June 15, 2007
1 - Apparition of the 2nd
On June 2nd, Mirjana Soldo received her monthly apparition in public at the Cenacolo Community. After the apparition, she shared with us the following message:
Dear children! Also in this difficult time God's love sends me to you. My children, do not be afraid, I am with you. With complete trust give me your hearts, that I may help you recognize the signs of the time in which you live. I will help you to come to know the love of my Son. I will triumph through you. Thank you.
Our Lady blessed all of us and all religious articles brought for blessing. Once again Our Lady reminded us to pray for priests and that a priest's blessing is a blessing from Her son Jesus.
2 - Father Jozo is saddend!
During a retreat for English speaking pilgrims held in April, Father Jozo brought up a sore point that concerns many pilgrims. He observed that “spiritual tourism” is taking over the lives of the pilgrims while they are in Medjugorje. Rare are the pilgrims truly encouraged to live the messages of Our Lady. Giving an example of fasting, he added that sometimes pilgrims listen to Vicka speak in the morning, they hear the message about fasting from her mouth, but the same day they eat bountiful meals offered by the hotel - even on Wednesday or Friday; or they go to a restaurant. This is serious!
Some of the pansions are not family homes of the parish giving testimony (as the Gospa asked them to do), but rather they are three or four star hotels, where most of the employees are not involved in the spiritual event of Medjugorje.
Father Jozo concluded by inviting the pilgrims to take the invitation of the Gospa seriously, and to be witnesses of her messages, living the 5 points, starting in the pansions. "Demand that the pansions respect the requests of the Gospa!" He said.
The leaders of the groups carry a heavy responsibility, because the spiritual fruits the pilgrims will take from their stay depends largely on how the messages are presented to them. In February, for example, the leader of a group offered that his pilgrims fast on bread and water twice during their stay – Wednesday and Friday. He had informed the pansion – owned by a devout Catholic family – that on these two days, the pilgrims would eat only breakfast (a substantial saving for the pilgrims!). The fruits were more than convincing!
The Gospa knows very well that each of us has at least one heavy burden to entrust to her, and that we beg her to help us. In Medjugorje, she gives us again and again the sure means to conquer evil. Why discard it in the very spot where she gives it to us? What do we do with her maternal advice?
Who has ever regretted to live the messages to their fullness? Would our Mother ever let us down on her promises?
Last March 25th, she told us again: "I desire to inspire you to continue to live fasting with an open heart. By fasting and renunciation, little children, you will be strong in faith. In God you will find peace through daily prayer…"
3 - A way to healing
Some friends in Medjugorje, Nada and Marko, received a wonderful blessing. A priest staying with them noticed a certain tension behind the smiley face of Nada. After spending nearly two weeks in the village, the priest suggested that they pray together. Being at the service of God for many years, in their hearts, they had forgiven the best they could, all the people who had hurt them. However, the priest asked them to try a more concrete way of eradicating all traces of bitterness that can sometimes linger unconsciously. His hope was that they could attain a more profound peace. Together they knelt in front of Jesus and the priest asked them to name out loud all of the people who have hurt them throughout their lives.
Starting with their parents, and people close to them in childhood, even God if they held any heartache against Him. They named each person out loud: "I forgive so and so (name) for having (action done)…"
After a long prayer to the Holy Spirit, they took turns enumerating all the painful blows they had received in the past that they had not taken very well. Doing this, they discovered new ones they had forgotten, or that they had discarded because they were too painful. Marko especially benefited from this healing since he had lived without God until the age of fifty.
The priest prayed for them and blessed them. The next morning, filled with joy and awe, they realized that Jesus had really spread a river of mercy in them and had performed a sort of deliverance, taking out of them all the devious consequences of the lack of forgiveness. Even more, Marko had lost 70% of the feeling in his right leg over the past year. After this experience, he was able to recover the sense of touch in his leg! They witnessed: "The peace we drew from forgiving out loud is incredible!" Their faces were shining with joy! They said: "Ask a priest to lead you through something like this. Do it too, and you will see for yourself!"
4 - Write to Her!
In order to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Apparitions on June 25th, we are starting the traditional Novena. All are invited to join! This is the opportunity to examine our relationship with the Gospa, and to renew our commitment to be at her school if we took it a little bit easy in our link with her. Each one of us may choose the gifts he will offer her. Maybe it is a fast, a move to forgive, a renouncement of slandering, or a special prayer for the Novena like a litany or your favorite hymns to her. Another idea is to write a new and personal prayer to the Queen of Peace!
Countless are the testimonies of blessings and healings brought by letters written to Mary in Medjugorje! Of course she can read in our hearts what we have to tell her even before we write it down, but the act itself of taking a pen and paper makes a big difference. In fact, when we write, we are surprised that unexpected thoughts come to our minds and in a way it is she who tells us what to write. It is therefore a very special intimate experience with her, where our love grows, as increases our filial love for her! Also she has promised in Medjugorje she would answer all the letters directly in our hearts during prayer. And she always keeps her promises! Those who want to send a letter to her may use this address, and a friend will take them to Medjugorje:
"Reine de la Paix, Mary Queen of Peace", BP 2157, 06103 Nice cedex, France.
Dearest Gospa, you have been visiting us everyday for 26 years already! We thank you for being so faithful! In this Anniversary, we want to make a turn in our response to you and render you love for love!
Sister Emmanuel +
PS 1 - Vicka has interrupted her meetings with the pilgrims for quite a while after a kind of accident: she was pushed down in her staircase by a pilgrim and this injured her fragile back. She had to undergo some therapy but took it with a smile. She'll be back in Medjugorje for the Anniversary.
PS 2 – On June 11, a bus with 46 American pilgrims, was in a serious accident on their way back to Medjugorje from the Sarajevo airport. While traveling across a bridge, they were hit head-on by a truck trailer and plunged into the river below. Miraculously no one was killed but some are severely injured. They are asking for our prayers. Let's carry them and their families close to our hearts at this time!
PS 3 – Ivan returned to Medjugorje in the middle of May and the pilgrims were happy to climb the Hill again for the night apparition. The Gospa didn't give any specific messages, but she prayed in a special way for priests, for the vocations in the Church and peace in the world. This is an example for us to grab, as she needs our prayers in order to fulfill her plans.
PS 4: In order to receive this monthly report from Sr. Emmanuel in English, please sign up: pray@childrenofmedjugorje.com
In French: wmmedjugorje@childrenofmedjugorje.com
In Spanish: gisele_riverti@mensajerosdelareinadelapaz.org
In Italian: info@vocepiu.it
In Croatian: rsilic@yahoo.com
In German: pray@childrenofmedjugorje.com
PS 6: Please keep an eye out for our new website: http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com. We should have it ready in July, with a webstore to purchase all of Sr. Emmanuel's books, CDs, and DVDs. Thank you for your patience while we have been working on this!
