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© Children of Medjugorje 2024
Permission is given to use the text of these reports under two conditions:
1) No words are changed, 2) "Children of Medjugorje" is cited along with our website:
www.sremmanuel.org
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Medjugorje, July 18, 2024
Dear friends, praise be to Jesus and Mary!
1. On June 25, 2024, the visionary, Marija, received the following monthly message:
“Dear children! I
rejoice with you and thank God for permitting me to be with you, to
lead you and love you. Little children, peace is in danger and the
family is under attack. I am calling you, little children: return to
prayer in the family. Put Sacred Scripture in a visible place and read
it every day. Love God above all that it may be good for you on earth.
Thank you for having responded to my call.”
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2. A Priest's heart in danger!
Father Rock, an American parish priest with 15 years of service, was
able to overcome an obstacle that he thought would be impossible to
survive. From the very beginning of his ministry, he suffered great
injustices. Certain people spread all sorts of negative and false things
about him, destroying his reputation. His superiors believed these
slanders, prolonging this dark shroud over him for a long time. Father
Rock suffered terribly, and couldn’t bring himself to forgive these
slanderers.
One day, he went to confession to
a very experienced older priest who listened to the story of Father
Rock's misfortunes, and his persistent inability to forgive. However,
rather than showing him compassion and understanding, the confessor
unexpectedly began to show Father Rock his pride and self-importance,
telling him that he was leading his own life instead of letting it be
led by God and his Word. He invited Father Rock not only to forgive his
enemies, but also to wish them well.
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Following this confession, Father Rock felt completely discouraged. But
in the nights that followed, Jesus worked hard on his heart and he
received the great grace to forgive all those who wanted to harm him.
Moreover, in this unexpected outpouring of mercy, he received the inner
certainty that if he forgave all this evil, the Lord himself would
protect and defend him in everything. And that is what happened. The
badmouthing stopped! From then on, his priestly heart was solidly
mended! Today he is a happy priest. He sees this blessing from God, as
the great light of his life as a priest, the burst of a divine joy that
freed him from fear and sadness. Once again, the living Word of Christ
unlocked this heart that had been trapped in bitterness for years!
“Love your enemies,” Jesus tells us, “Do
good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those
who defame you… What you want men to do for you, do for them likewise…”
(Luke 6:27 -31)
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Enriched
by this experience, Father Rock now helps those who allow their hearts
to be undermined and their lives to be ruined through bitterness and the
desire for revenge. He told me this story:
3. A young woman, Anna, generously
lent her house to her cousin (without charging her rent) so that she
could look after her grandmother. The grandmother died three years
later, and Anna wanted her house back. She needed to sell it to pay for
another house she had bought. But the cousin hired a lawyer, her own
nephew, to take the house from her! They both managed to work around the
law of the land to fight Anna, and she was forced out. We can imagine
how revolted Anna was!
Father Rock offered her a path: "If
you want the Lord to reign over your property," he said, "give Him
permission to defend you Himself. In order to do that, I am asking you
to go against your gut, and ask God to forgive within you all the evil
that your cousin and her nephew have done against you, and all the evil
that they have spread on you. Also, ask Him to ensure that they cannot
keep this ill-gotten property. Shortly thereafter, Anna returned to the
priest who questioned her: “Did you ask God for all this? Or have you
spoken badly about your cousin to your loved ones?” "Yes, I spoke badly about her, I'm so angry!" “Then
you haven't forgiven! Make a commitment not to say a single negative
word about your cousin! On the contrary, ask the Lord to grant her great
blessings and to save her soul!”
A radical NO to hate? Anna
felt terrible. She knew that this was impossible for her, her whole
being was filled with revolt and hatred. However, she decided to keep
this commitment through thick and thin, and to faithfully adhere to
Father Rock's proposal, because she saw that the light of God shone
through him. Three months later, she was contacted by a real estate
agent who had found a buyer for the house and offered to handle
everything, because the buyer himself was a lawyer. In the end,
everything went smoothly, without acrimony. The cousin understood that
she was wasting her time trying to fight this honest lawyer, and it was a
beautiful victory for the Kingdom of God. Anna got her house back; she
was able to sell it and pay for the new house. She saw that God had
acted powerfully, for she had left Him in control of the whole situation and had said a radical no to hatred.
