© Children of Medjugorje 2003

Permission is given to spread the text of these reports under two conditions: 1) no words are changed, 2) "Children of Medjugorje" is cited along with our web site
<www.childrenofmedjugorje.com <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>  <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>  <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>  <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>  or email address <dnolan@childrenofmedjugorje.com>

Children of Medjugorje
President: Denis Nolan
Vice-President: Sister Emmanuel

Advisory Board:
Cardinal Jaime Sin
Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria, O.F.M.+
Archbishop Frane Franic
Archbishop D. Peter Chung
Bishop Nicholas D'Antonio, O.F.M.
Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, O.M.I.
Bishop Donald Montrose
Bishop William Ellis
Fr. Daniel Ange
Ralph Martin

May 15, 2003

Dear Children of Medjugorje,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!

1) "After many, many years of hearing/reading/praying about Medjugorje, I was immensely blessed to make the pilgrimage..."  Kathy B. from Texas tells us about her trip during Easter, 2002:

"We actually arrived in Medjugorje on Holy Thursday night.  The first thing we did was to climb Cross Mountain on Good Friday!   For about 20 years in Texas, USA, I have been praying '...have mercy on us and on the whole world'...Being at Medjugorje, I was literally praying WITH people from the whole wide world for Jesus' Mercy! It was such a joy and fulfillment for me -- made my faith so much stronger to be there with people truly from ALL over the world, praying for His Mercy !  And when I started the Divine Mercy Novena on Good Friday at St. James Church, there were some people kneeling right beside me with a Divine Mercy book...and they were praying in Arabic ! ! !  That memory has been a great consolation to me through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Being in Medjugorje for the Divine Mercy Novena gave me real living proof and living, breathing HOPE, knowing for a fact that there ARE huge numbers of people ALL over the world who continually offer the same intense petitions for Divine Mercy and for healing, reconciliation and peace as we do here. I am CERTAIN that this worldwide unity of hearts, minds (and even knees) has greatly helped to shorten the war in Iraq!"

People from all nations continue to gather with Our Lady in Medjugorje. The Holy Triduum this year brought pilgrims from all over the world. For example, the Way of the Cross on Good Friday was led in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech/Slovak, Dutch, Korean, Arabic and Croatian! The parish information center (www.medjugorje.hr) tells us that during the month of March pilgrims came from Italy, Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany, England, Switzerland, the USA, Spain, Slovenia, Canada, Puerto Rico, La Reunion, Japan, South Africa, Slovakia, Korea, Denmark, Austria, the Czech Republic, Philippines, Scotland, Poland, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  

Some, however, may be tempted to cancel their pilgrimage due to the troubled situation in the world.  During the Balkan War in 1994 I remember Sister Emmanuel telling Americans at Notre Dame that it was more dangerous for us to stay home than it was for us to go to Medjugorje, and she was right!    The Queen of Peace is working out a plan through Medjugorje for the salvation of the world.  Didn't she just call to us this past March 25th, "[God] desires to save you, one by one, through my coming here," and the on March 18th, "I call you to make a choice.  God gave you free will to choose life or death.   Listen to my messages with the heart that you may become cognizant of what you are to do and how you will find the way to life...Thank you for being here!" Our Lady wants us to be coming to Medjugorje!  That's for sure. And we know who it is who desperately wants that we don't!  Archbishop Franic (from Split) believed the war in Bosnia was Satanic - to keep people from coming to Medjugorje: "Some would gladly silence the Blessed Mother's apparitions in Medjugorje so that no one hears her," he wrote then. In a homily in St. James, Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, said: "Now Our Lady is speaking to the world and therefore we must acknowledge her as a precious gift given to us by God, to be accepted and to be lived. And it is very important to understand that it is not a question of a general veneration for Our Lady.   Here we are offered a special gift, a special love, a special grace which we must accept in order to become filled with richness, in order to be saved... " (May 24, 1985). We each have an important part to play in her plan: "You can not comprehend how great your role is..." she's told us (1/25/87). Don't put off your pilgrimage! Now is exactly the right time to be coming to Medjugorje! If you find yourself concerned about safety, remember that coming to Medjugorje brings great graces of protection upon your family while staying back home because of fear does not!!

