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www.medjugorje.ws » Echo of Mary Queen of Peace » Echo of Mary Queen of Peace 178 (November-December 2004)

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Our Lady’s message, 25 Sept.2004:
“Dear Children, Also today, I call
you to be love where there is hatred
and food where there is hunger. Open
your hearts, my Children, and let your
hands be extended and generous so
that, through you, every creature may
thank God the Creator. Pray, my
Children, and open your hearts to God’s
love, but you cannot if you do not pray.
Therefore, pray, pray, pray. Thank you
for responding to my call.”
Be love
May I bring love where there is hatred
says the beautiful prayer attributed to St.
Francis; and this on its own is a difficult
task. Our Lady is asking even more: I
invite you to be love where there is
hatred
. So it’s not a question of bringing
love, but of being love.
This Franciscan prayer can’t be
honoured simply by doing good works: it
isn’t enough to bring a little bit of love, or
to give a little bit of our money or time.
We must, instead, be a gift for the others,
just as Francis was, and Mary and Jesus
were. The limits we place on love shut off
the Father’s Love which is without limits,
every boundary is a prison wall where in
vain we seek the One who heaven and the
highest heaven cannot contain
(1K 8:27).
Unless we shed that “pharisaic” mentality
we remain closed to the action of the Holy
Spirit, and our actions can have no effect
in the history of salvation and of the world.
Of course, conversion is never easy,
and it is unthinkable that we could convert
on our own. Yet, if we believe in Our
Lady’s messages, we must believe that
conversion is necessary. Perhaps that is
why Mary doesn’t give in before our
tepidity, and with insistence, infinite
patience and motherly trepidation, she calls
us to surrender and prayer. To be love
means to let Jesus live in us, which is
possible only if we give the Holy Spirit
freedom to work in us; it means to truly
surrender, without hypocrisy, to God the
Father. Our only prayer should be: Here I
am, Father, Thy Will be done in me
, which
is the Lord’s Prayer, that beautiful prayer
Jesus taught us and which He honoured
all during His life: as a 12 year-old in the
Temple (Lk 2:42-49), on the Mount of Olives
(Lk 22)
, indeed till His last breath (Lk 23:46).
Do not fear, open the doors to Christ,
our great Pope has been urging us since
his first day of Pontificate. There ought to
be no fear before Christ who is Love. May
all the doors of our heart be wide open to
Christ so He can dwell in us. Mary knows
how to prepare our hearts - She is already
doing this - to make them more hospitable
and more worthy to receive Her Lord. May
Jesus be in us, and we be totally offered
to Him to be love where there is hatred
and food where there is hunger
. If He
truly lives in our soul, we will disappear in
Him, and His features will appear over ours.
We will be food for those who hunger,
whatever their hunger. We will be living
Eucharists. With the living Jesus in our
heart, it will remain for ever open as Jesus
doesn’t let Himself be closed in, and our
hands will be outstretched and generous
for they will be outstretched over His own,
ever ready to bless, to welcome, to serve,
to sustain, to caress. Then, every
creature
will come into contact with Jesus
and will thank God the Creator.
Take courage then! Let us ask Jesus
to accept our offering. It is a miserable
thing, but Jesus will accept it for it is all
we have (Mk 12:41-44); He won’t refuse
it as He knows that it is Mary who is
handing it over on our behalf. This is the
prayer that opens hearts to God’s love,
that obtains for us the miracle of living our
baptism to the full. This is the prayer Our
Lady is calling us to; it will cast away
hatred, hunger, the violence of the world,
and it will open up the civilization of Love.
In this prayer, gather up all your suffering,
pain, hope, joy and everything you have
and are, and Christ will rise in you, and
through you, in the world.
Nuccio Quattrocchi
YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST
17 October 2004 - 29 October 2005
Our Lady’s message, 25 October 2004:
“Dear Children, This is a time of
grace for the family. I therefore call
you to renew prayer. May Jesus be in
the heart of your family. In prayer,
learn to love everything that is holy.
Imitate the lives of saints; may
they be incentive for you and teachers
on the way of holiness. May every
family become a witness of love in this
world without prayer and peace. Thank
you for responding to my call.”
Jesus as Heart
of your Family
The family, it seems, is a thing of the
past for today’s society, at least the family
in its catholic conception. Yet Mary says
that “this is time of grace for the
family
.” We are going through extremely
difficult times for all: individuals, society,
nations, families – yet this is time of
grace
. How could this be? Mary knows –
and we should know it too – that the gates
of hell shall not prevail against Our Lord’s
Church
(cf. Mt 16:18), and the more manifest
the upheavals of the heavens and the earth
are, the more our liberation is at hand (cf.
Lk 21:28).
By now it is time we woke up from
our sleep, for salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed. The night is
far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then
cast off the works of darkness and put on
the armour of light
(Rm 13:11-12). The
armour of Light is God’s Love; it is Jesus;
it is our life in Him. It is for this that Mary
invites us to renew prayer. God’s grace
is ready to be poured out on the family
and on the world if this is what we desire
and sincerely implore. Let us enter into
prayer then, as Mary insistently asks of
us. Reciting prayers isn’t enough; we must
live prayer, pray with our life. “I appeal
to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship”
(Rm 12:1).
“May Jesus be in the heart of your
family.” Let us take this wish of Mary’s
seriously, and establish the family in Jesus
so He can animate it and keep it alive (isn’t
this what the heart does in living beings?),
and so it is protected against evil
allurements and every peril, and kept holy
and without blemish
according to Christ’s
desire for His Church (Eph 5:27). This
means to bring the family back to the
primordial model of the family which is
sought in God himself,
in the Trinitarian
mystery of his life (JPII, Letter to Families).
With Jesus as its heart the family really
is a little church, a domestic church. It is
a living cell both for the Church and for
Nov.-Dec. 2004 - Echo of Mary, Queen of Peace, P.O. Box 27, I-31030 Bessica Treviso, Italy. Yr 20 #6
Ph/fax 0423-470331 - E-mail: info@ecodimaria.net- A translation of the original Italian: Eco di Maria
178
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society, where the dynamic of the
Trinitarian Love lives. This extremely high
concept of the family calls upon a
commitment of faith with holiness as its
prime aim. “In prayer, learn to love
everything that is holy
,” which is to say
everything that is in God and that belongs
to God and that He desires giving us. “We
do not know how to pray as we ought, but
the Spirit himself intercedes for us with
sighs too deep for words”
(Rm 8:26).
“Imitate the lives of saints; may
they be incentive for you and teachers
on the way of holiness
.” With All Saints
Day drawing near, we should ask them to
spur us on, and to be our teachers on the
way of holiness. In Jesus, the family will
find peace, unity, love, the strength to resist
the powers of separation, the wisdom to
unmask every peril, the courage to come
through every trial. Alive in the Spirit, the
family will thus be a “witness of love in
this world without prayer and peace
.”
Mary’s call is for every family, so no one
should feel excluded, or unable or
unworthy. No one can count on his own
strength, but each must count on God and
draw from Him the grace which in this
time is being abundantly granted.
N.Q.
“Jesus at the Centre!”
