© Children of Medjugorje 2009
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August 15, 2009
Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!
1 – On August 2nd Mirjana received her monthly apparition in the presence of a crowd gathered at the Blue Cross, at the foot of Apparition Hi
Image by angelofsweetbitter2009 via Flickr
ll. After the apparition, she shared the following message:
“Dear children! I am coming, with my motherly love, to point out the way by which you are to set out, in order that you may be all the more like my Son; and by that, closer to and more pleasing to God. Do not refuse my love. Do not renounce salvation and eternal life for the sake of the transience and frivolity of this life. I am among you to lead you and, as a mother, to caution you. Come with me!”
2 – The Youth Festival was blessed in a special way this year. The young people were more numerous than ever. The atmosphere was peaceful and the songs very beautiful. More than 600 priests came from all over the world, to minister to the youth. In fact, no other Medjugorje Youth Festival has seen so many priests! You, too, may listen to the many high quality teachings and testimonies shared publicly at the youth festival by logging on to: http://www.mladifest.com/medjugorje/youthfestival.htm.
Young people, come in great numbers again next year! Already some good speakers and witnesses are being prepared for you!
Image by diomedenet via Flickr
3 – They were so thirsty!
During the festival, many young people were able to take some very meaningful and sometimes very courageous steps toward the Lord. Testimonies have poured in.
One day, three teenagers were wandering down the street, in Medjugorje, under a scorching sun, and they got very thirsty. Coming up to a grocery store, they decided to steal three bottles of Coke. Sometime later, as the Grace that permeates this place began to take effect on their hearts, their consciences began to bother them, in spite of the fact that this kind of activity was not exactly foreign to them. They became aware that they lost peace in their hearts and minds. So they decided to find a priest and tell him the whole story. The priest invited them to Confession. After giving them absolution, he explained to them that they were obligated to repair the damages, since it was within their power to do so. Now, picture those three teenagers, in a foreign land and quite intimidated, returning to the store, admitting their theft (to the bewilderment of the Croatian cashier), and leaving the payment for the Cokes on the counter! Not a very common event!!
Our Heavenly Mother tells us that in sin there can be no peace. Let us pray for those young people! The world they live in is instructing them in a totally different way. They must be equipped with courage to follow Jesus and to stand up for Him in the midst of their peers!
4 - A man more powerful than God?
Many people were surprised how short Our Lady’s message was in July: “Dear children! May these times be time for prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Quite obviously, the Gospa wanted to surprise us! It is beautiful to see how the Mother of God can use some of those writers’ tricks to snap us out of our slumber!
In one of his homilies, St. John Mary Vianney exclaimed: “I know a man more powerful than God!” As everyone pondered who such a man could be, he continued: “He’s the man who prays!” That sure woke them up! Then he explained that he who prays can affect God’s heart; he can make Him change his plans!
We have thousands of examples of this happening in the life of God’s people, in the present as well as in the past. I especially like the episode between Adonai and his prophet Moses (Exodus 13:17). The Hebrews had fallen so deep in their disobedience and spiritual adultery (the golden calf), that God spoke to Moses and said: “I will no longer walk with you!” By that time, however, the Hebrews were so committed to their trek through the desert that it would have been impossible for them to get out of it alive purely by human means. But one man, one man alone, Moses, stood before God on the mountain and beseeched Him from the depths of his heart not to abandon his people. God listened to this man’s prayer, changed his mind and decided to continue to march with Israel to the Promised Land. Through the humble and sincere prayer of one man alone, thousands were spared, including, among them, Christ’s own ancestors. What an amazing challenge to our own prayer! Without the intimacy that Moses had developed with God to the point of discussing, or even disputing issues with Him, as two close friends would, the entire nation of Israel would have vanished in the desert!
Can we ever emphasize enough the power of the least of our prayers when they come from our heart? “If you could see how precious the tiniest of your prayers is,” says the Gospa. “You would pray constantly!”
How often do we waste enormous amounts of energy, time, concentration, money, and health to reach our goals, and so often for nothing! When God walks with us, and us with Him however, everything changes - because then, God is the One fighting our battles!
Our world today, as with the Hebrews in the past, has multiplied the “golden calves”. We have organized our time without God, thinking that we can do a better job than He can. In glorifying adultery, this world is injecting itself with death, and we impose on ourselves inner sufferings that are more and more unbearable. Innocent children are the most susceptible, unjustified victims!
So God is searching for new Moses’, humble and loving people, to stand before Him and pray; just pray! An abundance of graces and miracles is suspended above our heads, waiting to be released, because God does not want sinners to die – He wants them to live! It’s up to us to make those miracles pour down! The time for busybodies who accomplish nothing has passed. The time of falling for politicians’ promises that, for the most part, go against God’s commandments, is over!
