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www.medjugorje.ws » Echo of Mary Queen of Peace » Echo of Mary Queen of Peace 103 (June 1993)

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UNE 1993 - Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Mailing address: Echo of Medjugorje, Casella
Postale 27, 31030 Bessica (TV), Italy - Yr 8 #5 - Sped.Abb.Post. 3/70 - Aut.Trib.Mant.13 of 8.11.86
With age-old love I have loved you; so I
have kept my mercy toward you. (Jr 31:3)
The Heart that loved men so much
Our Blessed Mother’s message of 25 May 1993:
Dear children, Today I invite you to open yourselves
up to God through prayer so the Holy Spirit may begin to
work miracles in you and through you. I am with you and I
intercede before God for each one of you, because, dear
children, each of you are important for my plan of salvation.
I invite you to be bearers of Good and Peace. God can
give you peace only if you convert and pray. So, my dear
little children: pray - pray - pray, and do all that the Holy
Spirit inspires you to do. Thank you for having responded
to my call.
Open yourselves up to the Spirit in prayer,
so He can do miracles and realize My plan
Mary, Queen of Peace, invites us to open ourselves up to God so
the Holy Spirit can work His prodigies in us. Without a doubt this is
a reference to the solemnity of Pentecost (30 May), but not limited
to this great feast. Prayer and complete openness to the Spirit are
definitely related to that dominating phrase: my plan of salvation.
One could simply say that Mary, Mother of the Church and all
humanity, received the task from God of bringing the plan of
salvation and peace, in union with the Holy Spirit (of Whom She is
the Bride), to conclusion. In perfect obedience, She has made this
plan Hers, and that is why She says my plan.
So Her plan will be realized and Her Heart will triumph, like
when, with Her Fiat under the action of God’s Spirit, the mystery
of Incarnation was realized. It seems that the realization of this plan
has come to a decisive moment. We may even have delayed it
through not knowing the power of miracles.
That is why She is again asking each of Her children to help
and offer ourselves to Her, because each one of us is important for
the work which will transform the world. But to be bearers of Good
(that Good that God aims at and that must explode in the world) and
of the Peace that He calls His peace, one
must pray without respite and convert.
Only in opening ourselves up to God
through prayer do we permit His Creative
Spirit to create in us a new heart, to enter it
with His light and power so He may remove
all which is not good and fill us with His
light and strength to carry out His will.
These are the miracles of the Spirit that
transform life and make us able to do things
normally beyond our strength: you will do
the works that I do and greater ones than
these
(Jn 14:12), and you will be like fire of
Love, and nothing escapes its heat (Ps 18);
and prodigies will be done also in others.
Like to the servants in Cana, Our Lady
says in the end to do as the Holy Spirit tells
our hearts which remain docile to His action
through being attentive and prayerful.
Mary is with us and She continues the
mission She received at the foot of the Cross
and in the Upper Room. She continues
interceding for us so the Spirit may descend
on us to burn the evil in us and we will burn
with the fire of love for God and our
brothers and sisters.
I am with you, Mary repeats to us, and I
intercede on your behalf before God,
for
each of you. Mary is with us and She prays
so the Holy Spirit may be the start of divine
life in us (Rm 8:1), so He may live in us,
dwell in us (Rm 8:9). Wherever the Groom
is, the Bride is also present. So She remains
with us, and He in us.
* *
But in what way can we be part of this
community to be saved? Acts 2:42 says:
All the disciples devoted themselves to the
teaching of the apostles and to the
communal life, to the breaking of the bread
and to the prayers... and every day they
devoted themselves to meeting together in
the temple area and to breaking bread in
their homes
(the Eucharist). All this so they
could remain in the same Spirit. And every
day the Lord added to their number those
in the same unity
(it reads: epì tò autòn in
the original Greek version). So the new
way of being disciples is in being united in
heart and [in sharing] goods, through the
Holy Spirit. This for first, announced that
Jesus was risen and alive among His
people.
Without this concrete communion in
Jesus through attentiveness, prayer and
Eucharist, done with all one’s strength, a
believer cannot remain in the transforming
and unifying Spirit; for we are so surroun-
ded these days by models of worldly
living, that it is impossible to believe.
Gathering together on Sundays in church is
not enough to make strangers become as
one heart and one soul
. Where there are
two or more united in my Name, I am there
For the Spirit to work: remain united
in the name of Jesus like in the first Church
Easter is the day in which Christ
loosened the chains of sin and death -
chains with which Satan held us slaves. On
this day Christ brought us to being in
communion with my Father and your
Father, my God and your God
, so that every
man saved by Him may say: I am risen and
I am again with You
- i.e., with that God
we had been separated from. In the time
following Easter we can see (in Acts 2:42-
48, 4) how the disciples were wonderfully
united in peace and harmony - which is a
visible sign of the effects of the Pasqual
mystery. Theirs was true communion of
children in God. This communion could be
seen by others by the way the disciples
loved one another. This communion was the
model for the whole Church, and yeast for
the new humanity.
We have to make this model ours if we
don’t want our Christianity to be just a day-
dream. First of all: repent and be converted
to Jesus so you may be saved from this
corrupt generation and you will receive the
Holy Spirit.
Jesus will continue being
present wherever his disciples are united in
His name.
So to be saved, live like in this
[first Christian] community with all your
heart. Enter this ark of salvation if you don’t
want to be swept over by the flood.
continued on page 2
103
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THE POPE USES NO HALF
MEASURES FOR CROWDS
OF YOUNG PEOPLE
with them: means being united around
Jesus, in forgiveness and attentiveness, in
confiding in one another, in praise and
Eucharistic communion. It doesn’t mean an
anonymous gathering like what normally
happens in our services. So, whatever you
ask for will be given you... So for this reason
the apostles gave testimony of the
Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
nothing did they call their own, but
everything was in common.
This is all tied to the Eucharist: breaking
of the bread.
In other words it is the
breaking of His life for us and of our life for
the others. We have to make the Eucharist
[celebration] more live; not rush it or make
it rote and formal. Like that the Mass is
emptied of its greatest value which is the
presence of Jesus, and of brotherly comm-
union and the offering of our lives together
with His. What’s more, the fruits of unity
and peace and holiness are not produced. Is
this not scandal in our churches?
We have to be converted to this unity
with all our might, so we may be kept,
through faith, by the power of God.
Without
this unity that the Holy Spirit works
through, Christianity is reduced to doctrine,
which doesn’t convince anyone, for it lacks
God’s power, it’s like tasteless salt.
Mary came to do a work of charity. She
came to liven the Christian communities so
they may become yeast of unity for all men.
She is calling us to live this communion by
telling us daily Mass must become the main
part of our day.
She also gives us a model to
follow
with the prayer groups where we
can live this unity in one Spirit, and together
with our brothers and sisters, work at living
a holy life. St Paul also said not to desert
our gatherings and to urge one another on
and meant Mass - communion of hearts.
The Didachè (written before the Gospels)
says: try to meet up every day with your
brothers in faith and look for comfort in
their speech.
St Ignatius said: when you
meet in the Holy Eucharist, the harmony of
your faith destroys Satan’s powers
(and St
Justine in his 1st Apologia said): let us
always remember this in our gatherings and
let us always remain united.
These elements were so necessary that
the primitive Church codified the conditions
transmitted by the apostles, so they could
live together in Christ. They are grouped
together in the Traditio Apostolica by
Hippolytus (200A.D.ca.) and it’s surprising
to read how many times the Christians
prayed in a day (in the family, small
communities, or alone) to remain in that
Spirit: 7 times a day, including the Eucharist
and prayer at midnight! Now we'd say
things have changed: our culture, habits and
needs ..., but then, it is easier for us now to
get together, and we have more need now
than then! That is, if one wants to live in
Jesus' same spirit!