They met at Rome to give public witness
that Jesus is the centre of their lives. The
“Youth Mission” of evangelization took place
in the streets of Rome in preparation for the
Year of the Eucharist. Its title was beautiful
and demanding: “Jesus at the Centre!”
Young people from all over Europe
gathered in Peter’s city early October for the
First European Meeting of Eucharistic
Adoration Youth Groups
. “This initiative was
born following the Pope’s appeal at the
conclusive Mass of WYD 2000 at Tor Vergata
in Rome when he said: ‘Make the Eucharist
the centre of Your lives,’”
says Mons. Mauro
Parmeggiani who was present at the
Medjugorje youth Festival in August
where
he was moved by the sight of thousands of
young people magnetized by Jesus’ real
presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Mons.
Parmeggiani is in charge of the pastoral work
with youth in the Diocese of Rome, and
promoter of this First European Meeting to
reflect on the “Eucharist as Source and
Summit of Mission
.” Days abounding in
reflection, exchange of experiences and
prayer accompanied by praise and song rang
out a very festive note in the ancient palaces
of Rome.
The most touching moment was when
Jesus was taken “downtown” at a time when
Rome’s historical (and shopping) centre is
most crowded: Saturday afternoon. A long
candlelight procession followed behind
Eucharistic Jesus. Reactions varied: some
stopped out of curiosity, others out of
respect, while others expressed annoyance
as they continued on their way.
In particular, the young people in search
of fleeting pleasures – evident by poor tastes
exhibited in shop windows – were provoked
by the presence of other young people who
were not ashamed to express their joy at
following Jesus. Many types of feelings were
reflected on the faces of unknowing passers-
by: uneasiness, fear, arrogance, and even
bitter contempt which some expressed by
blaspheming.
While these felt lain bare by the Truth
which reveals the deceitful world for what it
is, Jesus looked on them with His loving gaze
and showered them in His love. It was as if
Jesus were there precisely for them: for the
distant, the wounded, those who’ve been
flattered and misled by sin. It didn’t matter
that He was being covered in insults or being
ignored. He only wanted to love them and
thereby save them. It was a little like on
Calvary when He had to squeeze through the
crowds as He was laden with the Cross on
His way to die. Jesus looked upon the millions
of faces of mankind, and drawing them into
His own gaze He took them with Him to the
Throne of mercy. This is what it means to
take Jesus to the centre
: give Him the chance
to reach out to others and touch hearts with
His grace. The fruits will sprout in due time;
the important thing is that He is able to sow.
The young missionaries were also
received by the Pope at a private audience. I
think it appropriate to conclude with his
words which synthesize the trust of the
Church in the young generations:
“Dear Young People … Eucharist and
mission are two inseparable realities, as the
Apostle Paul stresses: ‘Every time, then, you
eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim
the death of the Lord until he comes’ (1 Co
11:26). Through his sacrifice on the Cross,
Jesus ‘makes’ the Eucharist, that is, he gives
thanks to the Father. This mystery asks each
one of us to thank the Father with Christ, not
so much with words as rather with our life
itself, united to his.
Consequently, there is no authentic
celebration and adoration of the Eucharist
that does not lead to mission
. At the same
time, the mission presupposes another
essential Eucharistic trait: union of hearts.
Always remember that the first place for
evangelization is the human person
, towards
whom the Eucharist impels us, asking us to
be able to listen and to love...
Thank you for all that you are and for all
that you do for Christ and for the Church.”
S.C.
New Blesseds:
Lovers of the Eucharist
Unceasing is the Pope’s work at the
service of heaven and earth; and the
number of blesseds continues to grow.
After beatifying three members of Catholic
Action at Loreto last 5
th
September, the
Pope beatified a further five people on the
3
rd
October, through whom we clearly see
the tender love God has for His children.
Though they have different backgrounds
and come from different eras, they all share
one great love: and that is for the
Eucharist.
PETER VIGNE
was born in France in
1670. While still an adolescent he was won
over by the presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist. After becoming a priest and
seeking his place among the poor,
conducting ‘popular missions’, he became
an ‘itinerant missionary’. For more than
30 years he tirelessly travelled the roads
of his region on foot and on horseback
that all might know, love and serve Jesus.
He administered the sacraments that all
might know God’s mercy, he celebrated
Mass and exposed the Blessed Sacrament,
teaching the faithful to adore Jesus in the
Eucharist. Mary, ‘Beautiful Tabernacle of
God among men’, had a special place in
his prayer and teachings.
So great was his love for the
Eucharist that Peter founded the
Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed
Sacrament, whose task it was to assure
continuous adoration of Jesus present in
the Blessed Sacrament.
Also JOSEPH-MARIE CASSANT was
born in France - in 1878 – and he too had
a great love for Eucharistic Jesus. Through
contemplating Jesus in His passion and on
the cross, the young Trappist monk was
imbued with love for Christ. Journeying
along “the way of Jesus’ Heart” - an
unceasing call to live the present moment
with patience, hope and love – and aware
of his own failings, Joseph-Marie counted
evermore on Jesus. He was determined to
do everything purely for love of God and
his personal motto became “All for Jesus,
all through Mary.” He suffered a great deal
of humiliation, but this drew him deeper
into his love for Jesus in the Eucharist:
“our sole happiness on the earth
,” he
loved to say.
The Italian nun, SR. MARIA
LUDOVICA DE ANGELIS
, was born in
1880. After joining the Daughters of Our
Lady of Mercy she lived and died in
Buenos Aires. Her life was a continual
flourishing of humble and silent gestures,
and of discreet yet enterprising dedication.
Not particularly learned, Sr. Ludovica
managed to realize great works because
of her outstanding mother ’s heart,
leadership qualities and the daring typical
of saints. With peaceful spirit, strong
determination and good will, her heart
always focused on God and a perpetual
smile on her face, she was truly a
“contemplative in action.” Sr. Ludovica’s
resolution was to “do good to everyone,
without discrimination.” In all her works
she received inspiration from Jesus in the
Eucharist
, and was sustained by prayer
with the Rosary.
Among the blesseds there is also a
member of royalty: Emperor and King,
CHARLES OF AUSTRIA
, last descendant
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Charles
received a strong Catholic education and
was sustained in his upbringing by the
prayers of a group of persons who
accompanied him from childhood ever
since a stigmatic nun prophesied that he
would undergo great suffering and that
attacks would be made against him.
Devoted to the Holy Eucharist and
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Charles
cultivated the exemplary habit of turning
to prayer before making any important
decision. He saw his role as monarch as
the path to follow Christ and to love and
care for those under his reign, dedicating
his very life to them.
2
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reality for all Christians. That is: our true
home is not here on the earth, but
elsewhere, in the eternal home of God, the
Holy One. Each of us is destined to live on
in eternity. God wants us in His loving
embrace. The concrete signs of this
beatific dimension which the Holy
Father is offering us makes us even
more aware of where our home is.
At times our steps become uncertain,
and we lose our way. The lives of those
who have already trod the way behind
Christ serve as reference points, or road
signs, or beacons on a stormy night, and
they help us understand what it takes to
be holy so that we too can try to follow
behind them.
Editor
YEAR OF EUCHARIST
17 October 2004 – 29 October 2005
POPE WOYTILA
“Pastoral strategy”
founded on Eucharist
“I am happy to announce a special
Year of the Eucharist. It will begin with
the Eucharistic World Congress in October
1994 in Mexico and will end with the next
Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops in the Vatican next October 2005,”
announced the Pope on Corpus Christi day.
