embrace before the final return of Her Son. Seventeen years after I became Catholic, my dear husband became Catholic. He loves the Church as much as I do, and what a joy it is, to live our marriage in this beautiful Church! Editor s note: Judith lives in Wolfforth, TX. The Inspired Word of God By June Klins one gospel that was thrown out contained a story about Jesus throwing children in a mud puddle. And another told a story about Jesus throwing mud in the air, which became a bird and flew away. Father said these both emerged from heresies at the time. The first one over-emphasized the humanity of Jesus, and the second one over-emphasized His divinity. The early Church fathers were inspired by the Holy Spirit to discard these gospels, even if some of them were true. Even if something is 99.9% true, it is not of God. God is 100% TRUTH THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE March 2014

5 Early on in my teenage years, I struggled with my faith and barricaded myself from God and His love. I got caught up in lust, pride, and various pleasures of the world. After hitting rock-bottom and experiencing depression after my freshman year of college at Penn State Behrend, I immersed myself in volunteer work and my Catholic faith. I knew there was something different about interacting with the poor, but I couldn t put my finger on it. Then, I made a TEC retreat (now called Divine Mercy Encounter) and I saw Christ s true presence in the Eucharist. I felt God s merciful love for the first time and realized I had been seeing the face of Christ in those I served. I had found my meaning and, since then, have never looked back. After coming to know Jesus Christ, I felt God telling me every day in prayer to Pray the Rosary. I decided to give it a shot. In the beginning, it was really tough; in fact, I would venture to say it took me about six months to learn how to pray the Rosary. I would fall asleep, and felt I was not able to meditate on the mysteries. However, it was through the Rosary that Mary formed me into who I am today. While working a Divine Mercy Encounter retreat, I publically confessed I was open to the priesthood. God really blessed this, because the next day the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Renewal showed up at Penn State Behrend for Mass. I was so amazed by their humble witness to Christ that I felt called to visit them in the future. During this time I started praying a vocational prayer each day, asking for Mary s intercession, and of course remained faithful to the holy Rosary. During this time of confusion, my campus minister handed me a book called 33 Days to Morning Glory. I began the process of consecrating myself to Mary, not really sure why, but it seemed like God s will. Finally I made it out to visit the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City. While I was there, I was totally captivated by the friars holiness, joy, love, peace, deep prayer life, and service to the poorest of the poor. Most specifically, I love their devotion to Eucharistic Adoration and Our Blessed Mother. This was radically living out the gospel, to the fullest. My heart desired this, but I wondered if it would be too tough for me. During my visit with the friars, one of the founders, Father Glenn, encouraged us to give the Lord 40 days, like Jesus in the desert, for our discernment. The idea was that God would give us an answer about our vocation. I was inspired, and gave the Lord 40 days, and promised to offer up various sacrifices and prayer. During this period, I consecrated myself to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, Ironically, I was told this is the same day that Msgr. Peterson [former spiritual advisor of The Spirit of Medjugorje] died someone whom I never met, but God keeps bringing into my life. Also, during this time, Our Lady led me to the Medjugorje devotion. One day on a service retreat, Joseph Goodwin, now a seminarian in the archdiocese of Denver, told me he was hungry and had not eaten all day. He explained to me this so-called bread and water fast Our Lady had asked My Journey and Mama Mary By Stephen Galdo Medjugorje bread us to do. Instantly, I was intrigued, and after some prayer, decided to take on this practice myself on Wednesdays and Fridays or at least attempt to. In the past, I had never really fasted and did not really understand it. However, I saw the Lord started to bear fruit through this. The Holy Spirit was totally convicting me of my sins and introduced me to this concept of redemptive suffering. This became a new weapon for me in the spiritual life! I started to research Medjugorje and found all the messages fantastic and fruitful in my own life! During this period of 40 days, I managed to fail at keeping my commitments, thinking less and less about my vocation, and even worse forgetting I was doing the 40-day discernment! Towards the end of the 40 days, I, too, like Jesus, ended up in the desert but in Las Vegas, Nevada for a wedding. I truly was in sin city, and never had felt a more evil presence in my life. Peddlers would try to hand me and my