- Sat Jun 21, 2003 7:33 am
#62
Dear Children of Medjugorje,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
1) Last Monday night the pilgrims were invited to join the prayer
group on Podbrdo for Our Lady's apparition. And so I found myself
climbing the hill with Sr. Briege McKenna and Fr. Kevin Scallon, who
had just arrived in Medjugorje for a private pilgrimage. Sr. Briege
quietly shared, "I remember on this night in 1985, Marija came and got
me from the house where I was staying and brought me to the
apparition." Only after we all got back home to our little
"Bethlehem" (Sr. Emmanuel's house where they were staying) did I think
of asking her if she knew what had prompted Marija to do so. It turns
out it was the Gospa who told Marija to go and get Sr. Briege and
bring her to the apparition because it was Sr. Briege's birthday! On
that night 18 years ago Sister saw the three lights that preceded Our
Lady's coming, she said, but nothing else. And she experienced the
deep peace of Our Lady's presence. For many years Sr. Briege and Fr.
Kevin have ministered around the world to priests, helping to renew
vocations and rebuild spirits. It's not surprising then, that Our
Lady asked during her apparition this time that pilgrims pray for
vocations to the priesthood! What a joyful reunion on Podbrdo it must
have been for Our Lady and Sr. Briege, two women dedicated to the will
of God, and especially to priests! (See PS)
Lately we shared that our dear friend Cyrille Auboyneau, who lived in
Medjugorje from 1984 to 1990, just departed for the House of the
Father. Perhaps the last gift Cyrille gave Our Lady was a book
compiling the messages she had given on the mountain to that prayer
group. Cyrille had just finished it (in French) and it is still at
the printer. Sister Briege didn't remember if there had been a
message given on that night, June 9, 1985. We might soon be able to
tell her!
2) Tomorrow begins our novena! These are a very special nine days,
climaxing, on June 25th with the 22nd anniversary of Our Lady's
apparitions in Medjugorje! These apparitions are unprecedented in
the history of the Church - the Mother of God has come every day for
22 years! Unlike Fatima, with 6 apparitions, and Lourdes with 18, Our
Lady has come to the visionaries every day at the same time for all
these years. A story I was told recently may shed some light on why
our Mother is coming to us everyday so regularly.
A friend told me of the case of a young woman who suffered from
anorexia. She had undergone much therapy, but nothing seemed to help
her conquer her problem. Her family was desperate to find a cure,
since she was dangerously thin and unable to eat. A therapist finally
suggested a new approach, called attachment therapy, in which the
young woman would spend six months with her mother, in constant
contact. She would eat everything her mother ate, sleep with her
mother, go everywhere with her mother, basically be inseparable from
her mother for six months! The idea was that somehow this young woman
had not properly bonded with her mother as a baby, and as a result her
"person" was not completely developed, and the anorexia was an
expression of her lost self. The therapy worked! The girl was healed!
How important our relationship is with our mother! It is through the
mother that the child first understands that he is loved, that his
life is important, and that loving relationships are possible. The
mother helps the child by her constant care and presence to develop
into a healthy person, confident and assured that life is good.
We live in an age in which many souls are broken because motherhood
has been attacked, and decimated. Families are broken. It is no
wonder that the Mother of Jesus, and our mother, would come to us
every day regularly at the same time. She is attempting to attach us
to herself, to help us to identify completely with her, to be
re-attached to the one who loves us as a mother. She wants our
"persons" to develop fully into the integrated and healthy people God
intended. Every day she comes to bond with us, to embrace us and
teach us of her love. It is extraordinary!
Too, she gives us messages regularly. At first glance some may seem
repetitive - but they always turn us toward our destiny, our hope.
Like any mother, she is repeating to us over and over again, the truth
about ourselves and about God, our Father. This is a time of true
attachment therapy for us all! We are being attached to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, and through her Heart to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus.