In the Third Millennium the Church
continues on its pilgrimage with the
Eucharist as its light and life. “The Year of
the Eucharist takes place against a
background which has been enriched by
the passage of the years, while remaining
ever rooted in the theme of Christ and the
contemplation of His face. In Novo
Millennio Ineunte,
in which are collected
the fruits of the Great Jubilee, I invited the
faithful to start again from Christ,” said
the Pope, “and I suggested an ever greater
pastoral engagement based on the
contemplation of the face of the Incarnate
Word - truly present in the Blessed
Sacrament – which would enable the
faithful to practise the art of prayer and
commit themselves to the high standard
of holiness” to which a Christian is called.
The Eucharist, we would say, has
been dominating the Pope’s thoughts,
starting from Ecclesia de Eucharistia. It
seems that all his attention is concentrated
on this great mystery which beats as the
heart of the mystical Body of Christ.
The Pope has brought the Eucharist
from the celebrative and devotional level
which empties the Great Mystery to its
original place as the source of spiritual
energy and the spark for new missionary
zeal.
The Holy Father’s thought, which is
also Magisterium and doctrine of the
Church, is resumed thus: to “make
Eucharist” means to “announce Christ.”
And where can we encounter the Christ
that the Pope tells us to look upon, if
not in the Eucharist where He is
present for us?
For the Pope – but it also should be
for us – the Eucharist and holy Mass are
not pious practices that serve to make us
The most sacred duty
of a king – commitment
to peace – was Charles’
main preoccupation during
the course of WWI. His
dream was to override
nationalism and form a
great European com-
munity based on co-
operation and respect for all, aware that
every person is unique and dear to God.
But he was not understood and was exiled.
He accepted his conditions of poverty and
subsequent sickness as a sacrifice for
peace and the unity of his peoples. The
exiled King endured his suffering without
complaint, and forgave all those who had
conspired against him, dying on 1 April
1922 with his eyes fixed on the Blessed
Sacrament.
Mystic of the Passion
ANNE CATHARINE EMMERICK
,
stigmatist. Much has been said of her of
late because of the accounts of her visions
which inspired the film “Passion of Christ.”
Born in Germany, she was a great
mystic. At an early age she had a deep
understanding of the things of God and
felt called to become a religious, but
because she was without any particular
“gift” or “quality” she was not admitted.
She was finally accepted – at the age of
28 – by the Augustinian convent where
she performed the most burdensome tasks
despite her poor health and immense
physical and spiritual pain known to her
alone. She lived her religious life with such
fervour that she was misunderstood by
most of the nuns; a suffering which Anne
Catherine accepted in silent resignation.
In 1811, the movement of
secularization resulted in the suppression
of the monastery. Sr. Anne Catherine was
taken on as a domestic by a priest who
had fled the persecution in France, but she
soon fell ill and was bedridden. Her real
vocation quickly became clear - live the
Lord’s passion on her own body
– with
the appearance of the stigmata. This was
accompanied by a series of mystical
experiences which were noted down by
famous poet Klemens Brentano and later
published. Among other things various
geographical and historical details came to
light, for example the presumed house of
Mary at Ephesus, later discovered by
archaeologists thanks to the details
provided by Anne Catherine. The
description of Christ’s Passion seemed
unbelievable, particularly those concerning
the flagellation.
In her humility Anne Catherine did not
use her special gifts to attract attention to
herself, but she did everything she could
to conform herself to Christ, and in
particular to the suffering Christ. For the
last 9 years of her life her sole
sustenance was the Eucharist,
as if to
say that a body can survive, but a soul
cannot without this precious food. Anne
Catherine died on 9
th
February 1824.
That the Pope continues to donate to
the Church this ever growing number of
saints is a prophecy of a fundamental
better or to obtain graces, but are
essential!
for the life of the Church and
for each Christian. Without the Eucharist,
our spiritual life is denied its nourishment
and the mission loses its zeal. John Paul
II’s isn’t just a simple devotion to the
Eucharist, fruit of his traditionalist Polish
formation, but a real and proper
“pastoral strategy” to lead the Church
,
a strategy which places her fundamental
need at the centre.
It is this gaze of faith and love that the
Pope has for the Eucharist that nullifies
criticism of the document by the
Congregation for the divine cult and
discipline of the Sacraments, Remptionis
Sacramentum
, intent to signal and correct
forms of superficial treatment of the divine
mysteries or true and proper abuse of the
celebration of the Eucharist or other abuses
on an ecumenical level.
The importance of the Eucharist is too
great to keep on being silent and putting
up with light heartedness and lack of
respect. The more a person loves
something, the more he will defend and
protect it with all possible means.
“What is the dearest thing to you
Christians?” asked the emperor in
Soloviev’s ‘Tale of the Antichrist.’ The
Starets replied: “Great sovereign, that
which we hold dearest in Christianity is
Christ Himself; Christ and all that comes
from Him, for we know that in Him – in
His body - dwells the fullness of divinity.”
Christ and everything that comes from
Him is our everything; the meaning of life
is completely fulfilled in Him. Those who
confess Christ to be the Son of God are
not intellectual avant-gardes, nor do they
stand out for their moral coherence; they
are simply those who do not accept to
serve two masters, God and the world;
but who’ve learnt from Christ the true
meaning of Church which is fount of
salvation and method of civilization.
And what is the dearest thing of this
Christ? - we could continue ourselves. The
answer is: the Eucharist, where Christ lives
and is present for us.
If this is so, we can never make
enough recommendations; even if it
remains to be said that the sense of sacred
and of the faith and of whatever makes
this clearer and stronger must be
recuperated.
Fr. Nicolino Mori
“Christians still talk a great deal about
God.. but they are losing the sense of
adoration and this is why they are
threatened by atheism. A God who is not
adored is not a true God. You must
acknowledge that God alone is God and
that adoration is your first duty...
To adore is not only a duty which
springs from your state as a creature; it is
the highest form of human life. In adoring
God, you affirm His holiness, and at the
same time, you affirm your importance as
a free man before Him...
Ask the Holy Spirit long and earnestly
for a sense of adoration and then prostrate
yourself before God in the attitude of one
who at the same time realizes the
holiness of God and his own sinfulness...”
(Jean Lafrance, Pray to your Father in Secret)
3
Echo 178
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Only water and flour
Just a little flour and a bit of water.
These are the only ingredients of the little
white wafer, the host, that at every Mass
man brings to the altar to offer up to God.
A handful of flour and a few drops of water
– so simple that one can hardly but repeat
it. So ordinary yet so marvellous! When
this food is handed over to the priest before
it is consecrated it is as if we were saying:
“Lord, this is what we are made of; it is a
poor substance, but we offer ourselves to
You just as we are.”
Then comes the miracle. That nothing
becomes Everything; it becomes God
Himself who takes upon Himself the
poverty of the material and transforms it
into His divine Body and Blood. The
ordinary becomes extraordinary,
powerlessness becomes all powerful
.
