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 PHONE: (814) jklins1981@verizon.net VOL. 27, NO. 12 EDITOR EMERITUS: JOAN WIESZCZYK SPIRITUAL ADVISOR FR. WILLIAM KIEL PUBLISHED MONTHLY CURRENT MONThly MESSAGE OF NOVEMBER 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. The icon above was painted by a member of the Cenacolo Community. It was hanging in their chapel when this photograph was taken in 2001.

2 Medjugorje Pilgrimage November 2014 Often the question, Why make a pilgrimage? is asked. One will say, I can pray at home just as well as I can at a pilgrimage site. A pilgrimage gives the added dimension of experiencing a spirituality of the site where supernatural happenings are supposedly taking place. People gather from many areas of the world, and the spirituality of various Fr. Bill Kiel cultures is observed. The universality of the Catholic Church is evident by the numerous countries represented by the pilgrims. Even though one may attend a Mass celebrated in a foreign language, participation still occurs because the Mass is the same throughout the world. This pilgrimage was the thirty-second time I was able to be a spiritual director for a group. Each pilgrimage has been different. Each trip has a different group of people of different spiritual levels, and I am a different person spiritually, hopefully. We continue to grow in our spiritual lives as the saying goes, The only evidence of life is growth. If we are not growing spiritually, are we spiritually alive? This group of pilgrims consisted of individuals who were returning in thanksgiving for miracles received; others were seeking the peace that one finds in Medjugorje; still others were seeking and asking for special intentions for themselves or family members or friends. Each day began with the group praying Morning Prayer before breakfast. Daily Mass participation was the focus of each day, whether it was in Medjugorje or a nearby village. Each pilgrim had the opportunity to serve in some capacity at a Mass in Saint James Church or one of the other churches when Mass was celebrated. Saints Peter and Paul Church in Mostar and a church dedicated to the Divine Mercy were sites of experiencing and participating in Mass. The Rosary was prayed as we ascended Apparition Hill, walked along Dear children, I am with you with the blessing of my Son, with you who love me and who strive to follow me. I also desire to be with you who do not accept me. To all of you I am opening my heart full of love and I am blessing you with my motherly hands. I am a mother who understands you. I lived your life and lived through your sufferings and joys. You who are living in pain understand my pain and suffering because of those of my children who do not permit the light of my Son to illuminate them; those of my children who are living in darkness. This is why I need you you who have been illuminated by the light and have comprehended the truth. I am calling you to adore my Son so that your soul may grow and reach true spirituality. My apostles, it is then that you will be able to help me. To help Our thanks to Joanne Warren, Mary Tirak, Rose Leach, Kathy Luschini, Marge Spase, Irene and Dan Zuba, Dianne Yochim, Anne O Leary, Louise Lotze, Rita Kiter, and Cindy Bielanin for help with the November mailing. We thank Mike Golovich and Fr. Milton Process for their photos. And as always, we thank Pat Berrier, our proofreader, and Jason Klins, our webmaster. By Fr. Bill Kiel the Luminous Mystery path behind Saint James Church, sat at the Risen Christ, on the bus, or whenever walking around the village. Prayer was an integral part of each day of the pilgrimage. The Sacrament of Penance was readily available, and many pilgrims took advantage of the many priests present for the sacrament. The inner peace many pilgrims seek comes from a thorough examination of conscience and Confession. On this pilgrimage, many in our group experienced meeting and visiting three very poor families of gypsies. Food, clothing, and various items were taken for the families. There was a warm interaction with the families, since we had a local translator with us. A few of us visited and prayed for two elderly Bosnian women who lived in an outlying area of Medjugorje. One of the sisters was near death and passed away a few days after our visit. These sisters lived in a oneroom block building without utilities, but did have a water source outside the building. I was given the opportunity to speak to a group of Vietnamese pilgrims from the United States. These pilgrims were very faith-filled, prayerful and pious. The songs they sang were so beautiful, even though I did not understand the language. The Chirdon family and I had the opportunity to be interviewed by staff members of the National Geographic Magazine, working on the December 2015 issue that will include a section on Mary. They are visiting sites around the world where