2) Last Monday (May 12th) Our Lady appeared to Ivan on the mountain and gave a beautiful message... that Ivan shared with the prayer group and with the many pilgrims who had gathered on the mountain to welcome her coming. We are told, however, that these messages from Our Lady are intended only for the prayer group and the pilgrims who are present on the mountain. Those coming to Medjugorje should know that Our Lady appears Friday nights and Monday nights to Ivan for the prayer group on Podbrdo - and she often invites pilgrims to join!

3) Our Lady still comes 20 minutes before Mass (7:00 PM in Medjugorje) to draw us to her Son. And we're told more graces are being offered now than ever before in the history of the world!  We can receive them by opening our hearts and welcoming her when she comes.  Holding the Rosary is like holding the hand of Mary as she leads us to Jesus.   But - listen - I've learned that she is doing much, much more when we are praying the rosary - especially during this year of the Rosary - something incredible!!!!!

Meditating on the joyful mysteries in her newest audio tape, "The Miracle of the Rosary", Sr. Emmanuel says many of the same things the Holy Father said the following month in his apostolic letter on the Rosary!  Listening to Sr. Emmanuel's tape I've learned something almost too good to be true!   Praying the Rosary is more than just holding Our Lady's hand as she leads us to Jesus. She's actually offering to form us in her womb now just as she formed Jesus then!!! No matter what the circumstances were when we were being carried in our own mother's womb - Mary wants to carry us now and remold us!!!   And as we are carried by her through each mystery of the Rosary, the same grace that was present at that particular historical moment for the Holy Family, is being offered to us!.  Here's just a few moments of her meditation on the Second Joyful Mystery:  

What can I say about Mary carrying Baby Jesus - what sort of dialogue these two are having on the way to Ain Karim?  I want to enter that dialogue. And you know what, I will receive a great gift during this decade. This simple little gift, my gift will be according to what Mary said in Medjugorje.  She said, "Dear Children, I love each one of you as much as I love my Son, Jesus." Have you ever thought of that? She said, "...As I carried my Son Jesus, so also, dear children, do I wish to carry you on the way to holiness...'' Wow!  Have you ever thought of that?  That the same way, with the same motherly tenderness we are now carried by Mary. And there is nothing that she had for Jesus that is not also for us. There is no diminishing of the power of love when she looks at us, even if we are the worst sinner here present in this church.  She loves me - she loves you - the same way, with the same intensity that she loves Jesus! Wow! As a child, I might have suffered from lack of love from my earthly mother, or maybe my mother was stressed because she was sick or she had lost a dear one; or my father was not that good to her; or maybe she had a car accident and she was terrified so I got the shock also inside; or maybe she thought of an abortion.  So I have been deeply wounded in my heart because a little kid in the womb has only his mother to cling to... because to whom else can he go?   He has only her. And if she fails to love, can you imagine the distress of the little one?  Well, during this decade, Mary will heal me because the same tenderness that she has for Jesus will fall on me.  This is a healing tenderness, a healing motherly love that I so badly need... And if as an adult I have sinned against life... what will Our Lady do during this simple little decade?  She will heal me from the consequences of my rejection of life.  And all the wounds that are connected with this rejection of life will be caressed by Our Lady and healed...

Sister Emmanuel's new tape on the Rosary (M 15, The Miracle of the Rosary, Joyful Mysteries) is absolutely incredible!  I'm a little embarrassed because I was present when it was recorded... and now it's obvious I wasn't really listening... I listened to the tape recently and it changed my life!  It's a must for every child of Mary - especially maybe those of us who have been around a long time and need to be woken up again like children to the wonders of these days!  Don't put off ordering it while we're still in this Special Marian Year, the Year of the Rosary!  ($5 ea., in the USA.  Order from COM, P.O. Box 1110, Notre Dame, IN 46556 - add $5. to all orders for ship & hand. Other English speaking countries, see on our website <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>).