So let’s start gathering together to read
the Acts cited above, and ask the Spirit to
teach us how to put this brotherly
communion into practice, starting from our
prayer group environment. And let’s learn
to use every chance we have to get together.
Christ, Who always works with His Spirit
where people are gathered in His name, will
do the rest .
Fr.A.
# from page 1
forever and ever and has power over death
and the nether world
(cf. Rv 1:18). It is He
who tells you Get up. He is asking you to
renounce the idols of this world and choose
Him, the Love which infuses total meaning
into our life and invites you to live your
youth like a Spring time of joy.
The Lord is sincere with you. He tells
you clearly: whoever is not with me is
against me
(Mt 12:30). He is calling you to
a clear choice, one which knows no com-
promise: either Him or other teachers, other
shepherds, who at first seem convincing, but
end up being treacherous and false.
Do not think that, while you are young,
you are called only to judge and not be
converted. No, my dear friends, the
beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord (Ps
111:10; Prv 1:7), it is the beginning of
renewal, both social and personal; it is in
repentance and a change of mentality.
One cannot be born young in Christ but
becomes so. One becomes a Christian
throughout one’s whole life. I tell you this
from my personal experience. It is not a
question of age; but of being born from
above
(Jn 3:7), from His initiative, His love,
the love of God that like fire burns the "old"
man. Yes, in you young people too, there is
a bit of this old man. God’s love consumes
this old man. This work, this collaboration
with Jesus must start.
God’s love infuses
in us His eternal youth; it makes us forever
young. This is how I explain how I too can
be somewhat young.
What can be brighter than a life given
generously for reconciliation and justice?
For this, however, my young people, you
have to be born again from above, from the
Spirit, from the Cross, from the Resurr-
ection and finally from the Father who loves
us. You should remain in Jesus, loving him
and serving him with all your heart, all your
mind and all your strength (Dt 6:5).
The youth are particularly attracted to the
Pope, but he doesn't take advantage of this
charisma to gain personal satisfaction. What
he aims at is their conversion so they can be
saved. In his recent apostolic voyage to Sicily,
he celebrated Holy Mass on the 9th May in
the stadium of Agrigento. On the 23rd he was
in Arezzo. He often abandoned his prepared
text to speak from the heart.
In Agrigento : Get up and let your-
selves be guided by the Risen One
We live in times of rapid and profound
changes. One often asks oneself, whilst
looking with apprehension at events, "where
are we going?", and "with whom should we
go?" The fear of the unknown and of the
future has a grasp on many young people.
They feel tempted to give in, to give in to
doubts and discouragement; as if [they
were] too tired to live and keep on fighting
for truth and good. Get up! Here is the
Lord’s first firm invitation.
Young people present here today: yes,
He is inviting you to get up. What does it
mean to get up? Above all it means to break
out of the shell of a condition of restraint, to
acquire the full measure of being men and
women in accordance with the divine plan.
It means rejecting the temptation to with-
draw into the logic of personal gain that
always leads a person away from his true
identity to the extent that he becomes
unrecognizable and totally oblivious of his
name. Which name?
The name that we all bear, that each of us
bear: child of God. This name is deeply
impressed in our hearts; put there by Jesus
through His entire Gospel, His presence
with us through His own works and His
words and above all through His Cross and
Resurrection. Getting up means starting on a
walk, a walk of searching and liberation, of
fighting one’s own egoism, to open oneself
up to our brothers and sisters. We can all
make this journey of conversion and
renewal. It proceeds first and foremost
from the inmost conscience of each
individual.
Like in St Luke where we read
of the wonderful parable of the merciful
Father, the prodigal son came to his senses
... I shall get up (Lk 15:17). Every believer
is called to walk along this same path, to get
up within himself, to rise from error and
selfishness and to set out without delay
towards God and neighbour.
He who says Get up does not limit Him-
self to giving you an order. He Himself
takes you by the hand, He remains by your
side, walks by your side, He stays with you
all the way along, He gives Himself for His
brothers and sisters, to the very end. He
does not merely give a command. No, no!
He takes you by the hand. What is the
Gospel, what is the Cross? It is taking each
one of us by the hand. And Resurrection is
the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, taking
you by the hand, effectively - not just
commanding - giving the possibility,
donating Himself. Giving Himself in order
to give strength to the sinner, the weak, to
man always in need of conversion.
After the prayer and meditation you will
see more clearly, more fully, the Risen One,
the Lord who was dead but now lives
In Arezzo : turn away from sin and
find true freedom
The Pope did not use a prepared talk, but
spoke from the heart to reply to the questions
of the youth in Arezzo regarding the sense of
life, vocations and how to conciliate the joy of
Risen Christ with the cross.
John Paul II spoke about conversion,
which means going against the stream, and
indicated St Francis of Assisi as an example,
who thanks to repentance and conversion
was able to taste a new joy. "We youth of
the 20th century are not to deprive ourselves
of this great human and Christian exper-
ience which is called conversion. Convers-
ion means penance and absolution." So this
is an invitation to recognizing oneself as a
sinner, and not drive out the category of sin.
"We do not want to call it so, whereas this
category is profoundly anthropological and
realistic. If what we want is find the true
sense of life and avoid the risk of being
superficial, we must return to Christ who
alone is the liberator. Only He can help us
go beyond that barrier that so often presents
itself in us and that goes by the name of sin.
Freedom? We are not free if we think
being free means doing what we want. That
is just being stupid; it is the contrary of
being free. Faith? Being a Christian these
days is not easy: you need to go against the
stream.
Faith is no longer like in other
times where it may have been a forced
decision. For faith to be real it has to under-
go the cross."
continued on page 8
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Experience of Spirit builds up unity, but not the type that
comes from human science. Poisonous fruits of Gnosticism
Are we so blind as not to see the
anti-Christian spirit in the secular
press that always misinterprets the
Pope’s words?
A. Naticchi, a distributor of Echo,
expresses his disappointment in seeing how
the secular press distort the speeches of the
Pope and the pastors. Worse still, many
Catholics read and believe, unable to see this
subtle campaign against the Church.
This tendency is by now rather obvious.
We can all see how the Magisterium, the
discourses of the Pope, even the simplest,
are distorted by journalists. What are the
reasons? The following are some of the
facts that motivate this distortion.
* If the Pope’s various discourses,
encyclicals and letters are distorted by the
secular press, it is clear it arises from
ignorance on the part of the writers. This
lack of basic knowledge of the Catholic
doctrine has often made journalists blunder
terribly, particularly in regards to
Christian moral: the teachings of the
Pope in this field are developed from
profound meditations on the revelation in
the light of lengthy studies on spiritual,
anthropological and theological found-
ations regarding human love; then comes
the Magisterium and pedagogic indications
for those who desire living their marriage
and sexuality in a Christian manner. Many
react, founding their arguments solely on
their own experience.
None of these care the least about the
Truth, or the mystery of life and human
and divine love reflected in matrimony.
They stir up controversies for trifles, and
all we can think is that they resemble those
who carefully strain out the gnat, then
without batting an eye, they swallow the
camel
(Mt 23:24). It cannot be any other
way, for St Paul teaches us that man who
lives by the flesh does not accept what
pertains to the Spirit of God; no, even more
so, he sees it all as nonsense (1 Co 2:14).
* Often there is hostility arising from
preconceived ideas. The Pope’s recent trip
to Albania is an example. One important
daily newspaper headed their column with:
The Pope against the Muslims in his
conquest of Albania.
No one who had just
even skipped through the Pope’s
discourses to the Albanese or his message
to the Islamic community could have
possibly entitled a story like that. The only
explanation is that the editorial staff had
already decided beforehand what to say
and what not to say and which image of the
Pope they would give. They didn’t care
less about the real contents of the Pope’s
words.