Mary has appeared or allegedly appeared. Our November pilgrimage of prayer, sacraments, spiritual experiences and human experiences would not have occurred at home. A pilgrimage is a special encounter with God! Editor s note: The story of the healing of Cathy Chirdon s granddaughter, Kiera, was in our June, 2014 issue, and can be read online. The Chirdons and Father Keil were interviewed by MaryTV.tv for an episode (#140) of Fruit of Medjugorje that aired on November 17th and will be posted in the archives. November 2, 2014 Message to Mirjana me means to pray for those who have not come to know the love of my Son. In praying for them you are showing to my Son that you love Him and follow Him. My Son promised me that evil will never win, because you, the souls of the just, are here; you who strive to say your prayers with the heart; you who offer your pain and suffering to my Son; you who comprehend that life is only a Picture taken at Our Lady of Sinj Shrine in Croatia blink; you who yearn for the Kingdom of Heaven. All of this makes you my apostles and leads you towards the victory of my heart. Therefore, my children, purify your hearts and adore my Son. Thank you. Prayer Intentions of Pope Francis for December Christmas Hope for Humanity: That the birth of the Redeemer may bring peace and hope to all people of good will. Parents: That parents may be true evangelizers, passing on to their children the precious gift of faith THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

3 In the seat in front of me at Mass one morning sat the parents of a baby boy who was six months old. The baby had a round chubby face, big bright blue eyes and all signs of its first teeth beginning to cut through. It gurgled and played, let the odd scream out of it (probably bought on due to teething). His mother tried to comfort him so as not to disturb the other people during Mass, but to no avail. I didn t help much. Every time the baby looked back at me I kept pulling funny faces at it and making it laugh. The baby s father just sat and stared a very deep loving and caring stare, occasionally holding his finger out so the child would grip it. Mass ended, I smiled over at the baby and left. The next day, a few friends that I had met were talking outside the church to a priest who happened to mention about the child in Mass the previous morning, and asked if anyone had seen its performance. I acknowledged that I helped it along by making funny faces at the baby. The priest told us that the parents had brought the baby to Medjugorje because it was dying from an incurable disease. I was absolutely stunned by the news. Someone then asked if there had been miracle to reverse the situation. Yes, there has been a miracle, said Mother and Child By D.S. This is not your ordinary Christmas tradition, but it is one that will stick with me all through my life. My dear mother, who was born and raised a very strict Catholic, raised all of her six children the very same way. My father, who was an alcoholic, was not much help to her. He was wounded in WWII, and everyone said he was never the same after that. She had to take a job as a waitress to help support all of us, and she always tried to make sure we had what we needed. We didn t always get what we needed, but she did the best she could. The restaurant where she worked was one of those greasy-spoon diners that was open 24 hours, and all kinds of people would stop in there. Drunks after the bars closed, a lot of truckers passing through, and local poor who just had nowhere to go at times would stop and drink coffee and chat with her. She often bought dinner or lunch for some of those poor people and gave away a lot of coffee. One year after working all night, she brought one of these people home for Christmas Eve. He was a little alcoholic man who had no family, and lived alone in an old run-down hotel next to the restaurant. He sat with her in an empty restaurant, drinking coffee and talking. He obviously had no place to go to spend the holiday. She had called ahead and let us know he was coming, and asked us to find some the priest, a very wonderful and beautiful miracle but with a difference! What happened, said the priest, was that the previous evening the parents sat in the church praying over the child. And then something happened. A Franciscan priest who had known of their plight was walking from the altar when he noticed the couple crying. Thinking the child had worsened, he made his way over to the couple, but could see the child was fine. The parents were still crying, yet their faces were glowing as if they had seen something beautiful or something glorious had just happened. They turned to the priest and the mother with tears streaming down her face said that they had spoken with Our Lady. She came down from the altar, picked up the baby and said to the parents, Do not worry for your child will be with me in Heaven. Then [the mother said], She turned and we could see the vision of Our Lady carrying our child back towards the altar and slowly fade away. We are crying because we know now that when our child dies he will be in Heaven with Our Lady, the Mother of God. Not one of us could speak. The child has since died. The Medjugorje Herald, Ireland A Christmas to Remember By Fran Pinizzotto Statue in the Cathedral in Mostar little things to wrap for him. We all scurried about looking for things! We came up with a little grooming set with nail clippers, a file and a comb that one of my sisters had bought for my dad, and another one came up with some aftershave. Someone came up with the idea that we could box up some Christmas cookies, and I even contributed a small box of candy that I had bought for my mother. When they arrived, we all got together and ate our Christmas Eve fare, and he shyly joined us. Afterward, we all sat on the floor and distributed our gifts, and began the grand Christmas present opening. When he saw gifts for him, he began to cry and said, NO! You shouldn t have given me anything, because I don t have anything to give back. We all assured him that he had given us more than he knew. We really got the meaning of Christmas that year. Just about every year after that we had someone who was alone, who really made Christmas special just by being a part of it. God Bless you all! Invite someone, who has nowhere to go, for Christmas this year. It will be like entertaining Jesus himself. Editor s note: Fran is from Indiana, PA. She is a member of the Internet Prayer Group associated with Ivan s prayer group in Medjugorje. Did you know that the Davidic lineage of the Messiah is mentioned in 2 Sam 7:12-14, Is 9:6-7, Jer 23:5, and Ezek 34:23-24, and that his birthplace in Bethlehem is noted in Mic 5:2.? St. Augustine said, The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

4 Priests concelebrating Mass in Medjugorje My husband and I have been blessed to know some very holy priests over the years, but one stands out among the rest. I ll call him Father G. He was particularly close to our family. As Mom lay dying in the hospital, this priest knelt down on the hard tile floor beside her bed and led the family around her in the Rosary and then in the Litany of the Blessed Mother. What was so remarkable was the fact that not only did he recite the entire Litany completely from memory, but that he was 93 years old! Years earlier, we had been invited to a special dinner celebrating Father G. s 50 th Anniversary as a priest. He told us how grateful he was for all the people who prayed for him over the years. He assured us that it was through those prayers that he was able to remain faithful to the priesthood that God had chosen him for. Then he shared a personal story with us that he said not many people knew. He said that when he was a young priest, he went through a very dark and troubling time. For months he contemplated leaving the priesthood. He didn t tell anyone, but prayed and prayed for guidance. One day, he found his answer in a painting that he would never forget. In the foreground of the painting, a poorly dressed man sat on a park bench looking forlorn and dejected. On his shoulder sat a devil. Then in the background, high up on a hill, the artist had painted a monastery. All around and in the monastery, the monks were busy about their chores. There were many devils hovering over the monastery, and each monk had several devils attacking him individually. When Father G. saw this painting, he understood why he had become so confused about the priesthood; he was being severely tempted by many devils. At this understanding, his darkness vanished. When Father G. shared this personal story with us, I remembered hearing before that, when we are tempted, we have one devil on our back, but when a priest is tempted, he has ten devils on his back. Why are priests under such heavy attack? They are God s ministers to us. Through them, we receive the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and the forgiveness of our sins. We receive God s grace and, hopefully, one day salvation and union with Him. Through the ministry of one priest, thousands of souls can be saved. We need priests. As much as we need priests, they need our prayers and Pray for Priests By Dianne Yochim support. The Second Vatican Council states: The Christian faithful, for their part, should realize their obligations to their priests Sharing their cares, they should help their priests by prayer, and work insofar as possible so that their priests might more readily overcome difficulties and be able to fulfill their duties more fruitfully (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 9). Along with the call to pray for priests, the Congregation of the Clergy, on Dec. 8, 2007, sent letters to all diocesan bishops in the world, asking for Eucharistic Adoration for the