4)  Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti just spent a few weeks in Medjugorje with her husband, Paolo and their four sons. Their youngest, Giovanni Maria, is now eight months old! 5)  A very holy priest, Fr. Christian Ainé, the founder of the Foyer de Charité (Marthe Robin's family), in the island of Martinic, died on May 9th in Medjugorje after praying in St. James church during Our Lady's apparition. He had already celebrated Mass and so told friends he was going back to his room (right across from the church) to pray his Breviary. During Mass he was born into eternal life!   Cyril Auboyneau, the leader of his group and Fr. Ainé's good friend, managed to bring Fr. Branko (the pastor) and Fr. Svetozar by his side so that he could receive the last rights. Cyril shared that he couldn't have dreamed of a better death. Fr. Ainé had answered the call of Our Lady, he came to her in Medjugorje, and then died in her arms! We hope to be able to write more about this in a future report... (Marthe Robin, a French mystic, lived for 50 years without sleep, nor food nor drink. All that time, she was nourished only by the Eucharist. She died in 1981, just three months before Our Lady started coming to Medjugorje! See PS).

6)   As I was about to send out this report, news has reached me from France that Cyril Auboyneau, who had lived for seven years in Medjugorje helping English and French pilgrims in the 80's, suffered an aneurysm in the brain upon his return from Medjugorje and was found in a deep coma at his home on the Island of Ré near La Rochelle, France on May 13th.  His life is threatened since the coma is being prolonged.  Let's all pray and ask a miracle from Jesus, that Cyril may remain with us and continue as an apostle for Our Lady and a witness to the messages of the Queen of Peace!

Dear Mother, thank you for coming!  
Yes, we want to respond to your call and be your apostles!

Denis Nolan
© 2003 Children of Medjugorje

PS. "Marthe Robin: the Cross and the Joy" by Fr. Raymond Perret, is published by Alba House (Society of St. Paul) 2187 Victory Blvd., Staten Island, New York 10314.

© Children of Medjugorje 2003
Permission is given to spread the text of these reports under two conditions: 1) no words are changed, 2) "Children of Medjugorje" is cited along with our web site
<www.childrenofmedjugorje.com <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> or email address <dnolan@childrenofmedjugorje.com>

Children of Medjugorje
President: Denis Nolan
Vice-President: Sister Emmanuel

Advisory Board:
Cardinal Jaime Sin
Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria, O.F.M.+
Archbishop Frane Franic
Archbishop D. Peter Chung
Bishop Nicholas D'Antonio, O.F.M.
Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, O.M.I.
Bishop Donald Montrose
Bishop William Ellis
Fr. Daniel Ange
Ralph Martin

May 1, 2003
St. Joseph the Worker

Dear Children of Medjugorje,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!

1) It seems I'm always hearing stories of what St. Joseph is doing in people's lives. A week won't go by without Sr. Emmanuel giving another example of how good his care is for her! But St. Joseph doesn't just belong to a few. He belongs to us all! Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Let's use him!

St. Louis de Montfort prophesied about these days! The saints in heaven, he said, would look down with awe at those who got to be alive in these days - who along with Mary, and under her mantle, would crush the head of Satan (the father of the culture of death)! The saints want to be involved with us now, the baptized on earth, the Church Militant! Remember, the Catachesim teaches their real work only begins when they became intercessors in heaven!

For the last four months I've wanted to honor the saint who chose Children of Medjugorje for 2003, St. Seraphim of Sarov. (See <www.ChildrenOfMedjugorje.com> about this practice of choosing saints.)

For several years now, my wife, Cathy has been getting up in the wee hours before the sun to pray in intercession for Sr. Emmanuel. For some time she couldn't find any others to join her, so she invited St. Faustina and the Gospa of Medjugorje to join her in prayer. Every morning she would rise while it was still dark and pray in intercession with them.