As we prepare for the 22nd Anniversary, let us give great thanks to
Our Mother who is here faithfully every day, to attach us to herself
and help us to be healed and integrated as the whole persons God
intended us to be. With such a Mother we are sure to be healed and
united to the Father! (Years before, while on pilgrimage in
Medjugorje, Sr. Briege had been horrified to be asked to "minister" to
a group of pilgrims. "Only one person ministers here," she told their
leader: "Our Lady!")
3) Veronica and Alex visited us in Medjugorje this week too. They
have come from South Africa every year since 1998 just to give thanks
and praise to God. My wife, Cathy and I had never heard Veronica's
story… and so over a cup of coffee Sr. Emmanuel suggested they share
it with us!
For 22 years Veronica had been blind. Her retinas were damaged, and
she has been unable to see. Veronica has always prayed to Jesus and
Our Lady, and her faith is strong. One night in August 1998, while in
pain, she began to pray. All of a sudden she saw Jesus standing
before her beckoning to her with his arms outstretched. He showed her
a panorama: a village, a mountain with a big cross on top, small shops
and houses along the street, a large church with two steeples and
inside, on the third stain glass window, the Blessed Mother. "I said
to Jesus, `I don't know where this place is.' Jesus just looked at me
and smiled and said, `Medjugorje!' "
In the morning she told her husband, Alex, everything she had seen and
that Jesus had called the place Medjugorje. They phoned their travel
agent, who had helped them visit many Marian shrines, and asked him if
he knew of such a place. The agent had never heard of it. They were
perplexed. A few days later they were surprised to learn how to get
there from a friend who had just returned from a pilgrimage!
Upon arriving in the village, Alex said he knew exactly where
everything was because Veronica had described it so well from her
vision - the post office, the bridge, the church.... as they drove
down the road every building was just as it had appeared to Veronica!
They went to hear Vicka speak on the steps of the blue house. There
were so many pilgrims that Alex and Veronica were squashed in the back
of the group. As Vicka talked, Alex noticed that she was gazing at
Veronica. Alex told her: "She is looking at you!" Then Veronica
heard, "She's waving at you! She's smiling at you!" Then, when Vicka
had finished speaking, Alex said, "She's coming down and walking
toward you!" "She's right in front of you!" Then Vicka placed her
hand over Veronica's eyes and prayed. When Vicka removed her hand,
one eye was completely healed and Veroncia could see!
Leaping for joy and dancing in the street Veronica cried out in
thanksgiving! She, who was blind, could see! To this day she's
filled with such joy at the love of God that she can't resist reaching
out and loving all those around her.
The next day after the healing, Veronica and Alex attended a talk by
Fr. Svet in the yellow building behind the church. During his talk,
to Veronica's surprise a picture of the Gospa on the front wall came
alive. A silence spread over the room (everyone, it seemed, knew
something was happening). Then Veronica saw that Our Lady was holding
something deep blue in her hands. It was the continent of Africa!
What could this mean? They prayed. Hearing Sr. Emmanuel speak the
following day it became clear. They were being called to spread Our
Lady's messages in Africa! As a little branch of Children of
Medjugorje they have since spread thousands of audiotapes in South
Africa and are spearheading an edition of Sr. Emmanuel's book,
"Medjugorje, The 90's" in Zulu!
Dear Mother, thank you for coming and being with us everyday for 22
years! We want to be attached to you!
Denis Nolan
© 2003 Children of Medjugorje
http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com/
PS. Sister Breige shares the role Providence gave her to play in the
beginning of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje in "Pray for
priests, with Sr. Beige McKenna" videos #46 (Part 1) and #47 (Part 2)
in our series, "MEDJUGORJE: OUR MOTHER'S LAST CALL with Sr.
Emmanuel"... $10 (US) each. The interview is also available in our
audiotape series, W6, "Sr. Beige McKenna, Prophecies for Medjugorje!"
$ 5 each (USA) ...remember to add $5 to all orders for shipping and
handling.... send orders to Children of Medjugorje, P.O. Box 1110,
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 (USA); or order off the internet,
http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com (A PAL version of the video with
Sr. Beige is available from the Cathedral Book Shop, Sackville Place,
Dublin, Ireland, Tel: (01)8787372/ (01)8745284.)