* Then there’s the comedy arranged by
the papers regarding the Holy Father’s
letter to the bishop of Sarajevo where he
urged the women of Bosnia & Herze-
govina not to kill the new lives (cf. Echo
101). Comments flew over the keyboards
into the press as fast as possible. And if
they were fast, they were also very
superficial and far, far from the true
content of the letter.
We also note how frivolous their
comments were on the new Catechism. We
know, in fact, that the teachings of John
Paul II, in their most intimate and essential
nucleus, cannot be accepted by the world
because, as Jesus says, they are an
expression of that Spirit of Truth that the
world cannot accept because it neither sees
nor knows it.
(Jn 14:17)
#
continued on page 7
not radically accepted, we have the same
thing that St Peter talks of: That is why
many among you are ill and infirm, and a
considerable number have died,
(1 Co
11:30) because [they] unworthily eat and
drink the body and blood of Christ. Who
among us, in fact, has seriously understood
that we have been grafted into Christ’s
body, to become one body in Christ Jesus?
If this is true, and not just intentionally,
enflamed communities are generated, live
communion is generated, where the Spirit
manifests Himself and where missionary
dynamics are strictly followed. Without this
communion we do not even have mission;
all we have is human activity.
In the best of cases, even where there is
great friendship and esteem, there is still a
certain basic coldness, because by now we
have been generated by a culture that has
nothing to do with the Eucharistic mystery,
that is not tuned in with heaven; so that the
individual always comes first. This is a great
sin that impedes the Spirit from generating
that enflamed communion so visible
among the Eleven who came out from the
Upper Room.
They started "making
sparks" by virtue of that mystery that made
them one body in the power of the Spirit;
and 5,000 people gathered before that sign,
bringing with them their possessions, even
though they were not instructed on the
greatness of sharing one’s goods: it was, in
fact, a requirement of love.
So the gift of oneself in virginity and
celibacy is a requirement of love. Without
this love, however, and this enflamed
communion in the Spirit, one only "haggles"
to one’s own advantage. Thus the extreme
consequence of individualism: resistance
to the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, when
you actuate a continuous purification, the
Spirit enflames your heart, tuning you in
profoundly with Christ’s anxiety, and thus
with His [charitable] love. Christ’s first
[charitable] love is communion that spills
over from you without distinctions,
estrangement or coldness.
The people of Jerusalem in seeing the
Apostles, clearly understood they were
reborn from above and that the mystery that
had seized them had also completely trans-
formed them. For the people of Jerusalem,
they had become real testimonies of the
power and resurrection of Christ.
We, however, are often testimonies of the
death of Jesus, not of His resurrection. So
following a culture instead of one’s personal
experience with the Risen One, constantly
perpetuates a way of "living" the Church
that is agreeable with all other human
experiences.
The openness to the Spirit that was
generated in us in our encounter with Our
Lady in Medj. and the fact that after that
encounter we were not the same as before,
means that (beyond all pastoral pro-
grammes) the Holy Spirit, like in Pentecost,
still has the power to put you back on the
way. And so we become better guardians of
the fact that Our Lady had permission from
the Father to appear to this poor humanity;
and we have to try to listen to Her, to imitate
Her, in particular try to be a "living Bible"
like Her, because "before the inspired
authors wrote down the Truth of the eternal
life revealed in Jesus Christ, that same truth
had already been written down and accepted
When we speak of openness to the Holy
Spirit in life of faith, we do not refer to a
secondary matter, as without it there is only
an abstract knowledge of Christ:
Gnosticism. It is the same old Gnosticism,
never fought against enough, it is heresy
that says once you have knowledge of the
Mystery, you're alright. But spiritual
experience is neither a doctrine nor a
castle full of ideas. It is the insistent
action of the Holy Spirit Who calls you to
be similar to living Christ.
Gnosticism
renders vain the mystery of Incarnation, i.e.,
the way the Word manifested itself and
manifests itself today, in its body which is
the Church with the Pope as her head.
The consequences of this false doctrine
are evident. We can see them for example in
the common pastoral practice of organizing
human proposals and programmes that
multiply the infrastructures without leaving
space for the Spirit to conduct His Church
as He would like, to the fullness of the
Truth. And since no one had included in
their programme that Our Lady would
appear in Medjugorje, it is only now, due
also to the war, second thoughts and the
nullity of all pastoral programmes, that we
are starting to think that perhaps the Virgin,
come straight from heaven, had something
to say that was more important
than any
human plan: turn away from sin, return to
God, because God exists.
Another consequence is the continuous
dialogue, this type of generalized ecumen-
icalism, according to which we should make
confrontations with everyone. Look what
this has brought to Italy: Christians no
longer know why they should stand up for
life, for the indissolubility of marriage, or
for the intangibility of every sacrament and
mystery of man made to the image of God.
The reason is because many believe in the
need of accepting the signs of the times
proposed by man. Jesus said to His
disciples, however: Go out and announce.
And for the announcement of this mystery,
thanks be to God, we now have the
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The most dramatic consequence of
gnosticism, however, is the dissolution of
the experience of communion;
or: the
dissolution of the mystery of Christ that
made unity in the gift of the Spirit. Cardinal
Ratzinger, during a retreat for Brazilian
bishops, said: "The assembly of the Eleven,
together with some women, with Mary the
mother of Jesus, and his brothers, devoted
themselves with one accord to prayer;
thus
it receives its unity from the Lord. Unity is
fruit of this constant search for God,
" [in]
prayer, which invokes the Spirit Who gives
you indestructible communion. "Essentially,
its activity is in the act of turning to the
living God, in an openness to [wanting to
live] God’s will." [This openness] was so
great that, as we see from Acts, the Spirit
speaks and acts in a concrete manner. The
Apostles invoke the Lord with prayer and
fasts, so spreading the mystery of commun-
ion which is like a spectacle for the others.
As Jesus said: This is how all will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.
(Jn 13:35)
The consequence of trying to make
this mystery of communion exist through
human means is the destruction of the
Church’s unity,
and we know that this is a
bitter satanic fruit. When Christ’s mystery is
# continued on page 4
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* The secular press normally only care
about hunting down signs of division
among the Pastors for the sake of gratuitous
scandalism. The latest example regards the
unity of Catholics in politics. Someone
thought they saw contrast between the Pope
and the Italian bishops. The pluralism in
unity
that the Pope spoke about to the CEI
was a way of expressing the diversity of gifts
(Ef 4) that make up a body, which is one
body and remains one body, while the
Italian bishops were discussing their
application and choices of methods. The
Pope was talking on a magisterial plane, he
expressed a word from above, according to
the Spirit. The journalists, however, wanted
to make him sound as if he was talking on a
socio-political plane, but to do that they
needed to cut and modify and chew over
something that is too big for them.
It is a recurring law in the history of the
Church that the people sent by the Lord,
those who let themselves be guided by
Christ through listening and praying, are
destined to be attacked, in many ways, by
the mob of worldly heroes, by all those who
do not pray but want to judge, who do not
adore but want to know all, who do not love
but want to command. If you belonged to
the world, the world would love its own
(Jn
15:19). These words said by Jesus towards
the end of His earthly life are for us light
and comfort.
We need to keep watch and pray,
seriously, to avoid being drawn in by the
many judgements of the worldly spirit.
When we come across articles written by
people who think they can destroy the
Church (with its foundations in rock and
strengthened by the Holy Spirit), by
blowing on her with their tiny lungs, let us
remember that their breath is close to
coming short.
Rather than being worried about the
future of the Holy Mother Church, we have
to defend ourselves from this worldly
spirit.
