A Special Taxi

By Judy Pellatt

    My first visit to Medjugorje was in late April, 2007. I arrived knowing very little, but aware that Mirjana had her monthly apparition on the 2nd of every month. On our first full day, our guide took us up Apparition Hill, but strongly suggested that, because a storm was approaching, we not stay long. It was very much a case of “Hello, Our Lady. Goodbye, Our Lady. I‘ll be back”.

    I was one of the first to descend, and decided that I could probably make it back before the rain set in. However, I couldn’t remember the way we had come, and promptly set off in the wrong direction. I had only gone about a hundred meters when the rain began to fall quite heavily. I remembered having passed a house with a little archway at the bottom of the drive, and so I decided to walk back the 50 meters or so to shelter there. I didn’t think the owners would mind, as I wouldn’t actually be on their property, and anyway, it would only be for a few minutes until the rain passed over. So I took up position under the arch and scanned the skies to try and guess which way the clouds were coming, but couldn’t. The rain just got heavier and heavier, and the sky darker and darker and more menacing.

   After about fifteen minutes, I began to get a bit scared. How was I going to get back? I looked at my watch. It was 5:40 PM. So I said to Our lady, “You are going to have to help me, I have no idea how I’m going to get back. Please send me a taxi or something.”  Within a minute, the man came out of the house, got into a car and reversed down the driveway. I stood aside to let him pass. He wound down the window, and asked me if I was going to the church, and would I like a lift. I accepted gratefully, and got in. He was listening to Radio Mir and the Rosary was nearing completion, so I

didn’t say much at first. After a few minutes, he asked if I knew whose car it was. I thought  it was a bizarre question. How could I possibly know whose car it was? I said, "No." He then said, “ I am the husband of Mirjana and you are sitting where she normally sits.”  I looked at him in utter astonishment, and uttered a rather high pitched “Ohh!”.

   As I regained my composure, the conversation continued, and he told me how they had been in England the previous year. As we neared the church, the rain was lashing down out of the heavens and the thunder and lightning was something else. He knew lots of people en-route and waved at them all. Afterwards, I thought they probably thought I was Mirjana. I do have blonde hair, but it’s short! He dropped me off, and I thanked him profusely and said what a pleasure it was to meet him. I promised to pray for Mirjana. As I walked away, a thunderbolt hit the spot where he had stopped. I had no idea of the significance of 5:40 PM, nor did I know it was Mirjana’s house. I asked Our Lady to “send me a taxi or something,” and She sent me Mirjana’s husband. If that wasn’t an answer to prayer, I don’t know what is!!!!

Editor’s note:  Judy is from Portsmouth, UK.  [The apparition time changes to 6:40 PM with Daylight Savings Time.]

 Questions and Answers with Mirjana

The following is excerpted from a question and answer period with Mirjana in Pittsburgh, PA, on April, 19, 2000.  Mirjana’s  sense of humor was evident that day. She said that Our Lady wants us to smile.

Q:  Do you ever long for Christ to come when you are feeling weary?

A:  When I feel tired, and when I feel weary, I pray. Prayer is my conversation with God. Prayer is my rest. Therefore, if   you feel “powerless,” take the rosary and pray. Call upon dear God to be with you. And then, say to your Mother what you have in your heart. Then, you will feel better.

Q:  How do you handle a Catholic son or daughter who is married to a non-Catholic spouse?

A:   In this matter, I can only tell you what I personally think. This is not what Our Lady says. It is dangerous when people say what I am thinking, and say it is what Our Lady says.  I have daughters, and I would really love that they get married to a Catholic, but if they would meet someone who does not believe in God, my view of that would be that God put that person on that path because obviously they can do something about it. And I would pray for them.

Q:  How is Fr. Jozo?

A:  Fr. Jozo went to a kind of desert to pray for one year. He is not good. He had a few surgeries, and he simply needs rest. So he will be one year on vacation.

Q: Do you speak to other visionaries, other than the ones from Medjugorje, like the visionaries from Garabandal, Spain?

