August 4, 2017
St. John Vianney
Dear Family of Mary!
On this feast of the Patron of Priests, St. John Vianney, I am so happy
to share excerpts from the testimony of Cardinal Ernest
Simoni-Troshani, given at the Medjugorje Youth Festival on August 3,
2017! The Cardinal shares from his heart about his life and how
important Jesus and Mary have been to him. He also shares his impression
of Medjugorje! (This is a transcription of the Cardinal being
translated from Albanian to Croatian to English!)
In his homily, given at Holy Mass, August 3, 2017 in Medjugorje the Cardinal said:
Again God has directed me by his glory
and the benefit of people. God has so honored me and rewarded me that I
am able to be here with you. Often times I am invited to proclaim the
good news. I am very happy and I feel that heaven is open above this
place and the angels descend upon this place, that they rejoice with us
at this great meeting, because you are all at this meeting with the
Lord!
It is a joy for us to participate in the
presence of the living Lord Jesus Christ. At the beginning I asked the
Pope. As the Church teaches us always, we must be in union with the head
of this Church. I greatly desired that I would be here as a priest. To
celebrate Holy Mass here in Medjugorje. His Holiness, Pope Francesco, I
would say another St. Francis, a great heart, a man of the Church. I
said to him, "Holiness, here people come who want to meet Jesus, to
encounter Him. I would like to hear your word. The Word of Christ from
your lips. Until yesterday, I was an ordinary priest from Albania. But
today in this position that you have given to me, Holiness, may I
witness before the people of Medjugorje? I ask you, as the Vicar of
Christ on earth." His word, with great joy He said to me, "Go to
Medjugorje. Spread the Good News!"
In his teaching and testimony in the morning session on August 3, 2017 the Cardinal said:
I am so excited to be here (Medjugorje). I
have the impression that angels are descending to be with us in this
beautiful atmosphere. In this beautiful place. In invite you that even
though it is summer, that we all experience Jesus Christ in this heat.
In 1945 what started was a difficult
year, a Calvary for everything that was Christian in Albania. It was
evil and the force of darkness, Satan. It came to make the Albanian
country full of blood, to make martyrs of the Albanian people. But the
situation was more and more complicated when Stalin took control with
his hands. He wanted our Albanian government to say that he would open
the Church in the world. He gathered all the priests together. We did
not know why they invited us. But we found out. They wanted to detach us
from Rome, from the Vatican. So we would not be a Catholic Church. But
the Catholic clergy never wanted that. As they were able to see that we
persevered, they told us, do what you want with the Vatican. You are
free. But it was a false freedom. The world was told we had freedom but
this was false news. But still the ideology became stronger and stronger
and more crazy.
You see what was happening was such a
difficulty. It was a prison without wall, and we the people young and
old, they were pushing.
In 1956 I became a priest. I started my
own mission. I didn't know that I was always followed. They had spies
watching me and wrote every word I said. They would use that information
one day against me. But you see even though we could feel in our spirit
that difficulties were coming, we left two things to the people of God,
pray the Rosary and adore the Blessed Sacrament. And that is how they
would survive.
The government knew this. That is how the
persecution began. 1963, midnight. They came and tied me up, and
brought me to an unknown area. I received the decree that I was
condemned to death because I was telling the people they would all die
for Jesus Christ. They also had a secret camera the recorded what I was
saying and doing. That is how I ended up in a small room, two meters by
two meters.
One of my good friends had been a secret agent. He
was a spy. I thought he was a good man, but he was a spy. And he started
to attack the system. I could see what was going to happen. So I
changed my tactic. I said Jesus teaches us to love our enemies. To love
everyone. Jesus doesn't want us to have enemies.
And there was one other accusation. Two
weeks before the American president, John Kennedy, died. And we, all the
priests of the world were asked to say three Holy Masses for the late
American President, John Kennedy. I did this, because the Holy Father
asked. So I became the enemy of the system. And of course, the image of
the late president, and his wife, Jacqueline, disturbed the communist
country. I was to be hung by the neck. They would use these points to
accuse me.