Each day we are called to participate
in this incredible transformation during
which everything that is tied to the earth
becomes eternal. At every Mass we are
invited to live the moment in which the
infinite God descends to hide Himself in
the daily bread to be able to stay with us.
Yet we aren’t always aware that this is
possible only because Jesus offers Himself;
He sacrifices Himself; Jesus is there, and
dies for us. This is the true miracle, or
rather, the grace that is given us. The
Lamb offers Himself, and His offering
is able to make heavenly things of the
humble things of the earth
.
At times we are given to experience
special moments of grace which lift us up
out of our daily lives. Generally this happens
when we visit shrines (such as Medugorje)
or on particularly important feast days. We
have a feeling of well-being; our spirits are
lifted and we seem better people, able to
love ourselves and others. Everything takes
on greater beauty, and in our hearts we
desire that it should never end.
But it can’t be. It is inevitable that we
should come back down to reality, which
is normal for as long as we journey on the
earth. It is part of our ordinary life on the
earth. But if you will, it is as though we
were living immersed in a little bit of water
and flour. The important thing is that there
be a transformation here too. It is up to
us, though, to transform ordinary
things into extraordinary things. How?
With our offer
, our sacrifice, our daily
death – the death of our ego, of course,
which is attached to pleasure and power,
tied to events and feelings, enslaved to the
transience of the superfluous.
If we accept whatever the day offers
as though it were a gift; if we manage to
rejoice without lamenting over what isn’t
given us; if we value the simple things and
offer them up to God, we will gradually
see how everything becomes lighter and
more beautiful. Yes, because Jesus, by
taking our offer upon Himself, enters into
our lives and transforms them; He
permeates them with Himself and makes
them divine. Our days will no longer be a
string of facts and feelings, but Liturgy
lived. And we, little persons made of
“water and flour” will feel ourselves
being elevated as “living Eucharists.”
Stefania Consoli
Do we welcome phenomena
or Mother of God?
by Fr. Tomislav Vlasic

Our Lady has been visiting us for
many years. Her desire is that we
accept and welcome her
. We need to ask
ourselves with sincerity: do we welcome
the Mother of God or the phenomena
which accompany her visits? If we
welcome the phenomena without
accepting God and His Mother, the former
remain void, meaningless, and are nought
else but exterior signs.
On the way of faith there are many
people who accept the apparitions, visions,
intuitions, and miracles, but they stop
there. It must be clear, instead, that these
are simply starting points. The way to
reach God is long; and along this way it is
necessary that our entire being be awoken
and reach contemplation of God. It is thus
very important that we do not stop at the
means He uses.
Let us take the case of a visionary: an
instrument that recounts his experience of
grace, but who can’t see God and Our
Lady for us; who can’t substitute our soul.
All of us, in fact, are called to look at God
and His Mother, not necessarily through
the experience of visions, but in that
dimension where our entire being is aware
of Their presence and enters into a filial
and faithful relationship with the Mother
and the Father.
Thus to welcome the Mother of God
means to allow Mary to be the mother
of our lives, according to God’s plan.
A
mother conceives, generates, and raises
her child and she follows him during his
growth. Even beyond the death of a child,
the mother remains united to him, in
eternity. In this natural order God gave us
an Immaculate Mother; He gave us a crib.
Thus, to accept Mary means to accept the
divine motherhood within us; it is perfect
motherhood, it is God present in a mother.
In Mary’s motherhood we are united
to God’s creativity. We cannot, therefore,
think of Mary as our mummy, for her
motherly task is to generate free, mature,
and complete children. To accept Mary in
this way means to be generated in one’s
own originality - generated for God.
What are the steps to take? Let’s
take a look together. Starting with the
events of Fatima, there has been a lot of
talk about consecration to Mary’s Immacu-
late Heart, and her triumph is foreboded.
Nonetheless, it is important to understand
that this Consecration cannot be a mere
recitation or exterior act, but must lead one
to enter into Mary and into her life so that
we become one with her Heart and her
soul. It means to enter into her and,
through her, to her relationship with God.
Mary is Immaculate from her very
conception, but we too are destined to
become immaculate
. With our baptism
we received the grace of incorruptibility,
and we live in expectation of the full
realization of salvation. Our journey ought
to aim at returning to the state we lost with
original sin. Jesus Christ has given us all
the graces to do this, including the great
grace of being able to unite ourselves to
Mary Immaculate. We belong to a corrupt
humanity, so much so that from immortal
we have become mortal beings. What
greater corruption could there be than this?
We are not, however, aware of what
this means. Nor are we aware of the
meaning of our calling, which is to rise
above corruptibility. It is thus very
important to understand that we must
continuously walk in faith. In his
encyclical Mulieris dignitatem John Paul
II called Our Lady a pilgrim of faith. He
didn’t call her a mystic or a person of great
knowledge, but a woman who had to
journey on her way. Mary was a disciple
of Jesus; a docile and humble disciple,
attentive to His every teaching.
We must learn from her to conceive
Jesus within our souls. This isn’t
impossible…
as it wasn’t for Mary. She
was open way beyond the human logic of
possibility. In faith she said yes to God
and the Holy Spirit descended upon her
and she conceived the Son of God.
To conceive then, it is necessary that
we accept every grace of God and
participate in each of them. We have all
gone through moments in life when every
door seemed locked. We all experience
this, but in God there is always a door that
remains open. As creatures we experience
limits, but if we are open to the presence
of the Holy Spirit in us, and if we allow
Him to lead us beyond our limits, then we
have the possibility to overcome them.
This inner passage is at times very
subtle - psychotherapists would speak of
the subconscious, though in grace nothing
is subconscious. Mary surrendered herself
beyond the conscious level and allowed
the Holy Spirit to guide her. If we are
attentive to these inner passages we will
always find an opening and we will never
feel locked up.
Let us take another step with Mary:
her definitive passage beneath the cross
where she opened up to hope against all
hope. The Son, the world’s Saviour, had
been killed, and to overcome pain and
despair she made an offering of herself.
She offered herself beyond the barriers of
human logic and entered into God’s infinite
love. It was at this point that Mary became
Mother of the Church and of all mankind.
After having passed the barrier of death,
of sin and of Satan, she was free and God
was able to use her motherhood in total
freedom to reach us.
The logic consequence of all this is the
experience of Pentecost where Mary,
gathered around her children in the Upper
Room, was able to receive the fullness of
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the Holy Spirit. This is an important
passage for us too. If our response to God
is whole and unreserved, God’s fullness
will be poured into us, and the Triune God
will descend and manifest Himself. This
is Pentecost.
Let me take up this point again. To
receive the fullness (of God) it is
important that our response be whole
and complete
. Those who desire living
the Consecration to Mary’s Immaculate
Heart and remain in it, must try to enter
into this wholeness with Mary, and if
necessary ask for help. The help will surely
come, along with all the protection needed
for the way. At times it may seem that the
protection is lacking, that we are left alone,
to the point of asking: “Where is God? Why
has He abandoned me?” It is precisely
because God protects us that He must
seemingly abandon us, the way a mother
will leave her child standing on his own to
encourage him to walk. God is good to us
(in ways we may not always understand)
when we look at Him with eyes of faith,
hope and love.