Our Lady has been telling us for
some time that prayer is our strength. So
defend ourselves through prayer if we do
not want to be drawn in by the many wolves
in circulation dressed in lambskins. Though
these opposers of the Church have good
intentions in the line of culture and civiliz-
ation, Satan is their guide and he knows
only too well he is unable to destroy the
Church. So what he does is convince as
many people as possible to leave her; many
pay heed, thanks also to the ample and
elaborate collaboration of men. Here Our
Lady steps in with a way of responding; so
let us respond, hastily, dressing ourselves in
God’s armour! (
Eph 6:11)
Let us pray always for the Pope and not
be taken in by the worldly brains. More than
once Our Lady has told us to renounce the
television, so She must have good reason to
ask us this! Certain papers are made of the
same stuff as the TV, so leave them on the
shelves, and our faith will be surely
strengthened, our hearts pacified and our
minds freed.
We’ll still see and hear of more attacks
and
falsifications of the authentic teachings of
the Church, and the surprising part is that the
authors are people who live ordinary lives in a
total disinterest for things of faith. Without a
doubt it’s got to do with tactics, that we can’t
afford to be caught by. In the world you will
have trouble, but take courage, I have
conquered the world.
(Jn 16:33)
With this certainty in our hearts, let us
offer to the Lord our prayer for the Pope and
all good pastors of the Church.
* *
Beatification of Sr Faustina - or the
triumph of the Divine Mercy
Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites
this Chaplet, even just once, will receive
grace from my infinite Mercy. I want the
whole world to know of it. I will grant
unimaginable graces to all those who
confide in my Mercy.
The feast of the Divine Mercy - It is my
wish that the Sunday after Easter be
declared feast of my Mercy. I ask my faith-
ful servants that on that day they preach
about the infinite mercy that I nourish for
the entire world.
For those who will draw near the
fountain of life (confession and Holy
Communion) on that day, my promise is that
they will receive remission of their sins and
punishment [due for their sins]. Mankind
will not find peace until it turns with
confidence to my Mercy.
The prophetic vision - Sr. Faustina had
the grace of "seeing" the day of her
beatification. "Today, Holy Tuesday, God
granted me many graces. I was suddenly
overwhelmed by God's presence, then I saw
I was in Rome, in a lovely temple where the
Holy Father, together with all the clergy,
was celebrating this solemnity...
I looked at the large crowd that was
venerating the Divine Mercy and I said to
the Lord: Jesus, bless all those who have
come here to honour You and Your infinite
Mercy. With His hand, Jesus made a sign of
the cross, and [I saw] the blessing reflect in
the souls like a flash of light. My spirit was
immersed in His love, as if I was melting in
God and disappearing in Him."
As the Pope celebrated this solemnity,
the devotees thanked the Lord for beatifying
Sr. Faustina who managed to transform
every day life into an extraordinary event,
full of significance, by transmitting to the
world the wonderful message concerning
God's Divine Mercy.
May her example rouse hope in hearts,
teach us unlimited trust in God and active
love for our neighbour.
* *
From Sr Faustina's diary we find various
forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy:
devotion to the image of Merciful Jesus, the
Chaplet, the commemoration of Jesus at 3
pm, and the feast of the Divine Mercy.
Image of Merciful Jesus - "One even-
ing in my cell, I became aware of the Lord
Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand
was raised in blessing, the other was
touching the garment at the height of his
breast. From the opening in his garment
two large rays came forth; one was red, the
other a pale colour. Jesus said to me:
Paint an image of the way you see me
now. Underneath write: Jesus, I trust you.
It is my wish that this picture be venerated,
first in your chapel, then all over the world.
I promise that the person who venerates
this picture will not perish. I promise that
person victory over the enemy now on
earth and especially at the moment of his
death...
My look in that picture is the same as the
way I looked upon humanity from the cross.
With this I offer to humanity the vessel by
which it may draw graces from the spring
of my mercy...
The two rays stand for blood and water.
The pale one is the water which makes
souls Righteous. The red one is the blood
which is the life of souls. These rays issued
forth from the depths of my Mercy at that
time when my Heart was opened by a lance
on the Cross. These rays defend souls from
the wrath of my Father. Blessed is he who
takes refuge in these, for the just hand of
God will not lay hold of him."
Commeration of Jesus' death at 3
p.m.
- My daughter, each time the clock
will strike 3 of an afternoon, immerse
yourself in my mercy to adore and glorify it,
to invoke its power in favour of the whole
world. You will do this in particular for
those who live in sin, for in that hour my
mercy was flung open for each of you. In it
you will obtain everything for yourself and
for the others. In that hour grace opened its
doors for the whole world and mercy
defeated justice.
The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy - "It
was evening and I was in my cell. I saw an
angel, the executor of God's wrath... I start-
ed pleading God with words I could hear
from within myself. The day after an inner
voice told me: This prayer serves at
appeasing my scorn. You can say it on
ordinary Rosary beads.
Start with one Our Father, one Hail
Mary
and the Apostles' Creed. Then on the
large beads recite the following prayer:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body, the
Blood, the Soul and the Divinity of Your
dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus
Christ, in atonement for our sins and for
those of the whole world.
On the ten small
beads say once for each bead: For the sake
of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on
us and on the whole world.
To conclude say the following, three
times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy
Immortal One, have mercy on us and on
the whole world.
Recite it every day with constance.
Whoever recites it will receive great mercy
in the hour of their death. Priests should
recommend it to sinners as their last hope.
THE CULT OF THE
DIVINE MERCY
The Pope: "Woe betide if I were to worry
about criticism and incomprehensions"
"It is in one's relation with Christ (the
true object of preaching) that we find the
explanation for the difficulties and opposi-
tion that the Magisterium of the Church has
always encountered from the time of Peter
to today: the disciple is not superior to his
teacher
(Mt 10:24). If they persecuted me
they will persecute you too
(Jn 15:20).
This battle also took place within the
Christian community; St Paul said to
Timothy: proclaim the word; be persistent
whether it is convenient or not; convince,
reprimand, encourage through all patience
and teaching.. (though) people will no
longer tolerate sound doctrine
(cf.1 Tm
4:2).
St Paul's words stand for today's
bishops too, especially for the Roman
Pontiff, whose mission is to protect the
Christian population from error with
regards to faith and moral, and whose duty
is to keep the faith (cf. 2Tm4:7).
Woe betide if he were to worry about
criticism and incomprehensions. His task is
to give testimony to Christ, His word, His
law, His love.
The Roman Pontiff must also add the
commitment of being, like Jesus, meek and
humble of heart
(Mt 11:29). Pray for me,
that I may be so, and become ever more
so."
(General Audience 10.3.93)
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NEWS FROM MEDJUGORJE
An oasis of peace amid the war
* According to Vicka, the Gospa seems
far more worried about the situation in the
world than in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Our
prayer for peace is needed by Her now more
than ever.
* Like last year, a Peace March from
Humac to Medj. (15 km) will take place on
the 24th June. Departure time 11 a.m. Arch-
bishop Franic’ will take part in the march
and celebrate Mass upon arrival in Medj.
* The condition of Msgr. Zanic’ has
improved since undergoing a heart operat-
ion. He is now in Split.
* Mostar is agonizing. Many young men
from Medjugorje have also left to take part
in the fighting. With the cease-fire on May
18 there was also an exchange of prisoners.
Some of these were from Medjugorje and
thus were able to return home.
The youth of the village, however, are
before a big dilemma: emigrate or not? To
leave their homeland would be a wound in a
Croatian’s heart that would never close. To
remain would mean a dangerous adventure
with no way out. Drugs are becoming more
and more available, and Medjugorje has not
been left out of this either. The young men
are tired of going to the front for this
senseless war. Let us pray for them.
* A few days ago on the front at Stolac’,
some soldiers from Medj. made contact with
some Serbian soldiers (via radio). They
were stationed only just 300 metres apart.