A:  I never met any other visionaries but these in Medjugorje. [pause]  And that is enough! [laughter]

Q: On the lighter side, when your companion, the visionary Ivan, came to St.  Marys, PA, he let us know that he is a big Pittsburgh Steelers football fan. We took him to meet the players and watch them practice, and they gave Ivan a replica of Heinz Field and a Steelers jacket. The Steelers won the Super Bowl. Are you also a Steelers fan?

A:  I simply love football. I would die without it. [pause] I’m just kidding. I have no idea what this sport is. [laughter]

                                                                                                                                             www.medjugorje-online.com

  "I  Want to Return to Medjugorje”

   In an interview given to kath.net Cardinal [Christoph] Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, has made more comments about his time spent in Medjugorje recently. He said that it was rather unusual for a Cardinal to visit Medjugorje as a pilgrim, but has since discovered that several other cardinals and bishops had been there, but in a very "private" way.

   He added that Medjugorje is now one of the greatest pilgrimage sites in the world to travel to. The cardinal also confirmed that Medjugorje had played an important part for many young priests on their personal path to the priesthood.

He referred to the annual Youth Festival at Medjugorje, and said that, other than Taize, there is no other place that gathers so many young people, and that this reflects the global importance of the phenomenon.

   Cardinal Schönborn revealed that he had listened to Confessions for two and a half hours in Medjugorje, and that many of the penitents had not received the sacrament for 20 or 30 years. "How does this tree bear such fruit?" the cardinal asked.

   He went on to speak about the phenomena of apparitions around the world, and said that apparitions have their own language, that they provide simple uncomplicated messages which can get to the heart of the Christian message. He said that in Medjugorje the messages have a distinguishing feature with Our Lady's call to peace and revealing Herself as the Queen of Peace.

   The cardinal confirmed again that the official position of the Church is as the Zadar declaration of 1991 made by the Yugoslav bishops' conference. He said that this declaration has been confirmed at least twice, and an ideal guideline to keep to.

   On the question of the Church providing a definitive ruling when the phenomena are completed, the cardinal said that there are many Marian apparition sites where an ecclesiastical verdict is not pronounced, but still pilgrimages take place. He also stressed that `official' pilgrimages to Medjugorje (pilgrimages organized at diocesan level) cannot take place, but support will be given to the spiritual needs of pilgrims who go there.

   The cardinal also pointed out the deep level of prayer witnessed at Medjugorje, and that the pilgrims show an incredible desire to return. He said that he could only explain that the closeness of Our Lady is good for the people, and that he definitely wants to return to Medjugorje.

   When asked if Medjugorje was a place of grace, the cardinal said, “To doubt that grace flows from Medjugorje, it would be necessary to close our eyes,” and the evidence was very obvious that graces spring from Medjugorje.

   As to the messages and locutions, Cardinal Schönborn said that when Rome investigated the claims of Sr. Faustina, who received daily messages from Jesus, it was very critical, but the phenomena stood the test of time. He emphasized that the Church is always very cautious in this respect, and it is a good thing.

   He then added it was also very important that the fruits are not hampered, and he was particularly impressed by the amount of good works resulting from Medjugorje. He specifically mentioned the Cenacolo Community and Mother’s  Village founded by the late Fr. Slavko Barbaric.

   He spoke about Medjugorje in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the "sensus fidelium", the faith of the people. He said that the messages play an important role for pilgrims to stay "connected" to Medjugorje, and that without the initial momentum, there would be no Medjugorje today, but he did not want to speculate "recognition" and that for him as a bishop,  it is important that nothing in the messages is contrary to faith. He added that in this time Our Lady manifests Herself as Queen of Peace, and that is the theme of the messages from Medjugorje -  peace with the emphasis on conversion, because when we are at peace with each other we are at peace with God.

   The cardinal was asked that, in the light of people's lives changing at Medjugorje, is there anything he does differently since his visit. The cardinal responded by saying that if there was, he would not say, but he knows through a long association with Lourdes, that a close union with the Mother can lead to God. He stressed the pastoral care of Our Lady in bringing people to Her Son, and how Her words can touch hearts and get people to say "Yes".