On January 1st of this year she drew St. Seraphim's name (actually he chose us)! January 2nd was his feast day. On that day I had to take care of some practical repairs on our home... and I remember calling upon him for help. Each time the result seemed to be a little miracle. To give one example: in the wee hours of the morning I couldn't get a radiator to work... (it had never worked!)... It is the largest room in our house where we pray and I no longer had time to be cutting wood for the wood stove. I remember hollering out to St. Seraphim, "You have to take care of this! I'm going to bed!"  The next morning I found that radiator working and it has worked ever since!   

The morning of January 3rd, when my wife started to pray, she heard the Lord tell her, "Yesterday you received many graces through the intercession of St. Seraphim. From now on every morning he'll be praying with you!" (And she felt that her intercessory prayer would from then on be for our whole apostolate, "Children of Medjugorje.") Well, the following morning Cathy started receiving a "word" in prayer... an inspired reflection on one of Our Lady's messages from Medjugorje. This has continued each morning. Every day you can find that day's reflection posted on our web site: <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>   Thank you St. Seraphim!

2) This past weekend we were involved in a Day of Prayer by Christopher West at the University of Notre Dame. He is spearheading a world wide revolution among the young to live and spread the pope's "Theology of the Body"... a most important and all encompassing work by the Holy Father that George Weigel calls "a kind of theological time bomb [that] will compel a dramatic development of thinking about virtually every major theme in the Creed!" In his celebrated biography of the pope, Weigle wrote that when this "time bomb" goes off "perhaps in the twenty-first century, the theology of the body may well be seen as a critical moment not only in Catholic theology, but in the history of modern thought!" Well, that time bomb has started going off! It is spreading now among young people throughout the world like wildfire! The spread of this foundational work by the Holy Father signals an end to the culture of death!  

Kathleen Martin was here several months ago. She presented the school of the Gospa to students at the University of Notre Dame, i.e., what Our Lady taught the prayer group in Medjugorje that she had formed and lead (see the Feb. 1st, Feb. 15th and March 1, 2003 reports in the archives at <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com>).  For instance, Our Lady spent many hours and days teaching the young people how to pray the "Our Father." Each person was helped to reach a point at which they were praying from their whole person, completely integrated in body and spirit, and focused on each phrase with perfect inner unity. This process took a long time and much attention from Our Lady, but the fruit was a group of young people deeply united within themselves and with each other, in communion of prayer and love. Their prayer together brought an explosion of grace! Kathleen says what she experienced when she was in the same room with them while they were praying was absolutely incredible!

The Holy Father has given us a similar training in inner integrity of body and spirit, in his teaching, the "Theology of the Body." Through his exhaustive and careful analysis of what it means to be human, what it means to be "body and spirit" Pope John Paul II has opened up a way to personal integrity and wholeness that represents a new and refreshed understanding of holiness for all of us. His "theology of the body" helps us to find true communion of persons, through our deep inner integrity, our wholeness of spirit. Many are now saying this foundational work of the Holy Father is all that George Weigel says it is, and more! It will bring healing to the Church! And can you imagine the effect of the prayer of a unified, healed Church upon the world!   

What is astounding is that what the Gospa was teaching 70 or so members of her prayer group in Medjugorje on an individual and personal level for five years, the Pope was presenting to the Church for five years on an intellectual level (from 1979 to 1984) in his general audiences on the "Theology of the Body!" Our Lady had said that one day what she had taught the prayer group in Medjugorje would be made available to every prayer group - to every parish in the world. Mary in her school in Medjugorje and the Pope in his his "Theology of the Body" were both teaching the same things (of course his teaching is a dialogue with the world and so is on a very deep intellectual level)!!! And now just when the Pope is calling the whole world to enter the "School of Mary" the time has come for them both to be given to the world!

Come and take your place in Our Lady's plan! This is exactly the time to be coming to Medjugorje and presenting yourself to Our Lady!

3) Today begins the summer schedule in Medjugorje. The Rosary in St. James starts at 6:00 PM, followed by Holy Mass at 7:00 PM.

