March 15, 2013
Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!
1. On March 2nd, 2013, Mirjanareceived her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross. After the apparition, she gave us the following message:
"Dear children! Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you not to be of a hard heart. Do not shut your eyes to the warnings which the Heavenly Father sends to you out of love. Do you love Him above all else? Do you repent for having often forgotten that the Heavenly Father, out of His great love, sent his Son to redeem us by the Cross? Do you repent for not yet having accepted the message? My children, do not resist the love of my Son. Do not resist hope and peace. Along with your prayer and fasting, by His cross, my Son will cast away the darkness that wants to surround you and come to rule over you. He will give you the strength for a new life. Living it according to my Son, you will be a blessing and a hope to all those sinners who wander in the darkness of sin. My children, keep vigil. I, as a mother, am keeping vigil with you. I am especially praying and watching over those whom my Son called to be light-bearers and carriers of hope for you - for your shepherds. Thank you."
2. Ivan in Argentina. After having seen his venue cancelled in Uruguay, Ivan was able to give his testimony in Buenos Aires. Only a few days before leaving for Rome to join
the conclave, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (our dear Pope!) gave his approval for Ivan to receive the
apparition at Luna Park. According to Ivan, during the apparition the Blessed Mother prayed at
length in Aramaic, her mother tongue, over each priest present and she gave this message:
Dear children! Today I invite you to open yourself to prayer. You are living a time in which God gives you great blessings and you don't know how to take advantage of it. You are preocupied by lots of things except your soul and your spiritual life. Wake up from this tired world, awaken your soul from its sleep and say to God with all your strength, "Yes!" Decide for holiness and conversion. Dear children, I am with you and I am calling you with all my soul to the perfection and the holiness of your soul and of all what you do. Thank you for having responded to my call today".
At Luna Park, which was packed, Ivan said that the Gospa is shedding tears of blood for her children who have been killed by abortion.
3. Viva Francis, Pope of the Americas! On the evening of March 13th (Marthe Robin's birthday), we were glued to our computer screen, waiting for the red curtain to open. Then we saw an unknown figure appear, a Cardinal whom no journalist made mention of, a Cardinal whom the  Holy Spirit had secretly set apart. He is one to Our Lady's liking: humble, determined, firm in the Church's faith, a fighter for the Gospel before a hostile government - in short a friend of simplicity and filled with charity for all! While the journalists are still talking, the Christian media is giving good commentaries on his person and his work. I don't need to add anything else to these reports, but here are a few points closely related to Medjugorje for which we give thanks to God:
- For years the Archbishop of Buenos Aires had been following the events in Medjugorje and gave them credit.
- He welcomed Fr. Jozo Zovko while on his mission in Argentina.
- He welcomed Fr. Danko last year, for his mission through Argentina. (Fr. Danko is a Franciscan from St. James parish in Medjugorje, well known by pilgrims.)
- Cardinal Bergoglio allowed Ivan to spread his witness in Buenos Aires early this March.
- One of his first initiatives, the day after his election, was to consecrate his Pontificate to the Blessed Mother. He went to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica at 8:00 am, brought a bouquet of flowers for the Virgin Mary and prayed silently in front of her Icon. Didn't the Gospa ask in Medjugorje that we always begin our work with a prayer and finish it with giving thanks?
- For the past 3 years his confessor has been a Franciscan from Herzegovina! For the previous 30 years his confessor had been Fr. Berislav Ostojic, a Jesuit and a Croatian (now deceased).
- Last, he is the one who will enfold the workings of the Vatican Commission on Medjugorje once Pope Emeritus Benedict hands over the file to him, which is hopefully positive. Let's pray that its contents will be released soon.
4. In the depths of China... Recently I heard a story about two Austrian missionaries, Father
Gotsch and Brother Gervasius, that I would like to repeat here.Gervasius, who had travelled through Tibet and India, tells that one day in 1976, in southern China, he went along with Fr. Gotsch to visit a dying man from Kaotai. They rode their horses for 200 kms (124 miles) through hills and over mountains passes to arrive at the house of the dying man, too late. He had already died. After the burial, as they made their way back over the mountains, they met a young man who seemed to be waiting for them on the side of the road. The man asked them to follow him to his ailing mother. They followed him to a small hamlet 15 kms (9 miles)away. They found the dying woman in a very poor dwelling. When she saw the priest, she asked, "Stranger, will you answer the truth if I ask you questions?"
"Of course, Mother!" the priest responded.
"Is there a God in whom there are three persons? Is there another life, a place of happiness for good people, and a place of terror for bad ones? Is it true that God came on this earth to die for men and open the place of happiness for them? Stranger, is this all true?"
Astounded, the priest answered "YES". And he wondered how this woman learned all these things.
The woman continued,
"You have the water with you, so wash me so that I may go to the place of happiness!"
Father Gotsch couldn't believe what she was asking.How did she know that he had baptismal water with him? Her determined attitude was somewhat childlike yet convincing. The priest briefly explained to her the liturgy and the meaning of the sacrament, and he baptized her. The sick woman, full of joy, said,
"You also have the bread with you. It is special bread because God is inside. Give me some of that bread!"
The priest took out of his bag the consecrated Host that he was carrying with him. He explained to her the meaning of the sacrament of the Eucharist and gave her Holy Communion. He also gave her the last rites (the confession of sins and the anointment of the sick). He then said to her,
"Until now, you are the one who asked questions, now it's my turn to ask questions! From whom did you learn the truths of our faith? Did you meet Catholic believers or Evangelists?"
"No, stranger" she replied.
"So did you read Christian books?"
"I can't read, Stranger, and I did not even know there were such books."
"Then from where and from whom did you receive this knowledge of our faith?"
"I always thought that it should be like this, and I have lived this way for 10 years. I have also taught my sons this way and you can wash them all (baptize them)."
"But you knew that we were going to come this way today?"
"Certainly! I saw a man in a dream. It's him who told me to send my younger son to the road and call the 2 strangers that were about to pass by. He told me that they were going to "wash" me to go to the place of happiness after death."
The missionaries were deeply moved. The woman's attitude toward death was so peaceful that it left no room to doubt. Before leaving, the missionaries gave her a picture of Saint Joseph, patron of the dying. Filled with joy, she exclaimed,
"But this one, I know him! He often came to visit me. He is the one who told me to send my son on the road to call you!"
She couldn't say for sure if Saint Joseph came to visit her in person, or if it was in a dream, but
knowing that did not matter to her. What mattered was what Saint Joseph had taught her.
Later on, the missionaries learned that this woman died that very night.
(From the German publication « Weite Welt » N˚ 1, Jan. 1976)
On March 19, we will celebrate the Solemnity of St Joseph. Let's not forget to honor him and ask much from him, especially for those who do not known yet the love of God. He will always surprise us with his goodness!
Dearest Gospa, Mother of the Church, you has given us a magnificent present with Pope Francis! With you and all the elected ones in Heaven, we want to pray for his protection and to watch as sentinels around him, in this crucial time for the Church.
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
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