The Spirit of Medjugorje Online

THE 25TH DAY OF EACH MONTH, THE BLESSED VIRGIN GIVES A MESSAGE TO THE VISIONARY MARIJA, THAT IS TO BE GIVEN TO THE WORLD.

"Dear children! Open your heart to God's mercy in this Lenten time. The Heavenly Father desires to deliver each of you from the slavery of sin. Therefore, little children, make good use of this time and through meeting with God in confession, leave sin and decide for holiness. Do this out of love of Jesus, who redeemed you all with His blood, that you may be happy and in peace. Do not forget, little children: your freedom is your weakness, therefore follow my messages with seriousness.” Thank you for having responded to my call."

There is a tremendously impressive scene in the Acts of the Apostles when St. Peter is summoned by a centurion, Cornelius, to come and tell him and his family what they need to know. Peter has had a vision which made clear to him that Jesus had come not just for the Jews, but for all humankind. Cornelius, a Gentile, has had a vision of an angel who told him he should ask Peter to come and tell him what God wanted of him. As they meet both explain how they came to this meeting. Then Peter tells them why God set up this meeting: “You know the word that He has sent to the Israelites as He proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all…how God anointed Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and Power.”

It is a simple message. God has proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ.

Mary carries the same message. To many people it seems quaint, irrelevant, and quite foolish. To most people who in one way or another are called to Medjugorje, it is an invitation that is serious and pressing.

Peace will not come as an answer to intimidation by war. Peace will not come by crafty and effective diplomacy. Peace will come as an answer to prayer. Mary’s prayer. Your prayer, my prayer. To the visionaries who are Her messengers, Mary has said that many of the people who heard the message are not serious enough.

In God’s plan, the meeting was arranged. In our earnestness, the fruit will come.

Vicka

Vicka Talks about Lent

By Sr. Emmanuel

As Vicka had a free moment between two waves of pilgrims, I seized the opportunity to ask her how we can best live Lent. Here are her words:

“We have to understand what makes the value of Lent! It is not so much about making many sacrifices or

imposing a thousand renouncements on ourselves. No, this is not what Lent is. Rather, it is following the

example of Jesus with humility and simplicity. It is a matter of doing everything according to our heart.

Whatever the renouncements or penance I choose, the value of my offering resides in the love with which I

offer it. Besides this, may no one know that I am offering anything up for Lent. The Gospa is also asking

that, ‘In your homes, kneel down and pray the Sorrowful Mysteries for my intentions.’

“Above all, it is important to free ourselves from everything that troubles our hearts. This is what pleases Our

Lord and the Gospa the most. Everything else, sacrifices and offerings, are for the purification of our souls.

The Lord does not expect us to do many things, but He looks at our hearts and at the quality of the love we

put in all things. He also expects our joy. Then He is happy, much happier than when He receives forced

sacrifices. What is forced is not very valuable.

“Another beautiful thing is to follow Jesus in His Passion and live with Him all the moments that He suffered

for us, when He offered Himself for us. We should gradually get closer to Him in His suffering.

“During this Lent, we can ask the Lord to renew us and give us a new life, so that by the end of Lent we will

be a new person. It would make no sense to remain the same at the end of Lent! I should ask for the grace to

be better at the end of Lent than I am at the beginning. This is the most beautiful fruit of Lent.”

Children of Medjugorje, www.childrenofmedjugorje.com

Vicka's father, Pero Ivancovic, died on Feb. 23. We extend our condolences to Vicka and her family.

On Prayer

I have a friend, a dear friend, a good and holy friend who never believes he is ever wrong. (These things happen.) I do not know why this is so. But that does not matter. I pray for my friend. That is what really matters. Perhaps you know of someone like this. Pray for that person. So many strange things like this are only solved by prayer. By praying for someone who thinks he or she is never wrong or whatever his or her particular peculiarity, you will be of great help. Sometimes we cannot say anything. Sometime we cannot correct even in the kindest way. But we can pray. We can always pray. We can pray for everything, even for things we never thought of prayer for before - that people who never think they are wrong will consider that sometimes they just might be. Prayer can bring that about.