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4. Let us never forget this: it is God who forgives within us! Forgiveness
is not natural to us. But God is the Creator! He alone can produce
within us the forgiveness that our wounded human nature rejects. It is
like a new creation; it means bringing into existence something that did
not exist before. He forgave us, sinners, the unforgivable: for
allowing him to die on the Cross, He the author of life. He died
forgiving, out of pure love for every one of us. It is now up to us to
follow in the footsteps of our Master and believe that if he asks us to
forgive, it is because he has a plan of peace for his children, a hidden
plan that will later on appear to us as a wonderful gift.
5. The novena of night prayer on the Podbrdo, was a unique and extraordinary event that took place in June! During the apparition on June 15, to Marija's surprise, Our Lady invited us all to pray the Rosary for peace in the world before the 43rd Anniversary
of the Apparitions, between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. During these 9 days,
the Blessed Mother appeared to Marija at 11:30 pm, and prayer often
continued with the luminous mysteries. There was a huge response! The
hill was covered with people, and no one wanted to miss this invitation.
Outside of Medjugorje, thanks to internet broadcasts, millions of
people accompanied this prayer as if they were actually there...
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6. My little personal testimony. Because
I am becoming frail in my old age, it was impossible for me to climb
this Hill, especially 9 nights in a row. But that made me so sad. So, I
said to the Blessed Mother, “at least let me take the first steps with
the crowd”! A generous brother supported my arm, but from the first
black cobblestones of the Podbrdo, I was desperate, saying to myself "If
I get as far as the 1st joyful
mystery, that would already be a miracle!” So, we took a break at that
mystery, and then we continued. The more we went forwards, the more I
felt strength coming to me, it was tangible! So, I was able to follow
this novena to the top with all these wonderful people of God, of all
races, peoples and languages, which was an unspeakable joy. We didn't
want to leave the top of the hill!
What a great lesson! When
Mary calls, we must go, and it is by going that we receive from her
everything we need to fulfill her desire for us. If I had waited until I
felt the strength to climb, I would have stayed at the bottom of the
hill... (Of course, this shouldn't be turned into an absolute rule.)
Now, a question, that
everyone asked themselves: Why did the Theotokos ask us for this
exceptional novena, in the middle of the night, among the rocks? Many
responses have been published. As far as I am concerned, it is enough to
know that the Queen of Heaven and earth divinely sees the whole world
and its inhabitants, she knows the plans of God and also those of our
enemy, Satan… Knowing all this, she asked for our help to promote good,
to destroy an evil plan, and probably avoid the worst, out of love for
her children. She clearly sees and tells us that "the family is under
attack" and that "peace is in danger". So as a mother, how could she not count on the help of our prayer to eradicate a good dose of the evils that threatens us?!
Let us not forget that profound word she said on July 2, 2014: “Dear Children, I want all of you with me in eternity, for you are part of me!”
“Without you, dear children, I cannot help the world!” (August 28, 1986)
“I need you to collaborate with me in every moment of your life...
7. A child screamed! The scene takes place at the Magnificat Retreat Center,
in the small chapel adjoining the large basement room. A local family
was invited to the apparition with the visionary Marija. But when they
arrived, the room was full. They decided to try the little gallery, but
that too was crowded. So, they went to sit on the steps leading to the
gallery. Their 2-year-old little boy, Franjo, was there with his mother. Seated
halfway up the steps, they had a bird's eye view of what was going on
below. The little boy had often heard about Jesus and Mary at home,
because he participated in family prayer every day. And there he was on
that busy day, at Marija's Chapel. To make sure he wouldn't disturb
others during the prayer, his mother - pregnant with her 2nd -
put a pacifier in his mouth. He was calm, although uncomfortably seated
on those small steps. Below, everyone got down on their knees at
Marija's request.