sanctification of priests and spiritual maternity after the example of Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ. We do well to take Mary as our model in this endeavor. She is a powerful intercessor with our dear Lord. She knows exactly what each of Her priest-sons needs to fulfill his call to holiness and succeed in his mission to gain souls for God and His Church. God cannot refuse Mary s requests for anything. All graces come through Her. Let us also become spiritual mothers for our beloved priests, interceding through Mary for their sanctification and work on earth. We can do this by our prayers and sacrifices, by offering all our sufferings and sorrows for them, by offering Masses and Eucharistic hours of Adoration for them. The Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Order of the Holy Angels), under the guidance of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, has sponsored a spiritual Crusade of Prayer and Reparation for Priests for many years. They offer free bi-annual meditations on the priesthood and ask for commitment to pray on behalf of priests, remembering them especially on Thursdays, the day of the institution of the priesthood. They also offer a program in which you can spiritually adopt a specific bishop, priest, seminarian, or young man discerning a vocation. Upon request, they will send a free Crusade packet with a suggested daily prayer for priests, the Litany of Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim, and a copy of the booklet, Chalice of Strength, containing many prayers for priests. For more detailed information, or to sign up to join this Crusade, you can visit their website at opusangelorum.org or them at contact@opusangelorum.org. As we pray for our beloved priests, may we also remember to thank God for this precious gift of priesthood! On October 2, 2014, Our Lady said, My dear children, as your shepherds offer you the Body of my Son with their blessed hands, always in your hearts give thanks to my Son for the sacrifice and for the shepherds that He always gives you anew. Mary Immaculate, Mother of Priests, intercede for us! Editor s note: Dianne is from Erie, PA and is on our mailing staff. I was touched when she told Father G. s story at one of our mailings and asked her to write it up to share. What a great gift this would be to give Baby Jesus to spiritually adopt a priest, bishop, seminarian, or young man discerning the priesthood THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

5 Ivona, 49, a florist, is a mother of two grown children and a widow. Last November, she came to Medjugorje for the third time, and we were greatly amazed by her deep fervor. She would go up and down Krizevac, barefoot, not minding the cold, the wind, the rain and the mud. Married since 1984, she lived in a small 2-bedroom apartment in Ukraine. Igor, her husband, quickly showed himself to be mean. He often drank and mistreated her verbally, and sometimes beat her. Ivona also realized one day that he had a mistress, a married woman and mother of three children. Although Igor was born a Catholic, he spoke badly of the priests and refused to go to church, except for feast days. But Ivona loved her husband dearly and she was praying for him. One day, he became seriously ill and he had to stop working. He needed constant care. His lover abandoned him. Seeing that Igor was going to die soon, Ivona worried about his eternal fate. Out of love, not only did she pray, but she would also fast a lot for him. In August, 2009, she went to Medjugorje to obtain his reconciliation with God. Even though the heat was terrible, she went up and down Krizevac, barefoot on the burning stones. She was begging God: May he not die without Confession! Since Igor was yelling at the children all the time, she was praying for the unity of the family. Even if Igor should hate me, she said to the Lord, give me the strength to bear it! Indeed, Igor insulted her despite her good caring for him day and night. Nevertheless, Ivona was always feeling peace in her heart because her prayer kept her in unity with God. One day, Igor was hospitalized, and Ivona did not let him down. She spent hours at his bedside. Three times Igor refused to let the Catholic chaplain, who was a priest, see him and hear his Confession. Ivona kept silent and did not give in to discouragement. She prayed with all her heart near her husband, confident that God was listening to her. Rosaries and Chaplets of Divine Mercy alternated between medical treatments. On January 6, the morning of his death, oh what a miracle took place! Igor stroked his wife s hair saying, Even when I am mean to you, you keep on loving me and taking care of me! His legs were becoming black, but he was still conscious. That day, Ivona had to leave the hospital for a few hours to attend her daughter s first Holy Communion. When she came back, she ran into the priest in the hall and