   When asked if he would report his impressions to the Holy See, the cardinal stated he went on pilgrimage for personal reasons, but he does not conceal his attitude on Medjugorje from his brothers, which has deepened since his visit. He confirmed that he has spoken with many bishops, and will continue to do so, and that this was part of the Church view and judgment. He added that as a visiting cardinal to Medjugorje, it brought consolation to the people who were there on New Year's Eve.  

After Mass one day last month, two of our subscribers gave me the following prayer to use in our newsletter, since this is the “Year of the Priest.”  That very afternoon, I found that same exact prayer on a prayer card of St. Therese of Lisieux lying on the floor of my home office. I have no idea how it got there! Obviously the Lord wants us to pray it.

Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Your tempted priests; for Your lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests; for the souls of Your priests in Purgatory. But above all, I recommend to You the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priests who absolved me from my sins; the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way, (especially…).  O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.           

 Be a Winner, Not a Whiner

By June Klins

   I tutor high school students in math. One day, I had a student who kept moaning, "I can't do this," and "I'm going to fail the test tomorrow."  I told him that, of course, he would never get it, and would fail, if he kept telling himself that. Then I pointed to a sign I have in my room that says, "Repeat often: I am a winner, not a whiner." The student stayed after school, and we continued to work. He never made another negative comment the rest of the time, and he began to experience success. When he left that day, he said he felt more confident. His grade gradually improved, and now, two years later, this student is doing quite well.

   As I was thinking about this student, it occurred to me how this same attitude can relate to Our Lady's messages. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of living Our Lady's messages, saying that we cannot do it -  that we will fail. This is especially true with fasting. Before I ever tried fasting on bread and water, I remember saying - like my student -  that I could not do it. How could I say that, though, when I had not even tried?

   After getting some help from our “Heavenly Tutor,” I did eventually try the bread and water fast, and I found it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. With God’s grace, I was successful and more confident to try it again, and again and again. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9)

 On January 25, 2001, Our Lady said, “Little children, the one who prays is not afraid of the future and the one who fasts is not afraid of evil…  I am with you and am teaching you, little children.” On July 21, 1982, Our Lady said that fasting can suspend the laws of nature. Could the earthquake in Haiti have been prevented by our fasting?

   Don’t be afraid to ask our “Heavenly Tutor” for help.  Repeat often, "I am a winner, not a whiner.”

A Miracle for Alice from Medjugorje

By Virginia Spaeder

   It was October 13, and my husband and I were scheduled to ascend Mount Krizevac.  We were up early so that we could be to the bottom of the hill by 7:30 AM.  Our guide said that the climb would be less crowded if we went up early. 

   After picking out a nice walking stick from the assortment that was lying there, I was ready.  It began to sprinkle lightly, so I donned my rain bonnet.  As soon as all of our group had assembled, we began our ascent.  The guide warned us that if any of us had back problems, a bad heart, breathing problems, or anything that would render us incapacitated, when the heart gets taxed to its limit, not to attempt this climb. This “Hill of the Cross” is one mile of steep climbing, very rocky, and it could be dangerous since a light rain had begun to fall, making the rocks very slippery.  She did not want any “heroes” since the helpless victims would have to be carried down.  One lady decided to bow out.  It was probably a very wise decision.

   We were now ready and eager to get to the top.  We began our journey with Station I – Jesus is condemned to death.  We meditated at each Station as we went. Whoever decided to put Stations of the Cross along the pathway was a very wise person.  It was the only thing that provided an occasion to rest a bit and catch your breath.  The climb at first did not seem to be too treacherous…until the Eighth Station. From this point to the top was very steep.  I began to breathe heavier.  At about 11:00 AM, we finally reached the top.  We took group pictures and then began to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. The guide said that we could lead a decade if we wanted to.  I thought about this, and decided that I would do the Third Mystery- the Crowning of Thorns – for my friend Alice.

