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From the Desk of Sr. Emmanuel Maillard
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June 17, 2015
Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!
1. June 2, 2015 Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross in the presence of a very large crowd. After the apparition, she conveyed the following message:
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| Photo courtesy of Caritas |
"Dear
children! I desire to work through you - my children, my apostles - so
that in the end, I may gather all of my children there where everything
is prepared for your happiness. I am praying for you, that through works
you can convert others, because the time has come for acts of truth,
for my Son. My love will work in you - I will make use of you. Have
trust in me, because everything that I desire, I desire for your good,
the eternal good created by the Heavenly Father. You, my children, my
apostles, are living an earthly life in union with my children who have
not come to know the love of my Son, who do not call me 'mother' - but
do not be afraid to witness the truth. If you are not afraid and witness
courageously, the truth will miraculously win, but remember, strength
is in love. My children, love is repentance, forgiveness, prayer,
sacrifice and mercy. Ifyou will know how to love, by your works you will
convert others, you will enable the light of my Son to penetrate into
souls. Thank you. Pray for your shepherds. They belong to my Son. He
called them. Pray that they may always have the strength and the courage
to shine with the light of my Son."
2. Crippled and handicapped pilgrims, welcome!
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| Photo courtesy of Caritas (c) 2011 |
For 3 years in a row in
Medjugorje, the people of the village welcomed pilgrims with
disabilities to their pansions for free! The initiative comes from the
Franciscans as a beautiful sign of active and fraternal charity. Saint
Francis was surely delighted to see it all from heaven!
3. Alcohol and Gambling. Lynda, from Scotland, shared a powerful event that occurred in her family, specifically with her brother Patrick who was heavily involved in drinking and gambling. Here is her story:
"My brother was the youngest in the family. Growing up he was a very good child. He was obedient and quiet but at the same time,
full of fun. When he was 18 he went to college to train to be a medical
doctor. He joined all the social groups and clubs that were available
and partied with the best of them! He was really 'living it up'. He was
drinking heavily and also got involved in gambling.
"He
qualified as a doctor and started working, but his career was not
progressing. My family and I were very concerned about him and the
amount of gambling he was doing. He had become seriously addicted. We tried talking to him, especially me in particular as I am his only sister and also his Godmother. I used to spend a lot of time visiting him at his apartment helping
him to sort out his finances, manage his money and essentially get him
back on the 'straight and narrow', but unfortunately it wasn't working.
"My mother was very worried about him and so we both decided
to go to Medjugorje in October of 2012. We were walking to Fr Slavko's
grave when my mother said to me "Look! There's Sister Emmanuel over
there, I want to go and ask her to pray for Patrick." She went over to
her and asked her to pray. Sr Emmanuel responded by saying, "What does
Our Lady ask?", and my mother replied, "prayer and fasting". Sr Emmanuel
told her that in order to win such a war, she should do her whole part
and not just half, she should pray AND fast for her son and God would do
the rest. Our Lady said, 'Through prayer and fasting, you can obtain
everything!'
"When my mother told me what Sr
Emmanuel had said, my reaction was, 'Thank God it wasn't me whom she
said that to!'. However, when we returned home, as well as praying for
my brother, we also started to fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and
Fridays for him. Then we really saw a miracle happening.
"That
was two years ago and my brother completely stopped gambling. He is
totally debt free! He has progressed a lot in his career, he's highly
thought of as a doctor, and he has joined a team so that he
can advance his career even further. Now he very rarely drinks alcohol -
he may have a drink every now and again, but that is it. He's living a
very good life, and has a lovely girlfriend.
"It was
once we started to pray and fast that we really saw the miracle
happening. Trying to talk to him before was like banging my head against
a brick wall. Fasting had the power to break something within him that
my family and I couldn't break through simple talking and
prayer. Fasting was needed too. My brother grew up in a house of faith
and love, but despite this, more was needed, and that was the power of
both prayer AND fasting."
Lynda's
testimony speaks to the hearts of many because the rate of addiction is
massively increasing in today's world. Alcohol, drugs of all kinds,
wrong sexual practices, gambling, etc. are destroying so many families.
