MARY, OUR MOTHER

Friday	July 4, 2008

Our Lady came with three angels, thanked us for our prayers, and called us to be Her extended hands.

This day has been long awaited, every since it was announced that Marija would be coming and bringing Our Lady to spend this important day with us, a 4th of July in which we have never needed Our Lady like we need Her now.

When pilgrims arrived for 5:00 a.m. prayer today, they were surprised to find a giant American flag hanging from a 61 ft. pole, towering over the Field, to herald in the feast day of our nation’s birth. What added to the surprise was that most people hadn’t left the Field last night until near the midnight hour. The flagpole had not been there when they left. So they knew it had to be placed in the early morning hours. One pilgrim who had spent the night in the Field woke up around 2:30 a.m. and was deeply moved to see several of the young men from the community raising the American flag, lit up only by the candlelight illuminating Our Lady’s statue. It was a stirring site for everyone, young and old alike, and helped to move our spirits to a deeper prayer that our nation will be blessed to return to God. To see our flag flying so majestically, with everything it represents to the American people, there beside Our Lady, in the Field that has been blessed so many times through Our Lady’s presence—it filled our hearts with hope for a better tomorrow.

This morning after Mass, Marija gave everyone an opportunity to ask questions about anything they desired to know. She began by speaking about the apparition the night before, describing what Our Lady looked like, to encourage everyone to have hope in Our Lady for our nation, and in the midst of covering many different topics, shared many intimate stories of her own walk with Our Lady.

The special event of the day, besides the apparition that everyone was looking forward to attending, was the Patriotic Rosary which was prayed in the morning, where every state in the nation was consecrated to Our Lady’s heart through this special Rosary. Though Marija did not have an apparition at 11:40 a.m., in Medjugorje the other visionaries were receiving Our Lady, where She had left Heaven to bring Her blessing to the world. Everyone looked towards Our Lady of Medjugorje and asked Her to send Her blessing to the Field at this moment as the community does everyday here in the Field. The Rosary ended with playing Sacred Bond, a special musical production that Caritas produced several years ago, inspired by a writing of A Friend of Medjugorje as he described the profound connection Our Lady, as the Patroness of the United States has with the citizens of this nation, a term he created as a Sacred Bond between this nation and Our Lady.

The Bedroom continued to draw hundreds of people throughout the day. It is always a very moving experience for many people, even with spending only a few moments within this room in which Our Lady has appeared more than 100 times.

But, of course, the biggest event of the day was the apparition of Our Lady. As evening approached, the weather began to change, threatening rain. Grey clouds moved in, the wind picked up, and shortly before 6:00 pm, the rain did come and poured down, putting out all the candles in the Field. Though the rain dampened the Field, it did not dampen the spirits of the people who had come so far to be with Our Lady. The weather cleared and the candles were relit in time for the prayers to begin at 8:00 p.m. Everything was the same as the night before, but when it came time to pray the Solemn Consecration of Our Nation to Our Lady, small lights lit up the entire Field from flashlights of people turning their eyes to this prayer, but though the light was from flashlights, the effect was more like candlelight. Everyone then, in one voice, prayed this beautiful prayer to Our Lady. You could hear the words echoing through the Field. Everyone was intense in their prayer. It was the most beautiful scene, as the love for our country could be seen on every face, in heard in every voice. Marija then began to pray the seven Our Father’s, Hail Mary’s, and Glory Be’s and suddenly, it seemed, Our Lady was before us. Marija’s face was serious throughout the apparition that lasted for five minutes. Immediately upon the apparition ending, Marija could be seen writing something on paper, and it was soon realized Our Lady had given a message—which filled everyone’s hearts with excitement and anticipation. The first words brought joy to everyone’s hearts when it was announced that Our Lady had come with three angels tonight. Our Lady then thanked us for all the prayers we have offered to Her. Our Lady prayed over everyone present, blessed them and blessed all their religious articles. Though we do not have an authentic translation of the message as yet, Marija said in English the following message: “I call you to be my extended hands in this world that has no peace.” Though everyone felt a joy that Our Lady had given so much to us in this apparition, there was a solemn feeling among the people, a seriousness to what Our Lady had said and many left the Field in quiet reflection. But there can be no doubt that Our Lady has heard the prayers of these five days, that the consecrations were accepted, and faith tells us that Heaven will respond to the faithfulness of not only those who gathered here with Our Lady here at Caritas, but the thousands around the nation, and world, who also have been offering their intentions for Our Lady’s intentions for our nation.

Tomorrow will be a day of thanksgiving for all of Our Lady’s gifts bestowed upon everyone during these days. The apparition tomorrow will be at 11:40 a.m. in the Bedroom.