Still there was another accusation. That
people would be happy that I was hung, because I conducted an exorcism.
That souls would be saved. But the president when he heard that, said I
should not be hanged. Of course I remained in prison. I remained in
solitude in that cell, but I was not killed. Today I am proud I was in a
prison. Because I was able to bring the joyful news of Jesus Christ. It
was good that I was in prison.
So my business card, my dear young
people, is that I was able to speak about God in the prison, in the
catacombs. So now you can see how they call me the cardinal, the little
creature of God.
After 10 years, they took me back to
court. Again they wanted to judge me. This time they brought a group of
young Catholics who lied about me so that the court would bring the
death penalty against me. So you can see dear brothers and sisters, that
when man can no longer act, God intervenes. They could not bring me the
death penalty. So I remained again in solitude, in prison. I would say
Holy Mass, and here confessions. I was a prisoner among the prisoners.
Then after 28 years in prison, in the
catacombs, I was freed. But I had to clean the toilets and do the worst
work. But the hand of God led me, even though I had heard I would be
working. I still could be a priest, and when I wasn't working, I could
say Holy Mass. In 1990 I went for another interview. And they said, we
invited you to tell you that the Church is going to be open soon.
Again, Vatican is going to come to
Albania. The Church is going to have freedom and God will return to the
people. And I was happy. May it be so. But I have the Holy Father in
Rome. I will continue to do what I did, as a priest. Then together with
the people I experienced freedom!
That was when we truly experienced, all
the people of God, Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox, we all experienced
freedom. After that time, I had the experience in all the places I
visited, I would give a joyful speech about Jesus, who in the prison I
was able to confess. Again, we were able to have all that joy again.
Then Mother Teresa came to Albania. And together we were going to visit
the Holy Father. That is when things began to be renewed, Mother Teresa
and the Holy Father. People began to invest in our lives and that is how
we began to live.
I did not expect to be a cardinal in my
life. I was invited to come to Assisi, to a peace conference. I didn't
know why I was invited. Imagine me, little priest, unknown priest from
Albania, when I looked around me and saw people - presidents and leaders
from all over the world. Why was I there? I didn't understand. And more
interesting for me, the Holy Father invited me to lunch! I didn't know,
Holy Father didn't tell me. Holy Father came to Albania in 2014, and I
spoke before him, and that is why he invited me. So I didn't know
anything. Not Holy Father nor anyone there in Rome told me I would be a
cardinal. But on the screen I saw my name, Cardinal Ernest.
So today I am saying this. This is God's
gift. This is a reward of the Mother of God, and anyone who says three
Rosaries a day will experience a miracle that he would never be able to
experience. If you pray the Rosary you will experience a greater miracle
than I did! And I am trying to tell you, that the Mother of God, the
Queen of Peace, she is going to bring you in your life, and give you in
your life, the light. You will have peace too.
So I want to witness what I in my years,
89 years old, learned. Whatever we pray and give to Our Lady, to the
Mother, she will give it to Jesus and He will answer it for you. That is
what I want to tell you today. For two thousand years Christ's mother,
Our Lady, is supporting what Christ wants, what Jesus wants. And that is
how she will continue in the world. The Cardinal brought a book, a book
each of you should see. It has all the apparitions of the world.
Everywhere that Our Lady is there is the salvation of the world. Here is
the book. Please read about the apparitions. The one who will pray to
God for the salvation of the world. All the apparitions of Our Lady up
to 2000.
What is the most beautiful thing that
happened to me in my life of 89 years? My life is connected with the
providence of God. I say this humbly. When I became a priest, when I had
Jesus Christ in my hands. Further when the Holy Father appointed me as a
Cardinal, and he rewarded me for all I did for God.
We have the impression that we have heard a saint speak!! And his
advice is to pray the Rosary and give everything to Our Lady! He is
truly Our Lady's Cardinal!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
Mary TV 2017
PS. The Youth Festival is in full swing. There are two sessions:
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
5:00 pm to 10:30 pm.
(The afternoon session is beginning an hour later than planned, due to the heat.)
See you there at www.marytv.tv
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
(c) Mateo Ivankovic 2017