siblings cards for call girls and I avoided them by making the Sign of the Cross. It was very sorrowful to experience this. As Our Lady of Fatima says, More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh. After the wedding, before I went to bed, I was utterly frustrated with the Lord. I remembered the first promise of the Rosary was that Mary will send you signal graces. So that night, I asked Mary to give me a concrete sign about my vocation. The next day, on my return home to Pittsburgh, I ran into a Friar of the Renewal in the Pittsburgh airport! Thank you, Mama Mary! When I arrived home, I realized it was the 41 st day of my discernment. How merciful Our Lord is and always honors His word. I realized it was time to start taking this call a lot more seriously. After further discernment with my spiritual director and additional visits to the Friars, the Lord convicted me that this was my call. I was instantly hit with a roadblock after I desired to enter the Friars: educational loans. However, through God s Divine Providence, I was led to a group called The Labouré Society, which helps people with religious and priestly vocations overcome student loans through a fundraising ministry. I am fundraising with my class of 18 aspiring vocations, who are all prevented from continuing formation in priestly and religious life due to our educational loans. In fraternity, I ask for you to join me in support for my vocation. I have applied to the friars, and the community would like me to enter formation as soon as possible. As Christ needed Simon on the path to Calvary, I need your help to give my life to this calling. I am working with The Labouré Society to raise assistance for the hundreds of vocations like mine that are turned away because of student loans. We have prayed unceasingly for vocations, and I assure you, God is answering them. Please consider a tax deductible gift to Labouré to enable these calls to be answered. Most importantly, please pray for me and my fellow aspirants that we may have the courage to respond in faith and echo Mary s Yes to God. Editor s note: Stephen is from Plum, PA. To learn more about The Labouré Society, go to What a worthy cause for Lenten almsgiving an investment in our future! March THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

6 A priest who is very devoted to the Holy Souls shared with me that recently when he was on his computer, a funeral record of a lady named Margaret, who died in 1926, popped up out of the blue! The record said that she died of peritonitis from an abortion. Father felt that perhaps she was in Purgatory and asking for prayers. I agreed, and said I would pray for her. A bit later, when I opened my devotional to read about the saint for the day, I could not believe my eyes when I saw that it was Bl. Mary of Providence, who founded the Helpers of the Holy Souls. Her feast day is February 7, the same day Father shared this story!!!! What a confirmation! Our Lady of Medjugorje told Mirjana that God permits souls to manifest themselves in different ways to solicit prayers. When I shared this little story with Friar John Clote, who produced a film about Purgatory, The Forgotten Church (see our November, 2013 issue), he wrote, The souls find a million ways to get our attention. Although it seems the lesson in this little story is that the souls in Purgatory need our prayers, particularly those who have been there for a long time, there is also another lesson here, and that is one about God s forgiveness. If Margaret is in Purgatory, that means she had been saved. She must have repented of her grave sin of abortion perhaps right at the end, and accepted God s loving forgiveness. Recently the IIPG (International Internet Prayer Group), which is associated with Ivan s prayer group in Medjugorje, had a discussion about people not accepting God s forgiveness. There were more people who admitted to having this problem than I expected. They felt that their sins were so horrible that God would never forgive them. One woman shared her experience: I remember trying to confess a sin I had once confessed and told the priest I had confessed it before. The priest said to me, I forbid you from confessing a previously confessed sin unless you repeated it. God forgave you the moment you showed sorrow for your sins and perfected it the day you confessed. She continued, Wow! That sure gave me a lot of peace. Not believing God has forgiven me is like saying Jesus lied about His assurances in the Bible. Another woman wrote, Many times people don t realize that what you have described is a form of spiritual pride, and this does not come from God. Maybe by educating them in this regard, you can help disarm the evil one and his plan. A man wrote, Doubting God s forgiveness could in itself be a sin since the person has lost all hope and faith in God. I can also see the devil here at work, placing doubts. St. Padre Pio once asked a person that went to Confession to him why he/she went to Confession again to him after he/she had already been to another confessor. He told the person his/her sins were