It is the time for elevation: of souls, of
the Church, of mankind. It is the time for a
turnabout – for those who desire it – and it
will be the turnabout of God’s triumph; of
Mary Immaculate’s triumph, of the triumph
of all those who belong wholly to God. Let
us accept Mary as Mother of God. Let us
enter into this vital relationship with the
Mother who directs us to the Father. Then,
between us and her there will be no doubt, or
perplexity, or prayer suspended mid air, for
every word and every prayer that enter into
relationship with Mary will receive a reply.
To enter into a living relationship with Mary
means knowing how to make this reply your
own. Then we will all be visionaries, each in
his own original way, because God will clarify
in us the mystery of our life, in Mary’s
Immaculate Heart.
Called to be immaculate
It is neither presumption nor
heresy, and has nothing to
do with the Cathari belief (a
sect of the XI-XII c.) that
they were better than others
because they considered
themselves pure and perfect.
The call to be immacu-
late is our destiny, since it is
the condition that enables
us to enter the Eternal
Homeland. In his letter to the Ephesians (1:4),
St. Paul writes: “God chose us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and spotless before him.”
So God
wants us immaculate. He paid the price for
our ransom. He desires this transformation;
He yearns for it and He makes it possible,
thereby fulfilling His promise. The gift was
given us, but we have to accept it. God
doesn’t force us, or impose Himself upon us,
but He wants us to authorize Him out of our
own free will; to accept Him out of love.
It is not our human strength that can
make us holy and immaculate, but the loving
and continued union with the Most Holy One
.
Penetrated by His holiness, we become
beautiful and spotless. When we return to
Him – our origin – we return to ourselves, to
our real identity, to the primitive sinless state
and to the original dignity enjoyed as children
of God which we lost but which He continues
to propose to us.
Mary’s example is enough for us to
understand how God’s gift is accepted. From
the very beginning she accepted the divine
gift and kept it intact her entire life. In her
immaculate womb the Virgin generated Christ,
Head of the Church, and still today she
continues to generate the entire Mystical
Body so that the Body might be one with the
Head and together with Him be continually
sanctified and purified of every spot.
Mary has been very close to us over these
years at Medjugorje, and not by chance.
Jesus sent His Immaculate Mother to generate
and prepare immaculate children, since Christ
needs to be able to count on every member
of His Body and for these to be united to
Him, and with Him, be offered up to the Father.
We are children of a free Woman, who has
never been subject to the slavery of sin since
she never lost her state of total union with
God. Our journey is inverse. We are called
during our earthly pilgrimage to return to this
union by letting ourselves be reached by God
Who stoops over us in His desire to definitely
re-establish this union with us.
We can become holy and spotless only
through love and by being robed in humility
and simplicity: two virtues which allow God
to do great things in us, as He did in Mary.
The Immaculate Heart of our Mother is a flame
which burns constantly. It burns out of love.
There is no need for lengthy discourses; she
is here and watches over our journey. When
we shall be Mary’s true children, we will also
be her offspring which will crush the serpent’s
head. Mary seeks these children so they can
help her, and these – with hearts entirely free
and turned to God – will have only one
concern: that God’s will be done. The same
was experienced by all the Saints (known and
unknown) who lived a profound faithfulness
to union with God, so profound it was
stronger than fear of pain or death.
God wants us immaculate so He can be
seen in us. He wants His image
impressed in us to shine forth
always. Through Christians, Christ
desires showing His face to all, so
He can be recognized and loved. It
is up to us – living members of His
Body – to be authentic witnesses
so that all can see His beauty so
enchanting and lovely.
To be immaculate thus means to be
transparent,
clear and limpid; it
means to renounce all those layers of masks
- either accumulated during life or inherited
from past generations - which cover up,
obscure and hide God’s image impressed in
us. If we are transparent God can be seen.
This means having only one desire: to be
at God’s service and be pleasing to Him in
everything: intentions and works. It means
“loving what He commands and longing for
what He promises, with our hearts set on the
world of lasting joy.” This would free us of
our “Babel,” or from everything that we tend
to build up for our own glory and to be
independent from God. Everything in us must
be for Christ, with Christ and in Christ! Only
this way can we be children of the Son,
beloveds of Love, and be holy and blameless
for Love.
Sr. Ana Simic
Return to your initial zeal
MARY, MOTHER OF THE
LIVING EUCHARIST
There is a profound and vitally
binding relationship between the
presence of Mary in the world in this
time, and the Eucharist. Already at Fatima
the three children were prepared for the
encounter with the Blessed Virgin through
the “Bread of Life” and the “Chalice of
Salvation” miraculously administered to
them by the Angel of Peace during the
heavenly apparitions (cf. Sr. Lucia’s Diary).
It was certainly by virtue of this special
Eucharistic grace - extraordinarily alive and
working in the hearts of the little witnesses
of Mary’s most pure love – that She was
able to ask them from the very first
apparition: “Would you like to offer
yourselves to God … in reparation for sins,
and as an entreaty for the conversion of
sinners?” (ibidem) and receive an
immediate “yes” without reserve.
At Medjugorje, where Mary desires
that “through our help everything be
fulfilled according to her plans and to
the secrets which began at Fatima”
(cf.
msg 25/8/91),
the Eucharistic dimension is
even more explicit and central. For just as
Mary says in her latest monthly message,
we are called not only to participate with
the heart in the Eucharistic mystery -
“Participate every day in Holy Mass and
receive Holy Communion”
(24/683),
actively participate in the Eucharist” (26/
7/84)
- but even more radically, that every
space of our life should be involved in the
burning vortex of Trinitarian Love present
in the Eucharist to the point of being “for
Christ, in Christ and with Christ” true
spiritual “food” for the world: “I invite
you also today to be love where there is
hatred, and food where there is hunger”
(25/9/04)
. Mary, “woman of the Eucharist
in her whole life” (Eccl.deEuch. 53) calls us,
in fact, to become - as she was in an
exemplary manner - true “living Eucharists”
donated for the sake of all men and women
and for the salvation of the universe.
This is the heart of the spiritual call
of Medjugorje: an intensely Eucharistic
grace
which has its roots and its
foundations in that mystery of boundless
Love closed up in the heart of the Most
High and which beats constantly in the
Eucharist. It is a grace which desires
making of each of us a living sign and a
pure vessel of that same fire of divine Love
which burns in the Blessed Sacrament of
the Altar for the good of all creation: “You
will never fully understand the depth of
divine love present in the Eucharist”
(6/8/
84).
It is for this ineffable grace that
the Spirit intercedes today for His
Bride
. It is also the prophetic appeal by
the present Pontiff - particularly in this year
consecrated to the Eucharist - which he
addresses to the universal Church: “Mary,
throughout her life at Christ’s side, made
her own the sacrificial dimension of the
Eucharist,” and “the Church, which looks
to Mary as a model, is called to imitate her
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background image
in her relationship with this most holy
mystery” (Eccl.deEuch. 56,53). That the life
of God might flow fully in us, and through
us reach out to souls and the entire
universe, it is necessary that we know how
to accept without reserve – as Mary did in
such a sublime manner – the “folly of the
Cross” which so enflames Christ’s Heart,
through the unconditioned offering of
one’s life “as a living and holy sacrifice,
pleasing to God”
(Rm 12:12).