4) Good news! The INFORMATION CENTRE ³MIR² reports that between April 1st and October 31, 2003, NO VISA IS REQUIRED TO COME TO MEDJUGORJE for Citizens of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Spread this news!

5) The 8th International meeting for priests will take place in Medjugorje from June 30 to July 5, 2003. The theme of the meeting is, ³Servant of the Eucharist². (See <www.medjguorje.hr>)

Dearest Gospa, we say "Yes" to your call!
We want to take our place in your plan!

Denis Nolan
© Children of Medjugorje 2003

© Children of Medjugorje 2003
Permission is given to spread the text of these reports under two conditions: 1) no words are changed, 2) "Children of Medjugorje" is cited along with our web site
<www.childrenofmedjugorje.com <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> or email address <dnolan@childrenofmedjugorje.com>

Children of Medjugorje
President: Denis Nolan
Vice-President: Sister Emmanuel

Advisory Board:
Cardinal Jaime Sin
Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria, O.F.M.+
Archbishop Frane Franic
Archbishop D. Peter Chung
Bishop Nicholas D'Antonio, O.F.M.
Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, O.M.I.
Bishop Donald Montrose
Bishop William Ellis
Fr. Daniel Ange
Ralph Martin

April 15, 2003

Dear Children of Medjugorje,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!

1) With joy and thanksgiving we receive the gift of Easter, 2003! Two days ago, on Palm Sunday, the Holy Father proclaimed:

"Peace is a gift of Christ, which he obtained for us with the sacrifice of the cross. To achieve it effectively it is necessary to go up to Calvary with the divine Master. And who can lead us better in this ascent than Mary, who was given to us precisely as Mother, under the cross? To help to discover this wonderful spiritual reality, I have chosen as the topic of the Message for World Youth Day this year the words of the agonizing Christ: 'Behold your Mother!'"

On 16 October 2002 I proclaimed the "Year of the Rosary", and I invited all the children of the Church to make of this ancient Marian prayer a simple and profound exercise in contemplation of the face of Christ. To recite the Rosary means to learn to gaze on Jesus with his Mother's eyes, and to love Jesus with his Mother's heart. Today, my dear young people, I am also, in spirit, handing you the Rosary beads. Through prayer and meditation on the mysteries, Mary leads you safely towards her Son! Do not be ashamed to recite the Rosary [publicly]... Do not hesitate to suggest that it be recited at home by your parents and brothers and sisters, because it rekindles and strengthens the bonds between family members. This prayer will help you to be strong in your faith, constant in charity, joyful and persevering in hope.

With Mary, the handmaiden of the Lord, you will discover the joy and fruitfulness of the hidden life. With her, disciple of the Master, you will follow Jesus along the streets of Palestine, becoming witnesses of his preaching and his miracles. With her, the sorrowful Mother, you will accompany Jesus in his passion and death. With her, Virgin of hope, you will welcome the festive Easter proclamation and the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit...

Question: Vicka , last year we came to see you and interview you. You were not married then. Now you have more than a year of marriage behind you. What would you tell, the young people especially, about family life?

Vicka: I can see that, today, young people are a little afraid of changing their lives, for the life they lead is very convenient, you see, since they can do whatever they want, being single. I would tell them to trust themselves more. For example, for me with my husband, as a family, I feel very good, really very good! And I want to tell all of them that they should no longer be afraid, but instead open themselves and listen, for God calls each one of us. We should be ready to hear what he wants and then choose a path. Today young people are in great confusion and they live in a very difficult time. This is why Our Lady is asking, "Pray for the youth, pray for your families!" We also have a little 2-month old daughter, whose name is Marija-Sofija. For us it's a great joy. She is life, great joy, a big fruit that the Lord has given us. And, with my husband, we are thanking God for such a beautiful gift! You know, we are ready. If the Lord made a gift, he can make more, so we are ready to welcome them with our hearts wide open!

Question: What do you feel in your heart for your little girl, a new love? This is all new for you!