already forgiven by the previous confessor. Padre Pio knew this without the penitent telling him! One needs to be pro-active, and as soon as doubts come to mind, stop and say, Satan, go away. I have been healed and have been forgiven. I trust in you, God. I love you, God. Forgiven By June Klins I, too, felt that God had not forgiven me for my past, another woman wrote. I came to understand through listening to EWTN programs that the unforgivable sin is the sin of believing that your sins are greater than God Himself. Therefore, I came to realize that I must accept the fact that Jesus forgives me in Confession even though I may not feel it. Feelings do not count. On January 5, Pope Francis said in his Angelus talk: The Word of God pitches his tent among us, sinners in need of mercy. And we should all hasten to receive the grace that He offers us. However, the Gospel of St. John tells us that His people did not welcome Him. We too often reject Him: we prefer to remain trapped by our mistakes and by the anxiety of our sins. But Jesus does not give up and never stops offering Himself and His grace that saves us! Jesus told St. Faustina that no one is excluded from His mercy: [urge] all souls to trust in the Confessionals in Medjugorje unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls - no one have I excluded! (St. Faustina s Diary, 1182) Four centuries before Jesus appeared to St. Faustina, Venerable Louis de Blois, a Benedictine monk said, A sinner cannot outrage the Deity more than by despairing of Divine Mercy on account of the number and enormity of his crimes; for God s clemency is far greater than the iniquity and guilt of an entire world... Of God s mercy never despair. Our Lady reminded us of this when She appeared to Mirjana on June 2, 2010, and said, Free yourself of everything from the past which burdens you, that gives you a sense of guilt And all the people shall answer, Amen! (Dt 27:15-26) Prayer to St. Joseph by Blessed Pope John XXIII O glorious St. Joseph, remind all who work that they are not alone in their labor, their joy, or their sufferings, because Jesus is by our side, with Mary, His mother and ours, supporting them, wiping sweat from their brow, and setting a value on their toil. Teach them to use their labor, as you did, as a supreme means of attaining holiness. Editor s note: Bl. Pope John XXIII, whose body is incorrupt, will be canonized a saint on April 27, THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE March 2014

7 Praised be Jesus and Mary! We are Nicole (21) and Ludwig (23) and are living in Augsburg, Bavaria, but our second home is Medjugorje. In the following, we want to tell you what makes us feel at home at this place: First time we both were at this little place in Bosnia- Herzegovina was in spring After that first sojourn there, our impressions were mixed and we actually didn t want to return to that place so soon; but the Gospa had other plans for us in store. So in summer of the same year, we came back to Medjugorje, when the Youth Festival took place. From that time on, we are absolutely thrilled by this heavenly village. The mood among the thousands of adolescents and the breath-taking atmosphere are time and again staggering. Although the location is situated in a remote neighborhood, numerous adolescents and young adults from all over the world meet for that event in order to honor God and meet Him. Despite the unbearable heat, all participants jump and dance ardently to deeply moving songs of praise. And yet it is every time astounding, how awestruck and devotional, all the crowds pray afterwards/during Holy Mass. Particularly impressive is it, when the whole place full of people remains in silent Eucharistic Adoration. We are firmly convinced that this is only possible through the influence of God: tens of thousands of people from all over the world, who live together in harmony in the most limited space and under extreme weather conditions; not even language difficulties seem to be a problem because of the presence of the Holy Spirit; the queues before the confessionals never seem to end, though the priests day and night are available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, etc. This is, in our opinion, the proof that Medjugorje is, in fact, a place where Heaven touches earth, and a kind of peace is prevailing that we never experienced at other The following is an excerpt from a talk by Fr. Slavko Barbaric on February 25, Through Ivan, Our Lady guides a prayer group. And since the beginning of Lent, She has been asking for many prayers, and above all, for meditation on His Passion to meditate on the sacred wounds, particularly on the sacred wound of His heart, which is the most painful She has said that we are to keep the Cross in mind. Jelena [Medjugorje locutionist] A few years ago, when I was in Medjugorje, I was first in line for Confession until my friend, Blackjack, bolted in before me. I was wearing a black shirt along with my black pants, so the Italians thought I was a priest! One guy grabbed me and pointed to one of the unused confessionals and motioned