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As
she did every day, before the apparition, Marija prayed the joyful
mysteries with the pilgrims, and then the sorrowful mysteries. When her
voice stops sharply, it means that the Blessed Mother has arrived, and
Marija has entered into ecstasy. Her lips move, but the sound of her
voice is cut off. At this moment, there is a very collected silence. But
no sooner had Marija's voice died down that the 2-year-old baby threw
out his pacifier with his left hand, and immediately extended his right
hand to the place where Marija was standing, a short distance in front
of him. With his right hand, he sent kisses and greetings, and pointed
to the place where the apparition was taking place, in front of Marija.
His mother wondered what was happening.
Then the child broke the silence and shouted, “Gopa, Gopa!" (PS2).
His mother and loved ones turned to him, in amazement: Throughout the
whole apparition, he never stopped sending kisses, while keeping his
gaze fixed in the direction of Marija in ecstasy. He kept his eyes wide
open, fully absorbed in what was mysteriously happening in front of him.
He stared at that spot without batting an eye.
Then,
after 4 or 5 minutes, Marija lowered her head, a sign that Our Lady had
returned to Heaven. We started praying the Magnificat. The little boy
then stopped sending kisses. It was over. He said nothing, and went back
to being the "normal" child he had been just a few minutes earlier.
After that, he never saw the Blessed Mother of God again.
What experts have analyzed and sought to understand for
years, what great saints and prophets have dreamed of seeing, a
2-year-old who does not yet know how to speak, has seen with his own
eyes. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the children you have placed among us!
At 2 years of age, they are so pure! Their innocence moves us. The Kingdom of God belongs to them, and to all who are like them, Jesus tells us.
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O Lord, please, protect the innocence of the children of today! May
evil crash to the ground before the innocence of children! Evil has
already been defeated by the innocence of a Woman, the One whose Heart
is Immaculate. | |
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Dearest Gospa, more
than ever in these times of trial, we want to stop complaining, and
instead contemplate what is beautiful, what your maternal Heart reveals
to us, and all the treasures of love it contains. Please help us lift
our eyes to your Son Jesus, for from His open Heart has sprung our
salvation and the true peace for which we long for so anxiously!
Sister Emmanuel, Community of the Beatitudes
Translated from French
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PS 1. The word of Benedict XVI (Deus Caritas Est (para 6 and 18):
“Love
of neighbor is thus shown to be possible in the way proclaimed by the
Bible, by Jesus. It consists in the very fact that, in God and with God,
I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only
take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God... Love is
“divine” because it comes from God and unites us to God; through this
unifying process it makes us a “we” which transcends our divisions and
makes us one, until in the end God is “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28)”.
PS 2. Too small to pronounce the word Gospa, which means Our Lady in Croatian, it became Gopa!
PS 3. The Novena that I wrote before the Anniversary (24
hours before Our Lady invited us all to her Novena on Podbrdo!!) can be
used for any Marian Feast Day! For the Assumption (August 15) for
example. Pray it and spread it! For each day, you will find a different
theme to meditate on. The entire novena can be found on our website:
https://sremmanuel.org/pearls/day-1-special-novena-to-the-queen-of-peace/
PS 4. “In the school of the Queen of Peace”, is
a wonderful book written by Fr Marinko Šakota. From September 2010 he
was parish vicar in Medjugorje, and from 2013 to 2022 he was in charge
of the parish. The insights and teachings he gives in this book about
Our Lady’s messages and the significance of her appearing in Medjugorje
is so rich. It can be purchased at the Parish shop in Medjugorje or via
the online shop at:
https://medjugorje.store/in-the-school-of-the-queen-of-peace-fr-marinko-sakota
PS 5. Here are 8 new Franciscan novices for the Province of Herzegovina. Three of them come from the parish of Medjugorje.
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PS 10. "Jesus today". Here
is some excellent daily nourishment to grow in the love of Christ! On
the website Mary of Nazareth you will find the gospel of the day with a
very interesting comment to "Jesus today".
https://www.mariedenazareth.com/en/our-activities/
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