   Alice is a dear friend of mine who had gotten up one morning and fell.  She discovered that her left side was not functioning properly.  She could not navigate without some help from her husband.  She was hospitalized twice with no improvement.  Her husband decided to check her into a convalescent home for physical therapy.  Alice spent a month there, but was unable to achieve any improvement in her motor skills because of the extreme pain she was in.  Her body began to deteriorate – her left side was virtually paralyzed, while the right side was almost completely non-functional.  She had been reduced to living in a wheelchair, couldn’t feed herself – just wasting away. The doctors ordered an MRI – a sophisticated X-ray scan.  They discovered that Alice had two vertebrae in the neck area that were pressing on her spinal cord.

   Surgery was scheduled, but first Alice had to be put in traction.  They put a metal “halo” around her head which was secured by 4 metal screws – which were drilled into the skull- two in her forehead and two in the area behind her ears.  From this contraption hung 20 pounds of weight.  She could not turn her head or move in any direction without help from the nurses.  To look at her, you would think “bride of Frankenstein.”  It was truly her “crown of thorns.”  I watched her suffer like this from last August through October and into November.  She had to wear this “fashion statement” from the medical profession for three months.

   Meanwhile, back on Mt. Krizevac, the third decade of the Rosary was fast approaching.  When this decade was announced, I jumped in with the “Our Father.”  With each “Hail Mary” I thought about Alice and how much she had suffered with her surgery.  By the third “Hail Mary,” my emotions took over, my voice was cracking and coming out between sobs…the tears were streaming down my cheeks.  I didn’t think that I could go on.  But I was determined to finish my decade for Alice.  At this point, a lady standing next to me reached out, put her arm around my shoulder and reassuringly whispered, “You can do it…you can do it.”  She whispered these words of encouragement throughout the rest of the decade.  When I turned to look at her when I had finished the tenth “Hail Mary,” my eyes went to her name tag.  Her name was “Alice.” (Thank you, my dear Blessed Mother, for sending this woman to me when I needed her. I thought.)

  When I returned home from Medjugorje, I found out that my friend Alice had had a tremendous improvement in her physical condition and would be able to go home sooner than expected.  When I asked her husband when all this had happened, he told me that “it was about a week ago”…the same time that I had been praying on Mount Krizevac for her.  When I visited Alice and related to her what happened to me on Mt. Krizevac, she told me that “her decade” (which was assigned to her by our Rosary Society) was the “Crowning of Thorns.”

Ginny’s Gregorian Masses

By June Klins

   The above story appeared in our November, 1995 issue, and was also reprinted in Volume I of The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje.” The author, Ginny Spaeder, who was also our proofreader for many years, died last year on September 25.  As mentioned in our November issue, a collection was taken to have Gregorian Masses said for Ginny. I asked for a sign when the Masses were over that Ginny was indeed with Our Lady and Jesus in Heaven. I did not do this for myself, but as a testimony to the power of the Mass, particularly Gregorian Masses, in helping to Holy Souls get to Heaven faster. I read, years ago, that St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, had asked for a sign that her father was in Heaven, and every time I have done this, I have gotten a sign, often in an unusual way. Our God is a God of surprises.

   I never told a soul that the sign I asked for was a “crown of thorns.”  I chose the crown of thorns because of Ginny’s Medjugorje story. She had been so tickled that some other publications had used her story. She was especially happy, when, a few years ago, Bernard Gallagher, of England, requested permission to use the story on his Medjugorje website, www.crownofstarsblogspot.com,   When a man in Germany read the story, he recognized Ginny’s name and contacted Bernard for Ginny’s email address. This man had been a foreign exchange student who lived with Ginny’s family many years before.  Ginny was thrilled when they were able to renew their friendship  -  all because of her story about the crown of thorns. It really is a small world! That is why I chose the crown of thorns.

   Two days before Ginny’s Gregorian Masses ended in November, I got a personal sign regarding the crown of thorns, but it was not until nine days later that I got a concrete sign to share with others. In the mail, I received from one of our subscribers, a holy card with Our Lady holding a crown of thorns!  What a great sign this was, because not only did I get the crown of thorns, but Our Lady as well!  Ginny belonged to many Marian organizations, was head of the Rosary makers for our diocese, and was very devoted to Our Lady.

Editor’s note:  To learn more about Gregorian Masses, you can read our November, 2009, issue. It is available online in our archives, www.spiritofmedjugorje.org/nov2009.htm.