If someone is not convinced by Jesus' words or Mary's messages about
prayer and fasting, let him try it anyway; he has nothing to lose, but
has a lot to gain!
4. The Pope in Sarajevo! The whole day of June 6th was very moving. Pope Francis had
great success according to the thousands of people who came to hear
him. More than 70, 000 participants showed up in a country where the
majority of people are Muslim! His message concerned peace, a reality
that is mostly absent in this country. He made it clear, "Jesus did not
say 'Blessed are those who talk about peace', but 'Blessed are the
peacemakers!'" In the plane, on the way back to Rome, the Pope responded
to a journalist who had asked about Medjugorje. Pope Francis stated
that he had received the conclusions of the Commission on Medjugorje and
that, "We are about to take some decisions and these will then be communicated."
5. On June 22nd from 3PM-4PM EST (9-10PM Medjugorje time) I'll
be interviewed during a live with Kathie Duggan on Radio Maria US. Each
year we have this little radio interview before the anniversary.
Listeners are free to tune in and ask questions. You will be able to
tune in via our homepage: www.sisteremmanuel.org.
6. Pope Francis commented on Medjugorje during a homily in Rome? During
a homily on June 9th at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope warned of a
"somewhat ethereal Christian spirituality," that caters to "those who
are always in need of something new in the Christian identity." He
further wondered out loud, "where are these visionaries who are telling
us today about the letters that the Madonna sends at 4 pm? They make a
living with it. That is not the Christian identity."
Several
media outlets have surmised that Pope Francis implicated Our Lady's
messages and the visionaries in Medjugorje when he made these remarks.
Yet, if he said while leaving Sarajevo, "we'll make a decision," then he
would not give a clearly negative statement on Medjugorje before the
official word. In addition, Our Lady does not come every day to give a
message for the world. Rather, she comes on the 25th and the 2nd of the
month, at different times, and not at 4PM. Really, no confusion exists,
unless it has been created by the media and their wrong interpretation
of Pope Francis's words on the visionaries and messages, Pope Francis
could not have intended Medjugorje when he made his remarks at Casa
Santa Marta.
However, he was fully right when he stated how wrong it is to run after
visionaries. Here in Medjugorje, Our Lady teaches us to run after
Jesus! And her point is for us to LIVE the messages, not to focus on the
instruments giving them. To do otherwise would be a terrible deviation
from God's intended goal when He allows Our Lady to appear to us, in the
world. If we ran after visionaries instead of Jesus, we would simply
miss the grace God offers us in this time of mercy. Having one's picture
taken next to a visionary is nice, but it is not a passport to Heaven!
7. I'm coming to the United States! With
great joy I will resume my missions in the US.It will also be an
opportunity for me to announce my latest book: Peace Will Have the Last
Word. The book will be available at each venue, and released to the
public on July 14th the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the 16th
American Saint.
The schedule for the mission will be:
Columbus, Ohio - July 6th - 5:30 PM - Holy Name Parish
St. Louis, MO - July 7th - 2 PM - The Lodge in Des Peres
St. Louis, MO - July7th- 7PM - Assumption Greek Orthodox Church
McAllen, Texas - July 8th- 5:30 PM - Holy Spirit Parish Parroquial
Dearest Gospa, The Novena for the 34th Anniversary of
your Apparitions (June 25th) began on June 16th. What would you like us
to offer you in thanksgiving for such a gift? We want to be generous...
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
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PS 1. Sister Emmanuel's new book, Peace Will Have the Last Word will be out in English on July 14th! To pre-order your copy, and receive a 10% discount send an email to: commentscom@gmail.com with your name, mailing address and phone number.
PS 3. For the month of May the Parish has decided to keep the winter schedule for the evening program (from 5- 8pm), but the Blessed Mother appears at 6:40PM according to the summer schedule in the country.
PS 4. View the Medjugorje celebrations live, at home!
PS 5. The Youth Festival will take place from July 31 to August 6. Why don't you invite a young person? You can save a soul. Register yourself as soon as possible!
PS 6. Read and circulate "News from Medjugorje" by Sr. Emmanuel each month!
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