The Serbs told them: "You come here and
kill our leaders, then we’ll come there and
kill yours. Then we'll be able to live in peace
again like before." This episode is meaning-
ful, from it we can see what sort of state the
soldiers are in on both parts.
* The Croatians are disheartened
because the Muslim refugees, taken in as
friends in Herzegovina, are now against
them. They were given food to survive and
weapons to defend themselves from the
Serbs. Now they are using them against the
Croatians. Fr. Slavko says this conflict
between Croatians and Muslims can be
attributed to the extremist parties operating
on both sides, and also the fact that the
Muslim soldiers, forced out of East Bosnia,
(now under Serbian control) are trying to
get even in West Bosnia (Croatian territory).
20 thousand soldiers in Lourdes
ovation for the Croats
human victims, 100 thousand homes
destroyed, a million refugees. These are the
consequences of many years lived without
God. After 13 months of war, Sarajevo has
become a concentration camp. (...) I would
like to stress that the political world has
reacted in an indecisive manner and too
slowly. This has encouraged the aggressor.
Now we watch a second period [of this
war], characterized by hate that knows no
limits. (...)
The soldiers of Bosnia could not come
because of a communications block. I am
here to pray to the Immaculate Conception,
so this atrocious war may be stopped, so
hearts will convert and be freed from hate,
[to pray] for all the populations of Bosnia.
To Our Lady of Lourdes I consecrate my
Archdiocese and my faithful..."
The war in figures: 3 thousand children
have died in Sarajevo, where nearly half a
million inhabitants (Muslims, Croatians and
Serbs) once lived peacefully together. The
bombings continue and hit those areas most
densely populated. 39% of children have
lost at least one member of their family;
48% have had to abandon their homes; 72%
have had their home bombed or destroyed;
51% have seen someone die before their
very eyes; 81% believed that the time had
come for them to die.
The 35th international military pilgrim-
age was held in Lourdes from 14 to 16 May.
About 19,500 soldiers were present and
represented 24 nations and were
accompanied by 12 bishops. This year the
following delegations (not normally
represented) were present: Albania,
Argentina, Korea, the Czech Republic and
Lithuania. The sixty-odd Croatian soldiers,
accompanied by the auxiliary bishop of
Zagreb, Msgr. Jezerniac’, were applauded
by the large crowd of pilgrims present in the
month dedicated to Our Lady. The Hungar-
ian delegation was led by a priest who
served 19 years in prison. The Echo staff
that were present spiritually united all our
readers to this international prayer.
The homily by the bishop of Saravejo,
Msgr. Puljic’,
was addressed to all the
pilgrims present in that moment: "I come
from a country that cries tears and blood
every day without respite. One and a half
years of war has cost us 200 thousand
too is a sign that people have not lost hope:
"Our Lady is with us." they say, but I say:
"We too have to be with Our Lady."
How many times do we hear people,
particularly journalists from poor countries
where social injustice reigns, like in Brazil
etc., say: What do you want? Pray? Fast?
Why doesn’t She talk about justice?! I
replied: Look, I don’t know. Ask Our Lady.
But there’s one thing I do know, and that’s
that those people who prayed here with us
were the first to see our needs and started
helping. Perhaps you will say that this is not
because of the prayer, but I can say that
those who prayed in Medjugorje are now
helping us.
The thing that struck me the most was
when I saw 4 vans arrive from Poland to
bring us flour and some blankets for our
refugees, yet they are in need too. So from
this faith, this prayer, love is born.
It is a
concrete love that sees brothers and sisters
in need and then helps them."
* *
The following is taken from an interview
of Fr. Slavko by A. Bonifacio. (23.3.93)
"(...) We can say that Medjugorje, during
this war, has really gained ground almost
everywhere. Many have opened their eyes;
not everyone, but there truly is an incredible
interest now for Medjugorje (and cites the
example of New Zealand and Australia ).
I believe that, because of the war,
many now give more authority to Our
Lady’s messages
. Before the war which
began exactly 10 years after the start of Our
Lady’s apparitions, one would have said:
But what war! Against who! What does it
mean that prayer and fasts can stop wars?!
Now we cannot say: What war, for it is here.
This war is our cross. We can say, without
accusing anyone, that in 11 years we have
not done what Our Lady asked us to do
and the war came. She asked for conversion
and reconciliation so peace could reign. We
did not do this so war came. We don’t want
to accuse, these are just the facts.
So this cross of ours should be for the
world, for you all, a message: i.e. take Our
Lady’s messages seriously
- first off, on
an individual, personal plane, together as a
family, and so on. Listen to Our Lady’s
messages, it is not too late!
From speaking with the people and the
soldiers, I believe that Our Lady’s
presence has given them courage,
consolation and even made people’s hearts
more sensitive. Many times I have heard this
temptation in confession: I am now tempted
to hate, but I fight against it.
I asked how a
young engineer now fighting in the war was
and he replied: "Not well, because we are
tempted to become like them. We’re in
danger. In war a person even loses his head.
Everything is so degenerating, and even if
you defend yourself, you can still become a
violent, revengeful person. It is a big
danger..., even though many carry rosary
beads on them."
Everyone wants rosary beads - by
their own personal decision. Perhaps this
The war and Mary’s messages
The tragedy of former Yugoslavia
eternal shame on the West
# continued on page 6
This tragedy fills us every day with
horror, for though it has touched rock
bottom, an end is still not in sight. The
whole world should feel guilt for this
barbarism, with so much contempt for life,
in the unborn and the most vulnerable, with
no respect for anyone. These brothers and
sisters of ours have been left to themselves
with nothing around them but hate, injustice
and endless suffering, and it has all turned
into a macabre custom where the remains of
Communism is destroying an entire nation
and getting away with it.
We are all guilty and Europe is materially
responsible for this ruin by not intervening.
It has never had the courage nor the will to
admit who the agressor is, or to do some-
thing to put a stop to this progressive
massacre that has been going on for two
years. It could have imposed tighter, more
effective sanctions, striking out at the arms
industries, arms trafficking, airports and
military bases. This could have been done,
but wasn’t, for obvious though masked
connivance, not only on the part of Russia,
but other western nations too, [in favour of]
Serbia. Europe’s incapability of being
united is obvious, and Serbia, with its
proverbial double-dealing, knows how to
take advantage of this.
The Bosnian Serbs continue raising the
price for peace, without having the least
intention of making peace. In the meantime
they keep on taking by force the remaining
territory that belongs to the Muslims and
keep besieging their fortresses (Srebrenica,
Zepa, Goradze, Foca, etc.), threatening to
destroy them if the people don’t give in.
And in many cases they have had to accept
being disarmed, so remaining helpless.
The Bosnian Serbs rejected the Vance-
Owen peace plan after Karadzic’s feigned
positive response, because they would have
had to give up 50% of the territory they
occupied. The threatened military intervent-
ions by the USA were quickly withdrawn,
unlike with Iraq, because human rights are
worth less than petroleum.
The United Nations now consider
returning to their plan for protected areas,
firmer embargoes, humanitarian convoys,
background image
person should not follow the way of
virginity, as the commitment may one day be
broken and rather than reflect God’s pure
love he/she would be cause for scandal. On
the other hand, said persons could sanctify
themselves in family life through marriage:
great sacrament in Christ and the Church
(St Paul). So let us not judge, nor be
surprised by the choices of the seers. There
is no doubt that before they chose, they
reflected much. Perhaps the Lord has also
asked some of us to give up everything and
follow Him, like the young rich man in the
Gospel. What did we do with His proposal?
just repeaters of the messages. In our case,
however, was it not the pilgrims that
disturbed their concentration, scattering
their way and their homes with incense and
gold, creating comfortable lives for them?
That is certainly not suited to the call of the
Poor and Humble. We wanted them alll
with us and for us always. We cannot now
complain about their choices.
The Word of God tells us
While we’re on the subject let us take a
look at the problems regarding vocations.