Vicka: This can't be explained! When she was born, I could not believe it! It is something very big, bigger than you! So you try to touch, to see, and ask in yourself a million things and you tell yourself, "See how great God is!" With this small fruit, you can see how God creates, how he has created this new creature, how he is making this gift for you, how great his love is! While these thoughts are going through your mind, your love grows. Later, each time you see the child move, move her hands, it is always something new for you. Then you feel a great love, a great joy, something you just can't explain.

Question: We saw that after the baby's birth, you remained out of sight for 40 days, without talking to the pilgrims, without being seen. Is this a Croatian tradition?

Vicka: Yes, you know, not going out in public is our tradition. When a woman gives birth to a child, she must stay at home during this time. But people can come to visit, my parents, my sisters, my friends, to help (which is normal) and to bring their wishes, etc., according to our customs. Now, a few months have passed and little by little the time has come for me to go out...

Question: About confession, what do you have to say?

Vicka: Our Lady recommends that we go to confession once a month. She says, "Do not go to confession only because you have sins. Also ask the priest to give you advice to be able to move forward."

Question: There are people who think they do not need to go to confession. They say they do not see theirs sins, they have not done anything wrong, or they address God directly.

Vicka: In that case, drop the matter. One should not force anyone. When someone talks like this, let's not discuss with them. Our Lady does not want such discussions. She prefers that we simply pray for these people. Our prayer and our example may touch these hearts. But when you speak, you make them go away. It is preferable to keep quiet and to wait for the right moment. The Lord knows how to reach them, little by little.

Question: Don't the young people need to hear us speak?

Vicka: When I say 'no words', I mean 'not too many words'! When people talk too much, it gets heavier, it drives people away, and there isn't any fruit. If a youth or a child asks me a question, I am ready to answer them with all my heart. When they do not ask anything, it is better to remain quiet, not to say anything.

Question: What did Our Lady teach you about the connection between confession and going to communion?

Vicka: You see, sometimes we rush in for a quick confession and we say, "There, I committed this sin, that sin, etc," but it is obvious that we have not prepared ourselves. If you are not really ready, if you are hiding something, or else you are fighting inside yourself, you will not come out liberated. When you go to communion afterwards, you are not able to feel a deep joy. But when you free your heart from everything and you know that the Lord has forgiven you, (He gave the priest the power of absolving your sins), you believe and then your heart is free! So, when you go to communion, you can feel Jesus who comes to your heart, alive! Our Blessed Mother said, "Holy mass is the most important moment, a holy moment! And at this moment Jesus comes to us alive!" When we are in church, she asks that we go take Jesus with no fear, nor excuses.

Question: How should we use our imagination while praying?

Vicka: It all depends on you! We so often think that prayer is an obligation, something that we should do. But Our Lady says that prayer should be a joy! If joy does not come in prayer, time goes by, you are not doing anything and it does the opposite. I am going to repeat what Our Lady said, since I can't find a better example than the one she gives with the vase of flowers: an example taken from nature. When we go out to a park or to the mountain, we see nature and all the things that grow, these are truly gifts of God. And the Gospa says, "All of you have a vase of flowers in your houses. Each day you pour a few drops of water in these flowers and you can see how these flowers develop and become pretty roses. In the same way, when, each day, you put two or three prayers with the heart in your hearts, you can see your hearts grow, like these flowers. When we stay 2 or 3 days without putting water in the flowers, we can see that these flowers disappear, they no longer exist." And Our Lady said, "But, when the time of prayer comes, you so often say, 'Today I am tired, I can't pray, I will pray tomorrow.' But the next day comes, and then the day after, and you say the same thing. So our prayer moves further away from us every day and our heart wanders away. Just as a flower cannot live without water, you cannot live without the grace of God. Prayer with the heart cannot be learned nor studied in books. Prayer with the heart can only be lived, from day to day, by moving forward."

Dearest Gospa, thank you for your school! We don't want to miss a single day.
Holding your hand (with the Rosary) we are learning to pray with the heart!
Thank you for coming to Medjugorje!