Prayer Cloth Testimony

   A lady named Hanna sent us the following testimony:

   “My husband had a finger that would not bend back once it was flexed, and it was also painful when an attempt was made to straighten the finger. This lasted several months. He investigated possible surgery and found out that
surgery was a temporary solution, and that the condition would return. The condition is caused by inflammation and hardening of the ligament on the palm of the hand below the fingers.
   “Finally, I decided to place the prayer cloth within the palm of the affected hand, and recited a simple prayer requesting that the pain would  disappear, and the condition return to normal. Two days later, my husband told me that the
pain disappeared, and that the finger could be bent back in position without pain.
   “Some of the hardened ligament is still present, but the finger can be moved, bent, and it is basically as normal as it was last year.  This event took place several months ago and the finger is still normal without pain or any sign of a
bent finger. We are thankful to God for hearing our prayer.”

Interview with Cardinal Christoph Schonborn

The following interview was published in “Vecernji List” newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 4, 2010.

Interviewer: Medjugorje is again in the center of attention, church and public as well. Though the visit of Cardinal Shonborn is private, it did not leave anybody indifferent because he is a member of Congregation for Doctrine of Faith. We talked to Cardinal while he was visiting Medjugorje. “We came here to be close to the Lord’s Mother”, you said during the Christmas Eve Mass, Your Eminence. These words had a great echo. We would like you to explain them? �

Cardinal: We cannot deny that pilgrims have been coming over here for past 20 years, as we cannot deny what they experience in Medjugorje and how close they feel to the Blessed Mother. This is my first visit, but since I’ve been a Bishop from 1991. I have noticed the fruits of Medjugorje.

Interviewer: What kind of fruits are you talking about?

Cardinal: I will give you couple of examples: vocation calls for priesthood. Lots of our young priests have received their vocation call here, but not strictly in Medjugorje but because of Medjugorje. The second thing is conversions. I am impressed that that happens in every level of society, from noble families, industrials down to the common little people.

Flying from Vienna, via Zagreb to Split I was asked by security guard where I was going, and I told him I was going to Medjugorje. All of a sudden his face started shining, and he told me that he had his conversion in Medjugorje as well. Couple of weeks ago on one small railway station, one worker told me his story. His wife died of cancer and he was desperate and his friends brought him to Medjugorje. He has received the strong and living faith over here. The third evidence are the healings. A young man who was addicted to drugs told me that he was almost forced by his friends over here. He told me while the bus was entering Medjugorje something happened with him. Especially he was healed immediately and all of us know how long that healing lasts. The fourth evidence are the prayer groups. I’ve known this Medjugorje Prayer Group from Vienna since the period when I wasn’ the Bishop. I’ve known them since 1980’s. To us Dominicans it was very meaningful that these people pray for hours and their church is always full. The Dominican churches in Vienna are rarely so full, on Thursday nights the church was always full. They stayed faithful to the prayer yet today. Jesus said that the bad tree doesn’t bare any fruits. Which means: if the fruits are good than the tree is good as well.

Interviewer: For pilgrims Medjugorje is a miracle and they expect a message from the Holy Seat until the Official Church would approve the supernaturalism of the Medjugorje events. It has been speculated for a period of time about the movements of Holy Seat. What do you know about this and what is your opinion about the demands to recognize Medjugorje?

Cardinal: I do not have detailed information about this matter and that is not my assignment .But I am standing to the statement made by Bishop’s Conference of Yugoslavia and Congregation for Doctrine of Faith of the Holy Seat. That statement for me has always been reasonable and smart. I will remind you about three statements made about Medjugorje. The first of all are phenomena. I am dogmatist and I was a professor of theological dogma. “Non constat de supernaturalitate”�- which means that Church hasn’t given the final judgment about supernaturality of phenomena and hasn’t given any statements. So it has never denied or confirmed.�

Interviewer: This sounds a diplomatic answer, what this really means in the practice?