Looking at the history of salvation we see
that God chooses people from all walks of
life, but it is also true that for His great
works God generally prefers people free
from family obligations. In these cases
God’s call requires total commitment. Take
the two sons of Zebedee; they left their
father and the fishing nets to follow Jesus,
and in their wake we have the many ranks
of people who gave up everything to
dedicate themselves totally to God’s king-
dom. To these Jesus promises: "Those who
give up house or brothers or sisters or
mother or father (and St Luke adds wife -
18:29) will receive a hundred times more
now in this present age, and eternal life in
the age to come." Jesus also says: "Not all
can accept this word," (i.e. become eunuchs,
or virgins)," but only those to whom that is
granted." In 1 Co 7:7-9 St Paul says he
would like everyone to be as he is (virgin) ...
"to be united to the Lord without distraction
... but each has a particular gift from God,
one of one kind and one of another.... It is
better to marry than be on fire!" And full of
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul recomm-
ends that it is better for a person to remain
as he is - at the moment of his conversion.
"Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a
separation. Are you free of a wife? Then do
not look for a wife. If you marry, however,
you do not sin ... but such people will
experience affliction in their earthly life and
I would like to spare you that." (1 Co 7:26-
28) This might happen to those who seek
marriage as a refuge from the cross of
religious life; but would only end up finding
a bigger one in family life.
Are we not all at fault, a little?
God’s greatest gifts, like virginity for a
Church mission, have to be particularly
safe-guarded so as not to be lost. So with-
out a defence from the worldly spirit that
ruins everything, and without a spiritual
guide, even the best of intentions in a
consecrated life can become like a dead
letter or wasted gifts.
What would have happened to Berna-
dette from Lourdes, or Lucy from Fatima if
they had not been protected by a community
and the walls of a monastery? If we read the
story of their lives, we see that they refused
invitations from all parts of the world,
asking them to remain in the world and
testify and spread the messages. The girls,
however, were steadfast in their decisions
and they won. And how they served the
cause!
Visionaries have to be carefully
protected
if they are to remain true
testimonies to the things of heaven and not
The rest is true even if humans fail
The message of Medjugorje, however,
does not depend just on the seers and
neither on the parish that must incarn-
ate it, the same way the Gospel does not
depend on those who announce it.
A holy
life of the former would certainly benefit
the message, making it more credible when
accompanied by a true testimony, but this
is not essential. In the same way, the
message would not lose its strength if the
seers led a life that was not edifying and
the parish could not be recognized when
compared to the early days. In fact Jesus
says: "do what they tell you to do, do not
do what they do." (Mt 23:3)
We have always said that, "the charis-
mas in themselves do not make the persons
holy," like the gift of being an Apostle did
not make Judas holy. The Gospel would
still be valid even if bad behaviour of
Christians in general denied it. Even in the
end "people will say: did we not prophesy
in your name, cast out demons in your
name, work many miracles in your name?
But Jesus will tell them: I have never
known you; away from me, you evil men!"
(Mt 7:22-23)
Perhaps we expect too much from the
visionaries and confuse Mary with those
who see Her.
Without realizing it, we
could end up making the same error as the
Bishop who denied the reality of the
apparitions because of certain behaviour of
the seers (they smoked or because they
contradicted one another in something
unimportant). The truth of Medjugorje,as
we have seen and heard right from the
beginning, has not changed.
The real
signs that testify to the message are the
prodigies of true conversions, real fruit
from the divine tree, that call out: "here can
be seen the hand of God."
Fr. Angelo
* Daily bus service to Medjugorje
from Trieste - every evening at 6.00 pm.
Arrival in Medj. 9 a.m. next day. Departure
from Medj. 6 p.m. with arrival in Trieste 9
a.m. next morning. Cost: 68,200 lire one
way. Where: the bus depot, adjacent to the
train station. The other safe way of getting
to Medj. is by ferry from Ancona to Split.
For Trieste bus service phone: 040-360300
Fr. Jozo in Germany
Medj. for the first time in Frankfurt.
On the 28th April, Fr. Jozo participated
in a programme of prayer in that city with 9
celebrants and a thousand participants.
Singular blessings followed the 4 hour
meeting, which was held during the week -
after a hard day’s work.
The joy was immense; like my first trip to
Medjugorje. There was a feeling of
openness, and joy in praying with the
others, and for the others, then and always.
(MD)
Marija Pavlovic’ to marry in Sept.
She herself made the announcement on a
local TV station, and said, among other
things, that after having had various
experiences with convent life, she felt "her
vocation was to form a family. Marriage
also is a way to holiness."
Marija met her future husband (Paul
Lunetti, 31 years old from Monza, Italy) on
Podbrdo some years ago and they remained
friends. Paul’s father, Dino, has prepared a
small apartment for them in Monza. Marija
said she will probably divide her life
between Monza and Medjugorje. She
continues to receive Our Lady’s apparition
every day at the same hour, wherever she is,
and receives the monthly message for the
world on the 25th of every month.
When the seers’ choices
clash with our expectations
It seems that some of our Medjugorje
friends are rather surprised and even
disappointed by certain choices the seers
have made. These friends were of the idea
that they should have joined a convent of
some sort; and then again the seers too in
the early days, except for Mirjana and
perhaps Ivanka, had also talked of
becoming religious or priests. Ivan had
tried twice and his experience with the
Franciscans of Dubrovnik was unfortunate.
Marija finished her experience with the
"Kraljice Mira" community led by Fr.
Tomislav earlier than planned. At a later
date she was heard to say: "As soon as the
apparitions finish I will enter a convent."
Now three of the seers are married and
last April a fourth one, Marija, announced
she will soon marry.
What should we say? It is not up to us to
choose for others and neither can a person
let themselves be conditioned by others’
expectations in such a delicate and personal
business as one’s vocation. Virginity is
certainly a wonderful gift, "but if one cannot
exercise self-control they should marry."
(1Co7:8-9) When a person is certain he/
she is not being called by the Lord, that
but Serbia will not accept controls on their
Bosnian border. Now the Muslim govern-
ment of Bosnia and all the Moslim countries
belonging to the UN have rejected this plan
which would apply sanctions to the status
quo
of ethnic cleansing. The situation is a
blind-alley one.
So it looks as though it pays to be viol-
ent; it is tolerated on an international level.
And the Muslims and Croatians, once allied
in the fight against the Serbs, now fight one
another over the remaining area. Thus the
spilling of blood and the sowing of terror in
the streets of Mostar, already half destroyed.
It seems that the meeting held in Medj.
on the 18th May between President
Tudjman (Croatian) and Itzebegovic’
(Muslim) and other leaders has put an end to
this new conflict between these two peoples,
leaving a spiral of hope for future peace.
There have already been surprising
evolutions in this war. The Holy Spirit
knows how to find new unimaginable ways
of pulling men out of any situation. In fact,
Our Lady teaches us to turn to Him. * *
# from page 5
»
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Prepare ourselves for
the 10th anniversary
of the consecration of the world
to Mary’s Immaculate Heart
Bishop Paul Hnilica reminds us that 9
months are missing till the 10th anniversary
of the consecration of humanity to Mary’s
Immaculate Heart, done by John Paul II on
the 25th March 1984. He proposes a novena
of 9 months to prepare ourselves properly
for this event. This novena began at
Pentecost with a big meeting in the Notre
Dame
university in Indiana (USA) (28 to
30 May). Ivan, Ivanka and Mirjana were to
be present.
"Let us not forget," he said, "that Our
Lady said she came to Medjugorje to
complete Her work began in Fatima.
Now more than ever, the Church of
America, like the Church from all parts of
the world, is in need of Mary’s motherly
presence.