Now is the time to fall on our knees…
Image by level75 via Flickr
5 – In order to harm Medjugorje, again a lot of ink has flowed in the media about father Tomislav Vlasic. However, mixing Medjugorje with Father Vlasic reveals complete ignorance of the facts and is a serious professional mistake. The simplest investigation shows that Father Vlasic left Medjugorje when he began to deviate from the messages of Our Lady, and he has not lived in this province for more than 20 years. As early as 1987 he settled in Italy with a new community.
Recently, the world-famous professor, Henri Joyeux, wrote an article in response to the French Catholic newspaper La Croix which made the mistake of mixing these two facts, (See PS 2).
In addition, a response from Rome was published in the August 30th Zenit report. It stated that “Benedict XVI's approval of the laicization of Father Tomislav Vlasic is not a judgment on the claims that Mary is appearing in Medjugorje, says his former superior, the procurator-general of the Franciscan Friars Minor.” Thus, those who seek the truth have reliable points of reference to inform and enlighten them (see www.zenit.org).
In this year of the priesthood, far from rejoicing over the falling of a priest, we want only to pray!
6 – Medjugorje, Summit Retreat 2009 at St. Malo Retreat Center near Estes National Park, Colorado! Announcing a special opportunity to join Sister Emmanuel on a Silent Mountain Retreat this coming October 11-13, for a time of education on faith and leadership. Sister Emmanuel has witnessed first-hand the beautiful fruit emanating from Medjugorje for over 28 years. Inspired by Our Lady’s simple prayer groups in Medjugorje, Sister Emmanuel will share pearls of wisdom with prayer group leaders, formation directors and others so that they may have practical tools to bring back to their parishes and communities. In Sister's own words: “We’re trying to plant seeds that will take root in several parts of the country with the hope of creating a beautiful garden of prayer for Our Lady!” To view a personal video from Sister regarding this treat, click here on this link.
For more information please check out our retreat blogsite at www.childrenofmedjugorjeretreat2009.com where you can download a copy of our retreat brochure and also find our online registration link. You may also send an email to retreat@childrenofmedjugorje.com.
7 – Year of Priesthood. Here is another beautiful prayer for priests, composed by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower and Doctor of the Church. As proposed in my last report, we may pray this new prayer for a month:
“O Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep Your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart where none may touch them. Keep unstained their anointed hands which daily touch Your sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips daily purpled with Your precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly their hearts sealed with the sublime of Your priesthood. Let Your holy love surround them and shield them from the world's contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit. And may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen!”
Dearest Gospa, you were raised up to Heaven, please pour out rivers of love in our hearts!
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
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PS1 - To the daily LA CROIX, Pr. Henri Joyeux wrote:
“In your daily of July 30, p. 12, an article entitled "The priest accompanying the visionaries of Medjugorje sanctioned by Rome" signed by Nicolas Senèze gives some very biased and even false information for it was not set in the time when the events took place. Also some information essential to get the fair idea is omitted. It gives the idea that the events taking place in Medjugorje are condemned by the Vatican and that all the pilgrimages are forbidden, which is false. The adjective "public" should have been replaced by "official", which does not mean the same thing. In the small box in the lower right of the article, you make a reference to the letter of the general minister of the Franciscans, but certainly it is necessary to give the explanation of the procurator-general of Franciscan Friars Minor that gives a complete view of the affair. It would be logical that at the same place your daily gives the most exact information from the Vatican widely published in Zenit on July 31. Being assured of the honesty of the information that you give on delicate subjects, please find the complete text of Zenit following this mail.
Hoping for an answer, yours sincerely”.
PS2 - VATICAN CITY, JULY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org <http://www.zenit.org> ).- Benedict XVI's approval of the laicization of Father Tomislav Vlasic is not a judgment on the claims that Mary is appearing in Medjugorje, says his former superior, the procurator-general of the Franciscan Friars Minor.
Father Francesco Bravi told ZENIT today that the laicization was not imposed by the Holy See, but rather was in response to a request presented by Father Vlasic himself, to be dispensed both of priestly celibacy and his religious vows.
"He requested it," Father Bravi said, adding that, although Father Vlasic was the assistant pastor in Medjugorje when the first apparitions were reported, the priest has been living in Italy for more than two decades.
He was a religious of the Franciscan province of St. Bernardino di Siena (L'Aquila) and had founded the community "Kraljice mira potsuno Tvoji -- po Mariji k Isusu" (Queen of Peace, Totally Yours -- Through Mary to Jesus).