Cardinal: It simply means that Church hasn’t given its final judgment and decision. I am personally convinced that this is correct. While these phenomena are still going on, the church is hardly going to give or make its final judgment and decision. These phenomena are the center of Medjugorje. It has started with the children who said that they saw Our Lady and the messages she gave through them. What has developed from that is the second phenomena which will be studied by the church on the second level. From the very beginning a huge number of pilgrims have been coming to Medjugorje. The intensive prayer life has developed here and many humanitarian organizations have been born here.

Interviewer: Church has divided the matter of Medjugorje from the pastoral work. But still a large number of pilgrims come over here. What position should we take about this matter?

Cardinal: The concrete ways of pilgrimages have been over here and that is a practical challenge for the church. That’s why the bishops from ex Yugoslavia said in 1991. that the official pilgrimages shouldn’t exist. I do not want and I cannot organize official pilgrimages to Medjugorje in my diocese as we did to Rome or Holy Land. But the Bishops Conference or Rome have never forbidden pilgrims to come to Medjugorje which is the main part of the third statement.

For us Bishops, for me this is very important .The believers must get the pastoral care. As the Archbishop I see my homework in that. If I as a bishop see that in my diocese hundreds, thousands of believers convert, pray, heal than I as a Bishop must take care that all of them get that pastoral care. That’s why I supported all these things as for example community of the “Oases of Peace” , which was started because of Medjugorje. I think that all of this has influence on us bishops, especially those dioceses which pilgrims do come to Medjugorje and they need to get good pastoral care. So in all of those conversations I had with other bishops about Medjugorje I encouraged them to support their pilgrims.�

Interviewer: You had meetings with visionaries, you climbed Apparition Hill. What do you say about this?

Cardinal: I would say ironically that Our Lady did not choose simple hills. I am fascinated with the coherence of Medjugorje to other Marian shrines, apparition sites. I always say that there is a grammar of Mary’s apparitions. That style has something special with Our Lady.�

Interviewer: In what way is it connected?

Cardinal: There are 3 elements which are connected with this phenomenon. Almost always Our Lady appears to children. Those were not especially intelligent children or holy children but normal. Bernadette did not know how to write. She was 14 almost as children over here. Secondly, Mary gives the messages through the children. It is insulting for one bishop. Why does Our Lady not come to the bishop’s house? Why does she come to a hill filled with stones or by the river? This is not practical. In Fatima she appeared in the bushes. She gives the messages through children because children are not complicated. The third element: it looks like Our Lady has her own program. In Fatima she had appeared before Russian Revolution and she gave a message. When rationalism was on its highest level she appeared in Lourdes. She appeared in Yugoslavia in the moment when we did not have an idea that Yugoslavia would fall apart in the time when the Catholics, Muslims and orthodox were living together. She appears with the name Queen of Peace. 10 years after that the first of 4 wars on Balkan Peninsula brakes out. And her first message was peace through conversion, prayer and this first message has its weight, strength, credibility. Maybe we could go further to Guadalupe, Mexico. When Europe started invasion of America, Our Lady appeared to one Indian who had to go to his bishop to tell him what to do. I think that theologians have to study the syntax of Mary’s apparitions and in that context to study the phenomena of Medjugorje.

Interviewer: Peace is prayed for in Medjugorje all the time, but the political peace is not correct, the state is in problems and the Croats Catholics are in the worst position. What would you suggest to the International Community which is run now in this country by your co-citizen Valentin Inzko?

Cardinal: The problem over here is that too many countries are involved in this such a small country which that way cannot overcome these problems. Long lasting peace can be formed only if everything is just for everybody. This is a challenge for European policy. I am happy that Valentin Inxko is now in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina and I expect that he gets a bigger support from the European community. I am sure that what is going on in Medjugorje supports that peace. And people from all over the world do come to this small Herzegovina which has never been known in the world, if I want to speak ironically. Look, how many Koreans come to Medjugorje! This is a hope that these people will be apostles of peace in their countries, peace which comes from Medjugorje. If it is prayed for peace in the world on one place, than that is a special blessing for one country. And Our Lady respects all three religions. Orthodox believers honor Our Lady, Islam doesn’t respect any other person that much, but Mary. For Croats Catholics who are minority in this country the apparitions among them are the great comfort.