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
1) Last Monday night the pilgrims were invited to join the prayer
group on Podbrdo for Our Lady's apparition. And so I found myself
climbing the hill with Sr. Briege McKenna and Fr. Kevin Scallon, who
had just arrived in Medjugorje for a private pilgrimage. Sr. Briege
quietly shared, "I remember on this night in 1985, Marija came and got
me from the house where I was staying and brought me to the
apparition." Only after we all got back home to our little
"Bethlehem" (Sr. Emmanuel's house where they were staying) did I think
of asking her if she knew what had prompted Marija to do so. It turns
out it was the Gospa who told Marija to go and get Sr. Briege and
bring her to the apparition because it was Sr. Briege's birthday! On
that night 18 years ago Sister saw the three lights that preceded Our
Lady's coming, she said, but nothing else. And she experienced the
deep peace of Our Lady's presence. For many years Sr. Briege and Fr.
Kevin have ministered around the world to priests, helping to renew
vocations and rebuild spirits. It's not surprising then, that Our
Lady asked during her apparition this time that pilgrims pray for
vocations to the priesthood! What a joyful reunion on Podbrdo it must
have been for Our Lady and Sr. Briege, two women dedicated to the will
of God, and especially to priests! (See PS)
Lately we shared that our dear friend Cyrille Auboyneau, who lived in
Medjugorje from 1984 to 1990, just departed for the House of the
Father. Perhaps the last gift Cyrille gave Our Lady was a book
compiling the messages she had given on the mountain to that prayer
group. Cyrille had just finished it (in French) and it is still at
the printer. Sister Briege didn't remember if there had been a
message given on that night, June 9, 1985. We might soon be able to
tell her!
2) Tomorrow begins our novena! These are a very special nine days,
climaxing, on June 25th with the 22nd anniversary of Our Lady's
apparitions in Medjugorje! These apparitions are unprecedented in
the history of the Church - the Mother of God has come every day for
22 years! Unlike Fatima, with 6 apparitions, and Lourdes with 18, Our
Lady has come to the visionaries every day at the same time for all
these years. A story I was told recently may shed some light on why
our Mother is coming to us everyday so regularly.
A friend told me of the case of a young woman who suffered from
anorexia. She had undergone much therapy, but nothing seemed to help
her conquer her problem. Her family was desperate to find a cure,
since she was dangerously thin and unable to eat. A therapist finally
suggested a new approach, called attachment therapy, in which the
young woman would spend six months with her mother, in constant
contact. She would eat everything her mother ate, sleep with her
mother, go everywhere with her mother, basically be inseparable from
her mother for six months! The idea was that somehow this young woman
had not properly bonded with her mother as a baby, and as a result her
"person" was not completely developed, and the anorexia was an
expression of her lost self. The therapy worked! The girl was healed!
How important our relationship is with our mother! It is through the
mother that the child first understands that he is loved, that his
life is important, and that loving relationships are possible. The
mother helps the child by her constant care and presence to develop
into a healthy person, confident and assured that life is good.
We live in an age in which many souls are broken because motherhood
has been attacked, and decimated. Families are broken. It is no
wonder that the Mother of Jesus, and our mother, would come to us
every day regularly at the same time. She is attempting to attach us
to herself, to help us to identify completely with her, to be
re-attached to the one who loves us as a mother. She wants our
"persons" to develop fully into the integrated and healthy people God
intended. Every day she comes to bond with us, to embrace us and
teach us of her love. It is extraordinary!
Too, she gives us messages regularly. At first glance some may seem
repetitive - but they always turn us toward our destiny, our hope.
Like any mother, she is repeating to us over and over again, the truth
about ourselves and about God, our Father. This is a time of true
attachment therapy for us all! We are being attached to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, and through her Heart to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus.
As we prepare for the 22nd Anniversary, let us give great thanks to
Our Mother who is here faithfully every day, to attach us to herself
and help us to be healed and integrated as the whole persons God
intended us to be. With such a Mother we are sure to be healed and
united to the Father! (Years before, while on pilgrimage in
Medjugorje, Sr. Briege had been horrified to be asked to "minister" to
a group of pilgrims. "Only one person ministers here," she told their
leader: "Our Lady!")