That this might be accomplished in our
life, Mary guides us along a spiritual
journey which opens up – for those who
respond to her call – all one’s inner space,
that the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus may
dilate completely in us to the point of
transforming also our own poor
wounded hearts into true heavenly food
and in a spring of living water for the
world.
It is for this that Mary calls us, in
intimate union with her Immaculate Heart,
to unceasing contemplation of Christ’s
face which is alive and present in a special
way in the Blessed Sacrament. The scope
of this is to gradually lead us to a stable
communion: of the soul with the heavenly
Spouse, in the spring of pure Love that
God has for the whole of Creation. “Adore
continuously the Blessed Sacrament of the
Altar. I am always present with the faithful
in adoration. It is a moment of special
grace”
(msg 15/3/84).
Mary calls us to go much further,
way beyond the yet worthy devotional
levels
, so as to establish with the Son who
is alive and risen in the Eucharist, “a
genuine dialogue of love” (cf. Novo
Millennio Ineunte
, 33)
able to make the heart
truly “fall in love,” where one experiences
that ineffable joy of the “nuptial union” with
Eucharistic Jesus, who alone is the spring
of new life for the entire universe, the
spring of the “river of the water of life, as
bright as crystal” (Rev. 22) which “yields
its fruits of life for the healing of the
nations” (idem). “I invite you to fall in
love with the Most Blessed Sacrament of
the Altar. My Children, adore Him in your
parishes and be therefore united with the
whole world. Jesus will become your friend,
and you will not speak of Him as someone
you barely know. Being united to Him will
be joy for you and you will become
witnesses of the love Jesus has for each
creature. My Children, when you adore
Jesus you are also close to me”
(25/9/95).
‘Tis the true way of peace; to this
Mary continues to guide the wavering
steps of her children! It is only from here
that decisive currents of new life for the
Church and the world can gush forth!
The Mother’s deepest yearning is to
bring her children into the heavenly
sanctuary through the immaculate door of
her Heart to fully introduce them into the
cosmic liturgy of the Immolated Lamb,
that the Eucharistic Heart of the divine Son
offered for the salvation of the world may
beat in each of their hearts. This is the
sole source of every perfect gift; it is the
sign and the authentic proclamation of
those new heavens and new earth which
all of creation so impatiently awaits, and
which already shine in the hearts of those
who have decided to respond without
reserve to the call of the Queen of Peace.
Giuseppe Ferraro
News from the blessed land
Medjugorje,
Praying for peace
by Alberto Bonifacio
Apparition on Podbrdo
Friday 10 September 2004, 10.30 pm
We had just arrived in Medjugorje and
we already knew that it was possible to
join Ivan’s group on Podbrdo that evening
and be present for the apparition.
Thousands of people were there. There
was no moon but the night sky was
studded with beautiful shining stars.
Accompanied by songs and the chant of
the Rosary we waited for the arrival of
the most beautiful Star: Mary. And She
came! The silence was profound, unreal;
we were all in intimate conversation with
Our Mother: how many things must have
been said in those long minutes of silence;
how many invocations, and requests, and
thanksgivings! The Our Father and Glory
Be that we prayed together with the
Mother of God half way through the
apparition was incredibly intense. At the
end, after the Magnificat, Ivan said:
“This evening Our Lady was especially
joyful. She came with three angels. As
soon as she appeared she greeted us with:
‘Praised be Jesus Christ, my dear
Children!’
Then she prayed for a fairly
long time over all those present with her
hands outstretched, and she blessed us all
with her motherly blessing. Then she
prayed especially over the sick present
here this evening. I commended to her
intercession all of us, our needs, intentions,
our families and especially the sick.
This evening Our Lady said: ‘Dear
Children, I invite you to pray for peace,
for peace, for peace, for peace, my
Children. Thank you, dear Children, for
responding to my call.’
With Our Lady
we prayed the Our Father and a Glory Be.
She then departed in the sign of the light
and the cross, bidding us goodbye with:
‘Go in peace, my dear Children.’
We went back down with our hearts
overflowing with joy, all the time knowing
that we needed to intensify our prayer to
obtain the gift of peace. One only need
look around the world to see that Our Lady
is right and has reason to be concerned.
Sunday 12 September 2004
On Krizevac for Feast of the Cross
Many were the pilgrimages for the feast
of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. As is
with tradition many Croatian pilgrims
arrived on foot, even from afar, walking
for several days by day and resting by the
road side at night. Over the long decades
of Communism it was an exceptional
event to be able to celebrate Holy Mass on
this feast day up there beneath the Cross,
but just as exceptional was the numerous
response of faithful Catholics from all over
the region.
Twenty-three years ago these were
joined by pilgrims from all round the world,
and now they climb the holy mountain
together, the ‘Calvary’ of Medjugorje,
crowding it incredibly.
The concrete Cross was erected in
1933 when Pope Pius XI, who had
proclaimed a Holy Year of Redemption,
had suggested to those communities and
parishes near high ground to have a cross
erected that all might be reminded of the
redemption wrought by Jesus.
After having delivered aid to the many
poor refugees (Serbs, Muslims and Croats)
we participated in the celebrations, and in
prayer we united to that of Jesus the
sacrifice and suffering of many: the
800,000 refugees in Bosnia, and the
millions of poor, persecuted and abandoned
people all over the world. We thought of
the words Our Lady told us through Ivan,
and together with her we prayed under the
Cross for peace, just as she had asked in a
message on 6th September 1984.
Alberto Bonifacio email: b.arpa@libero.it
Being food where there is hunger
Milona de Rambures (nee von
Hapsburg), for many years interpreter for
Fr. Slavko at Medjugorje, was recently in
Scotland for a retreat at Craig Lodge,
Dalmally – a prayer and retreat centre
converted from a fishing lodge after the
family first visited Medjugorje in 1983.
Milona and Kathleen Martin, who
served for many years at Marija’s side,
witnessed about Our Lady, the visionaries
and the Franciscan friars: “All of them
taught us so much as they walked in Our
Lady’s school of prayer and love,” Milona
said. “Fr. Slavko taught me that prayer,
fasting and truly living Our Lady’s
messages bring us to do concrete
action
. He grew in this same dynamic. He
had to act. He could not tolerate certain
situations to continue. Through fasting
and prayer our heart opens up and the
eyes of our heart recognize the call and
the needs
. Mary gives us the strength to
respond to her calls,” continued Milona.
“With a great desire in our hearts to
respond to Our Lady’s call, we prayed for
that total change of life she proposed in
the August message. When she gave her
new message in September, Magnus and
Ruth MacFarlane-Barrow from Craig
Lodge had just returned from Malawi and
gave a talk about Mary’s Meals, a project
they started to provide warm daily meals
to school children in Malawi. My heart was
personally pierced; exactly as when I first
went to Medjugorje. This real call, with
an answer that has to be given, came again.
I said to myself: ‘I have to respond to that
call” - to be food where there is hunger
and love where there is hatred
- “so I asked
Magnus if I could work for him. He kindly
included me in his organization which
includes Scottish International Relief
which began by providing aid during the
war in former Yugoslavia, and now works
also in Rumania, Asia and Africa.
So you see Our Lady continues to
call. We are all part of her family, and she
needs us to love in many ways
.”