.. We, like the first apostles and
disciples of the Lord, have to be in
communion with Her if we wish to find that
unity of faith and charity that attracts the
Holy Spirit to our hearts. After that
consecration, the Pope himself told me that
apart from that solemn liturgical act, each
Christian should have consecrated himself
to Mary, each parish priest his parish, each
bishop his diocese, parents their families.
This personal consecration is needed for the
triumph of Her Immaculate Heart.
Nine months is the time needed to form,
through prayer and charity, a great spiritual
family with the Eucharist at its centre and
the Holy Father as its guide - to help the
peoples of the East find God, through
evangelical charity and the reconciliation of
the two sister Churches (Orthodox and
Catholic). But how can we find this unity,
if not in Mary’s Immaculate Heart?
We
are apostles of this consecration; trust will
help us become children, humbleness to be
stripped of our merits, charity to be
generous and hope to be filled with joy.
Brothers and sisters of America, we need
to look to Her and Her Son in the person of
the White Pontiff and the White Eucharistic
Host, to be truly a "new world."
The Lord has entrusted you with a big
responsibility. Your brothers in Russia,
whom you once considered as being your
worst enemies, must today become your
most beloved brothers. Our Lady in Fatima
looked upon them with love and
predilection.
My heartfelt blessing is upon you. I hope
you will experiment a renewed effusion of
the Holy Spirit in these days. The power of
this consecration will embrace all peoples
and nations and will surpass all evil that the
spirit of darkness awakens in men. * *
Brazil : from theology of liberation
to Marian apostolate
When Marija Pavlovic’ and Fr. Leonard
visited Brazil, their trip was cut short by
Marija’s ill health, but Fr. Jozo at a later date
was able to conclude on their behalf.
Manfrod Göbol writes: "The Brazilian
population has entered Mary’s Immaculate
Heart." Manfrod left Germany for Brazil in
1979 to help those suffering from leprosy,
and he confesses: "I was only Christian by
name. At the sight of the terrible social
contrasts in that country, I backed the
theology of liberation and for years I
worked with this spirit of protest, in
particular, against the Church. In 1986 I
happened to hear about Medjugorje. I went
out of pure, but irresistible curiosity and I
came back totally changed. I started
spreading the message and helping others
go. I lost many friends, some of whom were
bishops and priests, but I gained many
others who wanted me to talk about Our
Lady to their people.
In 1989 Our Lady invited me to start
spreading Fr. Gobbi’s Family Cenacles
wherever I went for my work. I made a deal
with Her: You help me in my work and I’ll
help You with the Cenacles. The results
were stupendous. My work was highly
appreciated and as a consequence I was
asked to visit even more towns - for me that
meant more chances to start up Cenacles.
These started spreading wide and far and
producing wonderful fruits among the poor
and rich and even the ecclesiastics. This is
how it goes: I go to a town, the town
authorities invite the people to the talk about
leprosy ... and then I talk about Our Lady!
It’s true, in Medjugorje we receive a
seed, then in other places Our Lady
develops it, organizes it and structures it.
She wins over a person in Medjugorje then
sends him to work in the Marian Movement
for priests. It’s like Mary is creating a new
unity or communion among Her movements
that are often divided because of man’s
limits.
(...) Our Blessed Mother's messages are
always in accordance with the Word. In Her
message of 25 April She says: "Observe
how nature..."; and Jesus tells us: Observe
the flowers in the field, the Father clothes
them .... and the birds - they have no
storehouses, yet the Father feeds them (cf.
Lk 12). For years She has been telling us to
meditate on this passage of the Gospel (that
teaches us to have this trust in God). And
we are all called to this total trust, even those
who have lost everything and may be
tempted to abandon the search for God's
kingdom
and start worrying about how to
survive.
Only the Mother could "dare" to propose
such a solution as a way out. Let us examine
our consciences: do we really believe Mary
knows what She is saying? Lord, I believe,
but heal my unbelief.
(MD)
Fr. Thaddeus writes from Fatima :
Radio Maria by satellite!
Dear Fr. Angelo and all brothers and
sisters belonging to Mary’s family,
I was invited by friends in Germany to
be their spiritual guide during their pilgrim-
age to Fatima. Despite my busy schedule, I
accepted this invitation for various reasons.
My heart is exploding with joy. Our dear
Mother made it possible for us to have the
Echo of Medjugorje in Poland, then the
books: Open your hearts to Mary, Queen of.
Peace,
and last, Her own radio!
Soon we will have 35 stations. One is in
Warsaw on top of the former Cultural Hall
dedicated to Stalin! And a month ago we
started transmitting via satellite,
so that
we can link up to other Polish stations and
all of Russia as far as the Urals.
The first thing I did today was go before
Our Lady's statue to thank Her. I spoke to
Her about you Fr. Angelo, and all the people
I have met and will meet. I asked Jesus for a
greater love. She loves Him so much - and
I?
During the procession I passed beside
the statue and I asked Her to look upon me
and on each person that make up Her family
of helpers, so the world may recognize the
only Saviour. All was dark; only Her statue
was lit up, and Her children with the candles
in their hands, plus the moon and a few
stars. My eyes were full of tears for the joy
for all Her wonderful miracles; and today’s
story is one of those miracles.
First She lights the hearts of Her beloved
children, those who say: yes, I love you.
Then She invites them to help Her and She
does miracles through them for the whole
world, for the glory of the Lord. I looked at
the stars, and up there was Her star, the
satellite by which Her voice goes from
Europe to the Urals. What we need are
many receiving stations for Radio Maria.
Everyone asks us, but it isn’t easy and Satan
disturbs us greatly.
I ask for your prayers. I always
remember you and I thank you for your
help, which has enabled us to do so much.
So many listen in to the Word of the Lord
and Mary. Forgive me if I cannot thank you
all one by one. I’m truly exhausted, but here
I find spiritual rest.
God bless you and each and every one in
Mary’s family.
Fr. Tadeusz
(Fatima, 28 April 1993)
# from page 3
in the heart of His Mother," (the Pope in
Czestochowa 1991).
Let us then imitate Her, the woman who
said yes. Let us imitate Her in Her faith,
that live faith that was part of Her, and as
an example of enflamed communion, let us
follow Her, the bride of the Spirit and thus
star of all evangelization. If we are unable
to imitate Her in Her Immaculateness, at
least let us try to follow Her in that method
of constant purification taught to us by
Her. For, in purifying the heart, you can
become temples of the Spirit and be His
instruments so to be taken by grace to
this love.
In the April message, the Virgin said: I
invite you all to awaken your hearts to
love.
And what is this love if not the
presence of the Holy Spirit in those who
are reborn from above?
(Notes from a spiritual retreat for priests
- 3 May 1993)
Fr. Giacomo (James)
Original Italian Edition: Eco di Medj., C.P.149, 46100
Mantova, Italy.Legal Director: A. Lanzani. Printed by
DIPRO, Treviso, Italy. fax 0422-840804
Pope to participate in Loreto march
The bishop of Macerata has announced
that the Holy Father will participate in this
year’s pilgrimage on foot to the Sanctuary
of Loreto - to be held Saturday, 19 June.
This pilgrimage started in the year of John
Paul’s election and has been repeated each
year since.
"If you are questioning us today about an
act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us
how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you
all ... that it was by the name of Jesus Christ
the Nazarene, ... by this name and by no other
that this man is able to stand up perfectly
healthy today. This is the stone rejected by
you the builders, but which has proved to be
the keystone. For of all the names in the
world given to men
, this is the only one by
which we can be saved.
(Acts 4)
background image
# from page 2
Yes, the cross, but not just with words. It
is one’s behaviour that makes it alive. Infact,
immediately after the Pope entered the
church and the youth were bubbling over
with enthusiasm, he knelt down before the
magnificent crucifix by P. Della Francesca
and remained in prayer, almost as if to show
the youth the way, the truth and the life. "In
the name of Jesus Christ, here before this
crucifix, I repeat to you: if you want to
know what being free means, then
remember confession and penance. St
Francis’ gesture of embracing Christ’s feet
tells us: friend, it is here that you will find
the answer to your deepest anxieties."