suggested that he make another try at hearing Igor s Confession. It was now a question of hours before his death! But second miracle the priest answered her that he was just coming back from Igor s room and that Igor had made a good Confession, after 20 years without any Sacrament! She was overwhelmed with joy! When she entered the room, she placed a picture of the Merciful Christ in Igor s hands and, to her great surprise, he put it between his fingers, raised it up to his face and gazed at it with serenity. Then he told his wife, How shall I manage going up A Pure and Humble Heart By Sr. Emmanuel A barefoot pilgrim climbing Apparition Hill there? She answered him, You are going to your home; do not be afraid! Jesus is enlightening the way before you to go to Him, and you have the Three Kings to escort you! When she saw that he was suffering, she told him, Remember that Jesus also suffered before going to his Father. She asked him to forgive her for the times she had made him suffer, and she expressed that, for her part, she had forgiven him EVERYTHING. Already Igor could no longer speak, but he shed tears as a response to her. She thanked him for the years they lived together, then with a big smile, she said to him, Now you can leave in peace for the House of the Lord! Upon these words, his eyes became motionless. He was dead. Ivona had persevered in prayer and fasting, and everything she had asked God had come true! Igor had been to Confession at the last moment, just six hours before dying, before losing his speech. After Igor s death, during the following Lent, Ivona fasted on bread and water for 40 days in order to thank God for having converted her husband. Ivona has not stopped working for her family s salvation since Igor s death. Her son Boris is very sick. She came back to Medjugorje for him in November (that s when I met her), and she intends to bend the heart of God for his healing and especially for his conversion. He left the Church and put up with a very difficult person. So, Ivona made a deal with God, Lord, you take care of my son, Boris, and I will take care of Your sons, the priests! On November 25, after climbing both mountains up and down (Krizevac and Podbrdo) barefoot on a freezing cold afternoon, she spent all night in St. James Church before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar, praying for priests! Our Lady told us last October, Do not stop praying for the gift of love. And this month She said, You must have pure and humble hearts. Ivona is such an inspiration for us! She is one of those violent ones who takes the Kingdom of Heaven by storm. She will not be disappointed! January 2014 report. The Virgin Mary perfectly incarnates the spirit of Advent; this spirit is one of listening to God, of profound desire to do His will, of joyous service to our neighbor. Letting ourselves be guided by Her, so that the God who comes does not find us closed and distracted, but can, in each one of us, extend a part of His kingdom of love, of justice and of peace. ~ Pope Benedict XVI THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE - 5 -

6 Praying with the heart is one of the fundamental calls of Our Lady of Medjugorje. The visionaries always mention prayer with the heart as one of the most important messages; and yet, they cannot tell us how to pray with the heart. At most, they tell us that to pray with the heart we must begin to pray just do it. Here is what Vicka says about prayer: When Our Lady asks us to pray, She does not wish us to pray only with words; She wants us to open our hearts more and more every day, so that prayer will truly become joy. Our Lady also says that, before we start to pray, we should get rid of all thoughts that bother us, by praying an Our Father. She also says, Pray to your almighty Father in Heaven, who is full of immeasurable love, who loves us so much, and give Him all your wishes and all your problems. Allow Him to transform everything for the best, that His will may be done, not ours. The next day, we shall add a Hail Mary; let us greet our Mother, whom we see with the eyes of our heart, who is always close to us and who loves us so much. The day after tomorrow, we shall add a Glory Be and so honor our Father. We should be grateful for everything that He gives us, for the good and the bad, so that we can comprehend that everything comes from Him. In this way, our heart will open more every day and we will think about the words we speak; this is how we will learn the meaning of these words and how to live them... She teaches us that praying with the heart cannot be learned by studying, but only through prayer, by taking one step forward each day (Kresimir Sego, A Conversation with the Visionaries, pp ). Vicka has certainly learned to pray with the heart! When she gives her talk to the pilgrims in Medjugorje, she will speak for maybe 20 minutes, and then she prays for 30 or 40 