Vlasic asked the Holy See to be dispensed from the obligations of priestly ministry, Father Bravi added, because he does not want to accept the sanctions that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith imposed in 2008. These sanctions were levied because of reports about Vlasic regarding "the diffusion of dubious doctrine, manipulation of consciences, suspected mysticism, disobedience towards legitimately issued orders and charges contra sextum [against the 6th Commandment]," that decree explains.
The decree announced five sanctions, including the obligation to remain in one of the Franciscan houses, to refrain from contact with any of the Queen of Peace group, and to leave aside the care of souls, preaching, etc.
Father Bravi told ZENIT that Vlasic did not acknowledge the accusations and therefore was unwilling to accept the sanctions.
Father Vlasic had an important role at the beginning of the Medjugorje event in 1981, when the six youth began to affirm that Our Lady was appearing to them. However, he was transferred to Italy in 1985.
Though he has publicly and in writing offered interpretations of Medjugorje, he has on occasion been contradicted by the visionaries. For example, he affirmed that the community he founded was born because of an express wish of the Virgin, but Marija Pavlovic, one of the visionaries, denied this in a letter she sent to the Holy See.
The bishop of Mostar, where Medjugorje is located, has made declarations against the apparitions, but the phenomenon continues to be studied by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in "The Last Secret of Fatima" published in 2007, said the bishop's declarations are not the definitive and official judgment of the Church. He clarified that personal pilgrimages are permitted to the site, as the investigations continue.
<http://www.zenit.org/article-26586?l=english>
PS3 - August is a month to celebrate the feasts of many GREAT SAINTS! St John Vianney, St Lawrence, St Clare, St Teresa Bendedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), St John Eudes, St Stephen of Hungary, St Jane Frances de Chantal, St Bernard of Clairvaux, St Rose of Lima, St Bartholomew, St Louis of France, St Monica, St Augustine, and St Jeanne Jugan (just to name a few) are all such wonderful examples who have shown us how to live in holiness, no matter what our vocation in life! Whether married, religious or consecrated, our vocation is to love, and to live a life set apart for God: a life of holiness. Read the lives and stories of these great saints! For more inspiration, check out Sister Emmanuel’s DVDs and CDs:
DVD: Volume Five (Take the Saints and an interview with Fr Daniel Ainge on JPII)
CD: The Most Handsome Saint in Heaven (The Story of Blessed Giorgio Frassati)
PS 4 - Read it. Spread it! The Hidden Child of Medjugorje by Sr. Emmanuel. You won’t regret giving this book to a friend as a shower gift or a wedding gift! In the US go to our store: http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com then click “Shop COM.”
English version in UK, 7£, Tel +44 2920 460 189 - r.fenlon@ntlworld.com In Ireland, 9€ Veritas, Dublin, Tel: +353 1878 8177 - sales@veritas.ie In S. Africa, Tel: +27 393 172 825. alexknox@telkomsa.net
In Malaysia: dongjiadu@catholic.org In Medjugorje at the Parish bookstore, Devotions and Catholic Bookstore. French: www.editions-beatitudes.fr Spanish: “Hijos de Medjugorje”, Barcelona (Spain). +34 62979 2849 - gsba15@yahoo.es, at the Paulinas (Argentina), paulinas@satlink.com
Croatian in Medjugorje (7.50€), at “Devotions”, Tel. +387 6337 7497 - devotions@tel.net.ba and “Catholic Bookstore”, +387 6332 2492. In Zagreb at “AGM”, agm@agm.hr
Arabic in Lebanon. Tel. +961 1255 500 - office@medugorjeliban.org
Portuguese: 13€ (holding an Imprimatur!) at Diel, Lisboa - www.diel.pt German: 22€ Parvis Verlag, Swizerland +41 269 159399 - www.parvis.ch Polish, 8€ Wyd. Marianow, Warsaw +48 22 6425082 - www.wydawnictwo.pl
Italian, 9€ Shalom, Ancona +39 071745 0440 - www.editriceshalom.it Dutch, 15€, n.imkamp@tele2.nl or veys.stefaan@skynet.be +32 56 777373 Lettonien, “Dzīvības Straumes” Tel: +371 29544267 - info@dzivibasstraumesChinese, com.hongkong@gmail.com
In Thailand: mikepich@hotmail.com
Arabic (Lebanon) Tel. +961 1255 500 - office@medugorjeliban.org
Bookstores may contact us at pray@childrenofmedjugorje.com
© 2009 Children of Medjugorje, Inc
www.childrenofmedjugorje.com
PO Box 18430, Denver CO 80218, USA. Tel. 877-MIR-MEDJ
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