Further info: www.craiglodge.org -
www.sircharity.org
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Medjugorje and the Great South
Land of the Holy Spirit
Fr. Ken Barker is the founder of the
Missionaries of God’s Love. A consecrated
group within a Catholic charismatic
covenant community (Disciples of Jesus),
the MGL’s is a new congregation emerging
in the Australian church.
Fr. Ken first visited Medjugorje in
1984, and since then has returned on
pilgrimage a further three times: “Each visit
to Medjugorje has been a beautiful
experience of peace and growth in
prayer
,” he says. “The most enriching
time was hearing confessions and helping
penitents return to their faith.”
It was through observing the change
that came about in Jacov prior to and
during an apparition on his first pilgrimage
that Fr. Ken was convinced of the
authenticity of the apparitions: “During the
prayer of the Rosary before the apparition
I noticed how Jacov was easily distracted.
He seemed such an ordinary little boy. But
when the apparition began I noticed that
Jacov was no longer a distracted boy but
that he was amazingly absorbed by
something way beyond him.”
The MGL’s, present also in Papua New
Guinea and the Philippines, evangelize
through youth camps, university outreach,
spiritual retreats, renewal programmes,
rallies, schools of evangelization, healing
ministry, street evangelization and
pilgrimages. A forthcoming event is an
exciting pilgrimage of hope for young
people entitled
LIGHT TO THE NATIONS:
held every two years at Easter, the next
one is 24-27 March 2005.
Around 1,000 young people from all
over Australia are expected to converge
on St. Clement’s Monastery at Galong
NSW. The young people will pitch tents
in the monastery grounds and celebrate the
Holy Week liturgies with music, inspired
preaching, testimonies, drama and dance.
The weekend includes a pilgrimage
walk up Rosary Hill: a place of pilgrimage
a couple of km from the Monastery, with
a large crucifix on top. “Here we pray for
Our Lady’s intercession that Australian
young people will turn to the Lord in their
need. We pray for a new wave of revival
to come to the ‘Great South Land of the
Holy Spirit,’ says Fr. Ken. “This time on
the mountain is for many the most touching
moment of the whole weekend. Many have
noticed the similarity of the spiritual
atmosphere
with what is experienced on
Mt. Krizevac in Medjugorje.
The whole weekend is one that young
people find to be deeply meaningful and
enriching; making us realize that in Jesus,
through Mary, we have a future full of
hope.”
Enquiries 0427-277072
info@lttn.org.au
www.mglvocation.org
Fr. Slavko’s teachings on prayer
We all remember
Fr. Slavko
Barbaric’
. The
energy and deep
spirituality that he
transmitted are
impressed in our
memories and live
on through his
many writings.
This excerpt from
“Praying together
with a joyful
heart,”
helps us
reflect on various aspects of community
prayer. We take this opportunity to
remember him on the anniversary of his
death
(24 XI 2000).
Silence of the Heart:
necessary condition to
encounter Jesus

In her messages, Our Lady often
invites us to silence of the heart; this is the
fundamental condition for prayer. The
encounter requires time and silence of the
heart which are fruits of inner freedom
and love. When you are free and you love,
you have peace and silence in your heart,
and this makes you able to listen to those
around you, to yourself and to God.
At this point it is important to
understand how one loses the silence
of the heart
. Every form of dependence
-on self, on others or material things-
threatens this silence and this peace.
It happens that when a person is
offended, his heart is flooded with various
feelings, such as anger, egoistic thoughts,
pride, desire for revenge - and he is no
longer disposed to listening, neither to
those around him, nor to God.
So that our prayer can be an encounter
in silence and prayer, we must above all
pray till our heart is freed of all those
things that impede our encounter with
God. For this reason, the first part of our
prayer must always be a purification in
which there must be forgiveness and
liberation. Only when this comes about is
it possible for a new encounter. Many
Christians do not pray, or they pray very
little, and therefore, they do not live prayer
as something that frees and that disposes
one to good. This way, however, the
whole meaning of prayer is lost.
The more man is oppressed and has
negative experiences, the more he needs
prayer which prepares him for a prayer
encounter.
In the evening prayer programme at
Medjugorje, this preparation consists in
reciting the Rosary one hour prior to Holy
Mass. Our Lady has always recommended
that prayer for purification be recited to
be able to pray correctly. Without this
preparation there cannot be an
encounter, and without the encounter
there cannot be the fruits of prayer
either
. Those who, after having prayed,
are nervous, sad, egoistic, hostile, etc.
really need to ask themselves what to do,
and how much they should still pray
before they can live the promise God made
to those who encounter Him in prayer.
Let us make this commitment to pray,
individually, as families and as groups, so
that our life is formed according to God’s
will, and that we - already on this earth -
are given to live the fullness of God’s life
and prepare ourselves for the final fullness
of life which human eye has never seen,
ear has never heard and heart has yet to
desire, as St. Paul says.
Fear not fitting for Christians
At the end of September, before leaving
Medjugorje on a mission, I went to
MIRJANA to ask what the most important
thing was to transmit to the Americans
during the conferences I was to attend.
Without even hesitating she said: “Give
them hope! Show them love!”
I thought about some of the burdens
and problems of people from the West and
considered how the hearts of so many are
infected with fear. We know that Mirjana,
like the other visionaries, doesn’t sweeten
the demanding words of Our Lady. Yet that
morning I was surprised when she said:
“Those who fear do not believe.” My
first impression was that they were harsh
words, but if we reflect on them we see
how they offer us some good reasons to
rejoice and hope. It is simple: the more we
are attached to Jesus, the less we fear. The
closer we get to God, the more fear is
distanced.
We really should convince
ourselves that fear and love are totally
incompatible. Wherever there is love, there
is no room for fear, and since God is pure
love, love casts out fear.
Mirjana reminded me about the
beautiful message received in the 80’s:
“Those who take God the Father as father
of their families, who take me (Mary) as
their mother, and the Church as their home,
have nothing to fear for the future and
not even the secrets.”
May these words
be engraved in every family! I really like
how St. Paul sums this up when he says:
“When God is with us, who is against us?”
(Rm 8:31).
The only fear we should have in our
hearts is fear of being separated from
God
(through sin and refusal of mercy).
Being separated from God is a true disaster.
Our Lady said on the matter: “I beseech
you: do not allow me to weep tears of
blood for souls who lose themselves
through sin”
(1984).
Mirjana continued: “You know, there
is nothing that we can’t obtain with prayer
and fasts. At times, people ask: ‘What else
can I do in such and such a situation
besides praying?’ They ask this because
they still haven’t understood the immense
power of prayer! Why should we look for
another means when we already have the
best and most powerful one? We should
make the effort to pray better, pray more,
with greater trust in God Who guides us
as a father would his children! When we
have this trust there is no room for fear. It
is our trust that makes our prayer
powerful.”
Sr. Emmanuel
* 12th Int’l Meeting for Leaders of Peace
Centres, and Medugorje Prayer, Pilgrim and
Charity Centres – at Medjugorje 6-10 March
2005
. Number of places is limited, book at least
by end Nov. Fax no. +387-36-651999; Email:
seminar-marija@medjugorje.hr.