On my 2012 pilgrimage to Medjugorje, I bought a book called Vicka Her Story by Finbar O Leary. This book is an extensive interview with Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic, Medjugorje visionary. At the very end of the book, Finbar addresses something that is not very well-known about Vicka including herself! Finbar asked Vicka about her most recent gift of bilocation. (Bilocation means being in two places at once. St. Padre Pio had this gift.) Finbar said he had heard that Vicka has been seen in other places in the world and had been an instrument of healing of cancer and other illnesses. Vicka acknowledged that pilgrims visiting Medjugorje have told her that they experienced her presence in their homes, but she was not aware of it. She said she prays about this. Although this was really incredible and I wanted to share this with our readers, for some reason I put it on the back burner. Then, several months ago, my friend gave me a Praying with the Heart By Cathy Nolan minutes, in silence, with all the pilgrims. She just dives into prayer, and she can t seem to quit! I had a little teaching from the Lord about prayer with the heart the other day. I had a restless night s sleep. It seemed that I was worrying about many things, and so my sleep was fitful. I could hear myself speaking to the Lord, but I was mostly just spouting off my worries. Lord, do this. Lord, don t let this happen. Lord, don t forget this person... It wasn t really prayer it was more like a worry session. As I was getting up, I felt the Lord gently speak in my heart. He said, You know, if you would just really talk to Me about these things, I could help you. That was all. But I got the message. Jesus wants to help me. But when I worry-pray, I don t give Him a chance to help me. I just keep throwing my worries His way, hoping He will catch them. It seems like I don t want a relationship with Him, in which He can help me with my burdens; I just want to get rid of my worries. I want Jesus to be my problem solver, but He really wants to be my friend. I received so much peace from those few words from Jesus. You know, if you would just really talk to me about these things, I could help you. Jesus was showing me how to pray with the heart. I think it means to just really talk to Jesus, to talk to Him as a friend. I suspect the Father would like it if I would just really talk to Him as my father. And the Holy Spirit would like it if I would just really talk to Him as my counselor and help. Just to really talk to Them is all it takes. Well, with Vicka as an example, and with my little word from Jesus, maybe I can learn to pray with the heart. It still blows me away that Jesus would like to help me. One step forward, day by day!!! Vicka praying with people Vicka s Unusual Gift By June Klins copy of a story about Vicka s gift of bilocation, written by Jakob Marschner of MedjugorjeToday.tv. I wondered how I missed it, since it was on a website I check often and in a newspaper I receive. When I read the article, I was surprised to recognize the name of the woman reporting her story. Barb Lannin, who lives in Howell, Michigan, is not only in my internet prayer group associated with Ivan s prayer group in Medjugorje, but she is also one of my Facebook friends! I wrote to her and asked for permission to use her story. She replied, Go for it! So here is Barb s story: While in the hospital, either in May or June of 2008, [my husband] Scott was in the hospital for either his knee or his hip replacement. He has had over 20 surgeries since He has received The Last Rites many times. On this particular night, the people who took us to Medjugorje in 2006 came to visit Scott. When it was time for them to leave, I walked with them to the elevators and then THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJE

7 came back to his room. It was very strange because there should have been several nurses at the nurses station which was right at Scott s door, but there was no one around. I went back into his room and sat in the chair next to him. He said to me, Did you see her? I said, Who? He said, Vicka and I said, What are you talking about? And again he said, Vicka, the visionary from Medjugorje! She was right here in the doorway of the room smiling at me. She had on a pink golf shirt and she was smiling at me. She didn t say a word; she just kept smiling at me. A few months ago, my friend had expressed to me that she did not understand what is meant when we pray at Mass for those who rest in the sleep of peace. She wondered how they could be sleeping or at peace if they were in Purgatory. Not long after that, I was pleasantly surprised to find the answer to her question in Susan Tassone s wonderful new book, Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, 365 Reflections. In the entry for July 10, Susan quoted Father Hubert, O.F.M., Cap.: Since the Holy Souls possess through