And his final appeal: "Each one of you is
a project, a great divine project. This project
is one that you need to study right to its core
if you do not want to get lost, if you do not
want to lose the way."
* *
The Pope said: Italy is in need
of a great prayer
"In difficult times people always turn to
the Church; not so much when all seems to
go well. I now see this in my home country
too. but when times are critical people look
upon the Church with a certain trust, for
counselling and help. What can we do to
offer this help?
During my episcopate Cardinal
Wyszynski was my great beacon. The help
he offered in particular was with prayer,
intense and great prayer. Italy now needs
great and intense prayer."
(13 May '93)
The sacrifice of a bishop -
friend of Medjugorje
Msgr. Tonino Bello, bishop of Molfetta,
Giovinazzo, Terlizzi and Rovo, president of
Pax Christi, has returned to God. He was a
man of great sincerity, a poor man among
the poor, a man of peace. When he was
already ill, he confronted the peace march to
Sarajevo, in the trust that "only through
prayer and the intercession of Mary could
the massacre in former Yugoslavia be really
stopped."
He was a friend of Medjugorje and went
there with some of the priests from his
united dioceses, recommending them to
spread the messages of the Queen of Peace
and Echo in particular. On the 8th
December 1992 he wrote in Manifesto:
"Why don’t you go to Medjugorje?" His last
Mass was celebrated on a cloth woven by
Bosnian women as he made a grief-stricken
appeal for peace in former Yugoslavia. * *
SOLIDARITY
There is more happiness in giving
than in receiving (Acts 20)
Despite the increasing fatigue and
difficulties, the various Medjugorje centres
etc., continue organizing convoys of aid for
refugees in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The hospital of Mostar is in urgent
need of medical material.
A clinic in Milan
was recently put up for auction, and the
Queen of Peace won. All the material is
ready to leave for Mostar, but a further 20
million lire is still needed to pay the court
costs, etc.
Sister Josipa wrote to thank us for all our
help, and sent us some lovely pictures
drawn by children in the hospital of Mostar
as a thank you for their benefactors.
Doctors in the Red Cross are also in
difficulty for the lack of medical and
sanitary material, which arrive too slowly to
keep their supply up. In fact, the convoys
are "filtered" by the occupying Serb troops.
In the meantime, the medical teams are
starting to notice grave pyschological
consequences, especially in the children,
because of the traumas of the war. In fact,
tens of thousands have lost both their
parents, and suffered personal injury as
well.
Contact your nearest Medjugorje or
Caritas centre. If you wish to send donations
through us, please indicate who we should
send the money to. Make cheques payable
to Echo of Medjugorje and mail to us at
Casella Postale 149, 46100 Mantova, Italy.
"Take care of your kin"
Medj. in the East: Lit.3,500,000; Bosnia-
Herzegovina:
Lit.6,434,000; Radio Maria
Poland:
Lit.2,100,000;Other: Lit.1,200,000.
ECHO IN OTHER LANGUAGES
English: Echo of Medj., Casella Postale 27,
31030 Bessica (TV), Italy. fax 0423-470331
French: Echo de Medjugorje, 18 Allée
Thévenot, 39100 Dole, France.
German: Medjugorje Komitee, Postfach 272,
39100 Bolzano, Italy.
Spanish: Roger Watson, Via Fulda 2, 22100
Como, Italy. Ph # 031.543082.
Catalan: Amics de Medj., c.Carme 11 baixos,
08700 Igualada-Catalugna, Spain.
Portughese: Servos da Rainha, Caixa
p.02576, 70279-970 Brasilia DF, Brazil.
Polish: Czeslawa Mirkiewicz, ul.Krasickiego
21/3, 30-515 Krakow-Podgorze, Poland;
Dutch: Frank Strijthagen, Misericordplein
12C, 6211-HK Maastricht, Holland.
Czech: Medzugorské ozveny, Ilbenstädter, Str
6, DW-6000 Frankfurt, Germany.
Magyar: Fraternitas, 1399 Budapest, p.f.
701/85, Hungary. fax: 36-12176183
Romanian: Anca Dragos, str N.Pamfil 53, Bl
29, Ap 49, 72124 Bucharest, Romania.
Greek: Soeur Despina de la St Croix, 69 Rue
Epirou, Agia Paraskave, 15341 Athens Greece
Distributors: USA: Peter Miller, POB 2720-
230, Huntington Beach CA 92647. Ph 714-
9637240. Fax 9631432; Giovanna Ellis: 9809
Stoneybrook Dr, Kensington MD 20895. Ph.
301-5883198; Canada: Giuseppe Bozzo,
8324 Nicolas Leblanc, Montreal Que H1E
3W5, Ph: 648-3420. Philippines: Raquel D.
De Leon, POB 789,
1099 Manila.
Spain: Josè L. Lopez de S. Roman, Ap. 246,
Palencia, Spain.
Australia (all editions): Medjugorje Sentinel,
P.O.B. 531, Drummoyne NSW 2047.
"Peace and God be with you": one of the pictures
sent by the children in the hospital of Mostar for
our readers. The names around the cross are the
martyred cities
Echo is free, but lives on your
donations.
If you would like to contribute, you may
send personal cheques to: Echo of
Medjugorje, Casella Postale 149, 46100
Mantova, Italy. If you prefer, you can send
your donation to your local distributor who
will see to sending it on to us.
Thank you and God bless.
IN THE FAMILY
We are thankful to the many friends
who inform us of how Echo continues to
spread abroad.
From Colombia, Capuchin Fr.
Querubin, wrote to say how he reproduces
his copy of Spanish Echo and makes 2,000
copies: "Our Lady always sees to covering
my costs. So Echo in Spanish reaches the
11,000 mark each month."
From Crakow, Martha Mirkiewicz
writes to say that she is now printing
30,000 copies each month in Polish, and
new requests keep coming in.
The English Echo has reached the
15,000 mark, French the 25,000 mark and
Portughese the 88,000 mark. Requests for
the Italian Echo have started growing once
again, with 384,000 copies being printed
per month.
New edition of Echo in Dutch! For the
first number, Frank Strijthagen asked Fr.
Angelo to give a presentation. This is what
he said:
"For the last nine years, Echo has
wanted to
echo Our Lady’s messages, or
Her motherly call to all men to return to
the Gospel, and also to echo the response
they find in the world and of the
conversions and wonderful works that are
fruit of Her presence on the earth.
Now our brothers and sisters from the
Netherlands desire spreading Her
messages to their fellow countrymen,
through this small instrument, in their own
language. Right there, where the
propaganda of the antichrist tried so hard
to make God's children abandon Mary and
the Mother Church, Our Lady wants to
gather them up in a peaceful army to
counter the enemy’s work and realize with
this army her plan of Mercy, so Holland
may once again become land of
missionaries and holy men.
May this small paper be a blessing for
you all, as it has been for us. The fruits
prove it is Mary’s work: the inspiration we
receive, the editing, the way it is so
excellently spread to the whole world;
Echo is free and donations never fail to
cover the costs; and more again.
We invoke the blessing of Jesus and
Mary on Frank and our friends from
Bolzano who have offered to print the
Dutch edition free - a sign of God’s work.
And may the grace that comes from
accepting the Mother’s teachings be
abundant on all the readers.
"
We rejoice with Alberto Lanzani, our
legal director, and his wife Maria Teresa
for the birth of their first child who bears
Our Blessed Mother’s same name:
Miriam.
In Mary we bless you all so you may
open your hearts to the works of the Holy
Spirit.