Denis Nolan

* IMPORTANT: It seems many initiatives are being taken to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul II on October 16, 2003. For example, many people are having a Mass celebrated in their parishes on that day for his intentions. We also encourage you to consider giving him the gift of praying one Rosary each day for peace. When you write to tell him of your gift put "air mail" on the envelope, and address it to:

His Holiness John Paul II
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State, EUROPE

© Children of Medjugorje 2003
Permission is given to spread the text of these reports under two conditions: 1) no words are changed, 2) "Children of Medjugorje" is cited along with our web site
<www.childrenofmedjugorje.com <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> <http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com> or email address <dnolan@childrenofmedjugorje.com>

Children of Medjugorje
President: Denis Nolan
Vice-President: Sister Emmanuel

Advisory Board:
Cardinal Jaime Sin
Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria, O.F.M.+
Archbishop Frane Franic
Archbishop D. Peter Chung
Bishop Nicholas D'Antonio, O.F.M.
Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, O.M.I.
Bishop Donald Montrose
Bishop William Ellis
Fr. Daniel Ange
Ralph Martin

April 1, 2003

Dear Children of Medjugorje,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!

1) We continue here presenting part of an interview we filmed recently with Vicka:

Question: Our Lady has spoken about fasting in a recent message. Could you answer those who are afraid of fasting and who find it too hard?

Vicka: You know, what we do without putting our heart in it is difficult! So it is better not to do it. I can tell myself, OK, today it is hard for me, my head feels fuzzy, I am hungry, etc., then it is better not to fast for God never forces us. It is for you to feel in your heart that you have to respond to Our Lady's demands with the heart. Our Lady wants us to respond with the heart, but if you do not have the heart, it is better not to do it, for God does not force anyone. If you say, I have a headache, I feel dizzy, etc, these are excuses, you see, only excuses not to respond. But Our Lady wants us to purify our hearts by fasting. This is the most important fasting! She asks that we fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays. The only way to fast well is to be firm when deciding to fast. With a strong will, one can do everything! It is the same for sin. Fasting will purify me of my sin and of all these things that confuse me. This is what pleases Our Lady more. If today I fast on bread and water, and afterwards I have a thousand bad thoughts, I do harm, I am bad, then it is better for me not to fast. First I have to root out my nastiness, and then take a new step forward.

Question: Vicka, what do you personally do, to pray with the heart? Do you have a word for those who say, "I can't pray with the heart, I do not know how to open my heart"?
Vicka: Each one of us must try. You see, my experience is personal, I pray in my own way, the way the Lord has given me. For me it is a joy, since I respond to God! Those who say they can't do it, really do not want to, for fear of having to change inside themselves. Actually the Lord is waiting for them. He is waiting for the moment when we simply say, "Lord, do what you want with me!" And don't be afraid! But you first have to think that God loves you. I know that God loves me, so I give myself completely to him. Thus, when I open my heart to him, he helps me move forward. But you know, all prayers are made differently. I pray in a certain way, you in another, and so with everyone of us. The only important thing is that we pray with the heart - that we wish to pray with the heart! When we have this desire, God is always ready to give.

2) The day after returning from Medjugorje I stopped by the Cathedral on my way home from the office and was pleasantly surprised to discover our Bishop presiding at a special Mass for peace. During Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass he invoked Our Lady Queen of Peace while leading us with beautiful meditations on the Luminous Mysteries. But soon I became a little distracted by a clicking noise in front of me. The South Bend Tribune had sent a photographer and he was taking many pictures - but only of me! He would stop periodically to scan the Cathedral for another possible shot, and then turn back and continue photographing the same subject.. What in the world was going on?! I had no illusions about being photogenic!!! Opening one eye and peeking around I discovered I was one of the youngest people in the church (there weren't many) and I was the only one kneeling! With a shock I realized that I was the only shot the photographer had! A large picture of me landed the next day, March 25th, on page two, right after the front page!