perfect charity the tranquility of order the order of perfect union with the Divine Will they are in profound peace. Their happiness never fails; rather it increases as the time of their exile draws to a close. That is why the Church refers to her departed children as resting in the sleep of peace. You may wonder why I was reading an entry for July at this time of the year. I have to admit that I cheated and read the whole book over a period of days! Although Susan suggests using this book in a number of ways (such as one day at a time, as the title suggests, or as a novena, or Rest in the Sleep of Peace By June Klins Handprint of a Holy Soul one of many pictures in Susan s book Messages through Ivan and Vicka On November 15, visionary Ivan Dragicevic was invited to an evening of prayer at St. Stephen s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria. Ivan said that two days prior, a message was given through him for the whole world. That was very unusual for Ivan to have a message for the whole world. On Nov. 13, 2014, Our Lady said: Dear children, also today I am inviting you to pray. My dear children, pray in a special way for all who still do not know God s love. Pray that their hearts open to my Son and to the Heart of my Son. Only in that way is it possible to convert. Thank you, my dear children, that you have responded to my call. On November 9, visionary Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic received a message while in Fiuggi, Italy, in which Our Lady called people to pray for the Church. Our Lady said that the Church is much in need of your prayers. According to Medjugorje Today News Agency, this is the first time Our Lady has ever asked for prayers for the Church in over 33 years of apparitions. Barb said that her husband was not Catholic and she herself had fallen away from the Church at the time of their pilgrimage to Medjugorje in She added, The experience changed both of our lives forever. I came back to the Catholic Church and he became a Catholic. Today I belong to two Medjugorje prayer groups, and we spread the word about Medjugorje every time we get the chance. Editor s note: Vicka has been photographed wearing a pink golf shirt, but I was unable to find a photo in time for printing. just opening at random), I could not put it down. On each page, there is a Bible quote and then a story or quote from or about a saint (including our patron saint this year, St. Jerome), pope, priest or others regarding the doctrine of Purgatory. There is a suggestion on each page for something practical to do to help the Holy Souls. Most, if not all, of them are very simple things that anyone can do. Each page ends with the Eternal Rest prayer. In the back are prayers for the Souls, pictures from The Little Museum of Purgatory in Rome, and some other helpful information for helping the Souls. Remember that Our Lady of Medjugorje said that more souls are released from Purgatory on Christmas Day than any other day. What a great Christmas gift this book would make to help the Holy Souls! Editor s note: You can visit Susan s website, susantassone.com for more information on this book and her other books about Purgatory. Susan s Medjugorje story was featured in our November, 2009 issue, which is in the archives on our website, Bits and Peaces The January issue may be delivered a little later than usual due to the printing company being closed during Christmas and New Year s Day. As of mid-november, more than 50 of our overseas subscribers have not been renewed. Please prayerfully consider sponsoring one of these people so that they can continue to receive Our Lady s messages. Only once before did I need to make a plea like this and our wonderful subscribers came through. Thank you in advance. One of our subscribers shared that the Rosary and Altar Society at her church has a Mass said once a month, and the intentions alternate between The Intentions of the Blessed Mother and Respect for All Life. She said they have been doing this for about 10 years. She suggested that maybe prayer groups or other organizations may want to adopt that practice. As of November 25, 2014, the number of Masses reported for Our Lady s intentions is 11,939. May the Lord bless you with Peace, Love and Joy during this Christmas season and New Year! 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 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. 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 Sponsor a subscription Distribute for someone overseas Beginner s Guides Distribute Adoration Newsletters (suggested donation: $13 to (# of guides) Issue #1 or Issue #2 (please circle) cover postage) (# of newsletters) (Please, no foreign checks or money orders, except postal money orders. U.S. funds only) 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. 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. City, State and Zip Code VOL. 27, NO. 12