3) Veronica and Alex visited us in Medjugorje this week too. They
have come from South Africa every year since 1998 just to give thanks
and praise to God. My wife, Cathy and I had never heard Veronica's
story… and so over a cup of coffee Sr. Emmanuel suggested they share
it with us!
For 22 years Veronica had been blind. Her retinas were damaged, and
she has been unable to see. Veronica has always prayed to Jesus and
Our Lady, and her faith is strong. One night in August 1998, while in
pain, she began to pray. All of a sudden she saw Jesus standing
before her beckoning to her with his arms outstretched. He showed her
a panorama: a village, a mountain with a big cross on top, small shops
and houses along the street, a large church with two steeples and
inside, on the third stain glass window, the Blessed Mother. "I said
to Jesus, `I don't know where this place is.' Jesus just looked at me
and smiled and said, `Medjugorje!' "
In the morning she told her husband, Alex, everything she had seen and
that Jesus had called the place Medjugorje. They phoned their travel
agent, who had helped them visit many Marian shrines, and asked him if
he knew of such a place. The agent had never heard of it. They were
perplexed. A few days later they were surprised to learn how to get
there from a friend who had just returned from a pilgrimage!
Upon arriving in the village, Alex said he knew exactly where
everything was because Veronica had described it so well from her
vision - the post office, the bridge, the church.... as they drove
down the road every building was just as it had appeared to Veronica!
They went to hear Vicka speak on the steps of the blue house. There
were so many pilgrims that Alex and Veronica were squashed in the back
of the group. As Vicka talked, Alex noticed that she was gazing at
Veronica. Alex told her: "She is looking at you!" Then Veronica
heard, "She's waving at you! She's smiling at you!" Then, when Vicka
had finished speaking, Alex said, "She's coming down and walking
toward you!" "She's right in front of you!" Then Vicka placed her
hand over Veronica's eyes and prayed. When Vicka removed her hand,
one eye was completely healed and Veroncia could see!
Leaping for joy and dancing in the street Veronica cried out in
thanksgiving! She, who was blind, could see! To this day she's
filled with such joy at the love of God that she can't resist reaching
out and loving all those around her.
The next day after the healing, Veronica and Alex attended a talk by
Fr. Svet in the yellow building behind the church. During his talk,
to Veronica's surprise a picture of the Gospa on the front wall came
alive. A silence spread over the room (everyone, it seemed, knew
something was happening). Then Veronica saw that Our Lady was holding
something deep blue in her hands. It was the continent of Africa!
What could this mean? They prayed. Hearing Sr. Emmanuel speak the
following day it became clear. They were being called to spread Our
Lady's messages in Africa! As a little branch of Children of
Medjugorje they have since spread thousands of audiotapes in South
Africa and are spearheading an edition of Sr. Emmanuel's book,
"Medjugorje, The 90's" in Zulu!
Dear Mother, thank you for coming and being with us everyday for 22
years! We want to be attached to you!
Denis Nolan
© 2003 Children of Medjugorje
http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com/
PS. Sister Breige shares the role Providence gave her to play in the
beginning of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje in "Pray for
priests, with Sr. Beige McKenna" videos #46 (Part 1) and #47 (Part 2)
in our series, "MEDJUGORJE: OUR MOTHER'S LAST CALL with Sr.
Emmanuel"... $10 (US) each. The interview is also available in our
audiotape series, W6, "Sr. Beige McKenna, Prophecies for Medjugorje!"
$ 5 each (USA) ...remember to add $5 to all orders for shipping and
handling.... send orders to Children of Medjugorje, P.O. Box 1110,
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 (USA); or order off the internet,
http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com (A PAL version of the video with
Sr. Beige is available from the Cathedral Book Shop, Sackville Place,
Dublin, Ireland, Tel: (01)8787372/ (01)8745284.)