Two nights before I had attended Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in St. James in Medjugorje. I remember having to squeeze my way into the Church - happy to have been able to get in at all! And I hadn't even looked for a seat - grateful to be able to carve out a little space for myself on the floor to be able to kneel! This experience in my Cathedral back home gave me a renewed appreciation for the Franciscans and their non stop evening program of prayer in St. James church in Medjugorje! Our Lady told us in her message on March 25th: "...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 realize God's plan in you and through you!" (3/25/03)

The next day I discovered the following testimony from a couple from the USA who went to Medjugorje a little more than 3 years ago:

"My husband and I were invited to Medjugorje with nine other luke warm catholic family members like myself.

"My husband, who was Baptist, wanted to go along only to prove to us that the Blessed Mother was not truly in Medjugorje so that we would lose our faith all together and become Baptists!

"Well, to our surprise, all I can say is our lives will never be the same again! My husband walked around Medjugorje saying he didn't know what he was feeling: he was mad, sad, happy - not knowing what to feel... Then on the third day he came to me and said 'I want to learn the Rosary!' And I was feeling big things happening within me. We walked up to cross mountain and gave our lives to our mother and her Son and asked them to do with us what they wanted. We did tell them together that we loved children and would do anything for them.

"Well, to make a long journey short, three years after we came home God sent us five beautiful children to adopt to add to our family (we already had two of our own). We are blessed now to be a family of nine. And my husband is a devout Catholic! The Blessed Mother took each of us one step at a time. Upon returning from Medjugorje we started an adoration chapel in our church that has been blessing our church community now for three years.

"Thank you, Mother, for saving us! And thank you, our Precious Jesus, for your Divine Mercy! We love you and we give all seven of our babies and ourselves to you always!"
Sandy

3) "At this time of worldwide concern, we all feel the need to present ourselves to the Lord to implore the great gift of peace... Many prayer initiatives are springing up these days in various parts of the world. While I give these my wholehearted support, I invite all to take up the Rosary to invoke the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin!" Pope John Paul II, Feb. 9, 2003

Twice meeting with Susan Tassone the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for the books she has written on the rosary and the souls in Purgatory. She tells me that when she presents him with her latest, "The Rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory," * she'll let him know that she's not a writer at all! It's the Gospa of Medjugorje he has to thank! After experiencing a dramatic healing during her first pilgrimage in 1994, she returned to Chicago from Medjugorje only to discover Our Lady had given her this new and totally unexpected vocation! Our Lady said to all of us in a message last month: "Listen to my messages with the heart that you may become congnizant of what you are to do and how you will find the way to life...Thank you for being here!" (3/18/03

Dearest Gospa, we want to listen to your messages with the heart! Thank you for showing us what we are to do and how to find the way to life!   

Denis Nolan© Children of Medjugorje 2003

* Available from Our Sunday Visitor (Tel in the USA: (800) 348 - 2440) "Praying the Rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory" is one of OSV's best sellers. When she took on the project Susan says she told the Gospa that she would have to write it herself - and then she did! All Susan's books are endorsed by Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago...

PS. A beautiful new audiocassette (in English) inspired by Medjugorje has just come out by Sr. Emmanuel - M 15 "The Miracle of the Rosary: the Joyful Mysteries." Sr. Emmanuel helps us go deep into the Joyful Mysteries in the spirit of John Paul II. (We made the tape the month before the Holy Father declared the Year of the Rosary - and I remember when I read his Apostolic Letter I was amazed to see that the Pope was saying many of the same things Sr. Emmanuel had said the previous month when giving this talk!) For ordering information phone Tel# (574) 234 - 7888 (USA), Fax# (574) 287 - 7875 or see our web page at http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com.

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Children of Medjugorje
President: Denis Nolan
Vice President: Sister Emmanuel
Secretary: Cathy Nolan
Advisory Board:
Cardinal Jaime Sin
Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria, O.F.M.+
Archbishop Frane Franic
Archbishop D. Peter Chung
Bishop Nicholas D'Antonio, O.F.M.
Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, O.M.I.
Bishop Donald Montrose
Bishop William Ellis
Fr. Daniel Ange
Ralph Martin

© Children Of Medjugorje

© Children of Medjugorje 2002
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