for me to pick up one of the language signs and start hearing confessions! Now, I tried to tell him in English that I was not a priest, I just like to wear dark clothes overseas because they don t show the dirt so quickly. In the meantime, I realized that Blackjack was in the Our Second home, Medjugorje Ludwig and Nicole in Medjugorje places. For this reason, at least once a year, we pack our bags to enjoy the SUN of GOD there, and most of all to attend some lessons in the school of Our Lady. We are greatly indebted to the Queen of Peace because She has changed us quite a bit in our lives. So we only can recommend to everybody, to shoulder the partly large strains in order to accept instructions from the Gospa. We ask the prayers of all of you and pray for all who read this article. Kraljice Mira, moli za nas (Queen of Peace, pray for us). Editor s note: Ludwig added in an , And yes, we actually wanted to say Sun of God, because there in Medjugorje you have the grace to be all the time at this holy place where the sun (= the glory of God, His light...) always shines! Ludwig and Nicole will be married on April 26, 2014, in Holy Cross Church in Augsburg, where a Eucharistic Miracle is housed (see our December, 2007 issue). We thank Johannes Dittrich for translating this article from the original German. Suggestions for Lent told me this morning that Our Lady has suggested how we should make the Stations of the Cross, by praying fervently and by meditating. And then She said we ought to carry objects which can help us live this Passion more deeply. For example, She suggested carrying not only a cross, but also the nails and some vinegar, or even a sheet, or a crown of thorns in other words, all the symbols that can help to stimulate our faith. On the Light Side My Experience at the Confessionals in Medjugorje By Dave Sheehan confessional in front of me going on and on with the priest about his life story (he s 77). I was tempted to yell out, Father, Blackjack is not the axe-murderer he says he is, but I kept my mouth shut and patiently waited for Blackjack to come out. By the time Blackjack was done, the priest was worn out and gave me easy penance! I was back out on the street with the rest of the sinners of Medjugorje in two seconds flat! Editor s note: Dave is from Crowley, TX. March THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

8 The Spirit of Medjugorje Information Center P.O. Box 6614 Erie, PA U.S.A. RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID ERIE, PA PERMIT NO. 685 DATED MATERIAL On June 24, 1981 in Medjugorje, Our Lady appeared to six children. She identified Herself as the Blessed Virgin, Queen of Peace, and has continued to appear daily. Her message is PEACE, peace with God and man. Her words to the visionaries, I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and obtain peace, you must return to God. Today, all but three of the visionaries have daily apparitions of the Blessed Mother. During the apparitions, the visionaries do not react to light, don t hear any sound or react to being touched. They feel that they are outside of time and space. All the visionaries declare to see the Blessed Virgin as they see other people - in three dimension. They pray and speak with Her. The Blessed Mother is confiding ten secrets to each visionary (some are chastisements for the world) and promises to leave a visible sign at the place of the apparitions in Medjugorje for all If you want to receive The Spirit of Medjugorje, please fill out the form below and return to: P.O. Box 6614, Erie, PA with your donation to help spread Mary s messages. Thank you for your goodwill offering. May GOD BLESS YOU. Please check one: New Renew Name MARY IS CALLING YOU Street Address humanity. This time, this period of grace, is for CONVERSION and a DEEPENING OF FAITH. After the visible sign, those still living will have little time for conversion. The Blessed Mother invites us to PRAYER and FASTING and PEACE. You have forgotten that with prayer and fasting you can stop a war from happening. You can suspend natural laws. The publisher recognizes and accepts that the final authority regarding the apparitions at Medjugorje rest with the Holy See in Rome. Permission is given to spread the text of any original works and may be used with the following conditions: 1) No words are changed; 2) Spirit of Medjugorje is cited. For articles by other sources, permission must be obtained from the original source. Distribute Adoration Newsletters Issue #1 or Issue #2 (please circle) (# of newsletters) To borrow an original prayer cloth from Medjugorje for a week, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below. You must include your phone number. If you want a prayer cloth we made to keep, send a self-addressed stamped business size (4 1 / 8 x 9 1 / 2 ) envelope with $.70 postage on it. Sponsor a subscription for someone overseas (suggested donation: $13 to cover postage) Distribute Beginner s Guides (# of guides) (Please, no foreign checks or money orders, except postal money orders. U.S. FUNDS ONLY) City, State and Zip Code VOL. 27, NO. 3