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Sped.Abb.Post.3/70, Aut.Trib.Mant.#13-8,11.86; Legal Dir. A.Lanzani; Printed by DIPRO Treviso
1. PERSONAL CHEQUES payable to
“Echo of Mary Association” - mail to same
at: P.O. Box 27, I-31030 Bessica TV, Italy.
2. If convenient, pay into one of our bank
accounts, specifying payment for “Echo of
Mary Association”:
Italy: Banca Agricola Mantovana (BAM),
Ag. Belfiore, Mantova. Bank coordinates:
IBAN: IT 02 Z 05024 11506 000004754018
Britain: Royal Bank of Scotland, 26
George St., Oban, Argyll, PA34 5SA. Acc. no.
8326 0400 154351
3. In the USA, cheques payable to “Echo
of Mary Association” can be mailed to C/o
R/F Venditti, P.O. Box 646, Pacifica, CA 94044.
Our ADDRESS:
Echo of Mary Assoc.,
P.O. Box 27, I-31030 Bessica TV, Italy.
Ph/fax: Italy 0423-470331
Internet: www.ecodimaria.net
EMAIL: info@ecodimaria.net
Our Readers Write...
Fr. Joseph Buffoni, Malawi, Africa:
A big thank you to you all for sending us
the Echo of Mary. I received it yesterday
and I will be distributing it over the next
few days. It is a wonderful gift. Just as
I’ve always said to the Group: Medjugorje
makes its way in the world because the
facts speak for themselves. On my part I
shall celebrate Holy Masses according to
Our Lady’s intentions, and the Group shall
pray more intensely for you. We place our
hope and trust in Providence; may He work
His miracles in hearts and in the world,
and may we always be aware of His
generous love. I bless you and greet you
all. Remember to smile…
Marie-Theres Konrad, Switzerland:
I rejoice each time I receive the Echo.
Thank you so much.
Margarita Rincon, Australia: A
thousand thank you’s for sending me the
Echo. It is a joy to read.
Hector Fundora, Cuba: A warm
greeting to you all from Cuba. I wish you
peace and good. Your Echo is awesome,
so rich spiritually and it does so much good
to me and others in the parish. May Our
Lady and God grant you numerous
blessings!
Edwin Romero Martinez, Bogotà,
Colombia: With joy I received my first
copy of the Echo of Mary and I wish to
thank you for this extraordinary message
which awakens our interest in the
apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. Not only,
but it has urged me to recite more faithfully
the Rosary and increase my devotion to
our Heavenly Mother. Through reading the
messages we are able to understand the
greatness and the importance of changing
one’s life in today’s world, while also
clearly seeing the mercy of God Who
month after month transmits – through
Our Lady – His fatherly concern for us.
May God grant you the grace to continue
spreading Mary’s message to the whole
world. I hope to soon receive my second
copy and thereby collaborate in this noble
cause.
Beatrice Laureti, Casperia, Italy:
I’m writing to ask to subscribe to your
bulletin, Echo of Mary. I’ve just come back
from a pilgrimage to Medjugorje where I
found a copy. It is very interesting and
explains things very clearly. Your paper is
true food and drink for the soul.
From our Albanian friends
We are a group of Legionaries of Mary,
Mother of Good Council. We greet you
and thank you from Bushati, Shkoder. We
have been reading your Echo regularly for
some time now, we discuss it in our group
and we also share it with others.
Congratulations for your work, and
thank you for publishing Echo, the voice
of Our Lady. Not only is it irreplaceable
spiritual nourishment, but it is also
incentive to work tirelessly to spread the
messages of the Queen of Peace.
May God grant you health and guide
your work in this noble mission.
God bless you with every heavenly
blessing; may He make you pure and holy
in His eyes, and grant you the wealth of
His glory. May He teach you with words of
truth, illuminate you with the Gospel of
salvation, and grant you happiness as you
practise brotherly love.
9 Nov. 2005
Nourishing
the family of ECHO
The feeling of family is
becoming quite evident
among all those connected
with the Echo of Mary
, from
those who conceive it to those
who produce it, those who
distribute it and those who
receive it in the various corners
of the world. The vastness of
space that Echo manages to
cover is really incredible if we think how
simple it is in its typographical presentation
and in the means used to make it.
Humanly speaking, it is quite
unthinkable in today’s technological and
profit-seeking society that this little
publication should reach such a multitude
of people “from every nation, from all
tribes and peoples and tongues”
(Rev 7:9).
We don’t have precise figures as to the
number of copies distributed because a
great deal of people make photocopies,
while others download Echo from the Net
to share with friends and family. Though
there are 17 “official” language editions,
other translations are made using these
editions so that Our Lady’s message
reaches also minor linguistic groups.
The subtle temptation to feel proud is
immediately muffled by the awareness that
none of this can be the work of man,
and that only the power of grace can make
the impossible possible
. Mary had
experienced this in her own life at the
moment of the Annunciation when it
seemed impossible that she could conceive
a son. It is with tender love that today,
too, the Blessed Virgin continues to be a
witness and missionary of God’s will to
create things from nothing, and to make
big things out of little
things. His is the heart that
writes the paper, His the
hands that make it and
despatch it, His the feet
that distribute it, His the
children that receive it…
The Echo is Mary’s, and
for this we love her.
At the conclusion of
this year in which we
have celebrated Echo’s
20
th
anniversary, we
find ourselves drawing up
a balance and fixing our gaze onwards, to
guarantee a fertile and fruitful future for
this humble instrument. As we look at the
first community of Christians gathered
around Mary we see how it was necessary
that each person gave something so that
all could live: “… they had all things in
common; and they sold their possessions
and goods and distributed them to all, as
any had need”
(Acts 2:44).
There is no doubt that the Queen of
Peace desires gathering round her children
still, that she might speak to them. In the
same spirit as the first Christians we feel
the need to let you know that Echo
needs supporting in a concrete way
. Our
first need is prayer – and many of you
already do this – but it also needs economic
support. For this we ask you to “be food”
and please help Mary’s little instrument stay
alive, and give according to your means.
We praise and thank God who is Father
of this family, for He provides for those
who place themselves in His loving and
generous hands, giving back a hundred
fold. Upon each of you and on all those
you love we implore abundant blessings
and peace.
Sr. Stefania Consoli, Editor
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Sr Eugene, Nairobi, Kenya: I thank
you for your faithful presence through your
publication, Echo of Mary. I assure you
my prayers, knowing that I can count on
yours for my new mission in Africa.
B. Power, Canada: The Echo is the
most important paper to come into my mail
box. Thank you. May the Lord bless you
for all your good work.
Bro. Aloysius T. mtb, Indonesia:
Thanks for your bulletin “Echo of Mary
Queen of Peace” which I receive regularly
at my brothers’ community in Indonesia.
! Request for Rosary beads: 1. Fr. S. John
Joseph, Sacred Heart Church, Suramangalam
P.O., Salem, 636005 T.N., India. 2. Mbema
Franklin, Our Lady of Assumption Parish, BP
5872, Bonamoussadi-Douala, LP, Cameroon.
Medjuorje Winter Schedule
The Rosary begins at 5 pm, Holy Mass at
6pm, followed by the blessings and the third
part of the Rosary. Eucharistic Adoration
every Thursday after evening Mass, and on
Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9pm.
Veneration of the Cross every Friday after
Evening Mass.
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