You can contact Brother Craig through his community's website www.monksofadoration.org

The Twelfth Station on cross Mountain

Want Something New for Lent?

By Susan Tassone

All Souls Saturdays!

One of the most revered traditions of our Church that is equally observed in the Eastern Church, is the commemoration of the departed. It is the constant teaching of the Church since Apostolic times that our prayers, offerings and good works can help departed souls in Purgatory. St. John Chrysostom, in speaking of the faithful

departed, reminded his people: “Let us assist them according to our power. Let us think of some advantage for them, small though it be, but let us assist them. How and in what way? By praying for them by asking others to pray for them, and by constantly giving alms to the poor in their behalf!”

The Eastern Catholic Church does not celebrate All Souls Day on November 2, but “All Souls Saturdays,” where the Eastern Church remembers their departed five Saturdays during the Great Lent, commemorating them with the Divine Liturgy for the souls of all departed loved ones. All Saturdays during Lent are given over to the souls in Purgatory. The Faithful submit the names of all their immediate families and friends. These names are put in a book called “The Scroll of the Departed.” At the end of the Divine Liturgy all submitted names are read out loud. No one is left out, no matter how lengthy it may be.

The book is placed in a corner where an Icon is located. Parishioners can pray at this Icon corner during Lent.

All Souls Saturdays begin a week before Lent and end on the eve of Pentecost Sunday. However, we can adjust this according to our Lenten calendar.

We have this great power given to us to expiate for sins by enduring suffering and imitating Our Lord. When we imitate Our Lord by fasting, by abstaining, by praying, by persevering, we are able to bring our soul and all other souls we love into the sweet smelling grace of Our Lord’s mercy and forgiveness, which is the great goal of Lent. Give the souls languishing in Purgatory a share of your fasting, your alms, your sacrifices, your Masses, your indulgences, your Stations of the Cross for the Holy Souls, your Scriptural Rosary for the Holy Souls.

By praying and making sacrifices for our suffering friends we have the awesome power and privilege to shorten their Purgatory and ours! In return, their gratitude will bring you countless blessings. Filled with an immense desire to repay the favors done them, they pray for you with a fervor so great, so intense, so constant that God can refuse them nothing. By their prayers they shield their friends from many dangers and protect them from the evils that threaten them.

Jesus is so grateful for the charity shown to His blessed souls that He cannot help anticipating for their helpers in this life a certain measure of the rewards of Heaven.

Blessed Mary of Providence, Founder of the Order of the Holy Souls Helpers, asked, "How could I help God?" He is our helper. How can we help Him? He gives us everything. How could I give Him everything? And the answer that grace put into the saint's heart was always, "By paying the debts of the souls in Purgatory."

The second greatest number of souls are released at Easter. Let us join our Byzantine brothers and sisters this Lent, 2007, and let the souls of our loved ones join in the Resurrection of Jesus into Paradise. What's in it for you?

Mercy and forgiveness shall be yours on the day of your Judgment. Happy Lenting!

Editor’s note: Susan Tassone is author of the best selling books, The Way of the Cross for the Holy Souls, CD/Cassette, Praying in the Presence of Our Lord for the Holy Souls, The Rosary for the Holy Souls, 30 Day Devotions for the Holy Souls and newly released Prayers for Eternal Life.

Statue of St. Joseph at the Cenacolo in Medjugorje

Close Your Day with St. Joseph (March 19 feast day)

“In the evening, close your day with St. Joseph. It is very beautiful, for as we can read in the Scriptures, messages used to come to St. Joseph in his sleep, and not only in his sleep, but in his dreams. Mankind of today thinks of other things in its sleep; in one’s sleep, fears, problems, sin, tend to arise. St. Joseph received his message even in his sleep, and if you, at night, abandon your hearts totally to God, if you manage to slip into your sleep free from burden of any sin, then there is room for God, for Him to even speak to you in your sleep, in order to prepare your next day. Follow, therefore, Our Lady and St. Joseph. Without the rhythm of prayer of at least morning and evening, you will not succeed in living your days with God.”

Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, August 5, 1985

On February 2, Our Lady appeared to visionary Mirjana Soldo privately -- not at the Cenacolo community as She has in past months. Mirjana was not given a public message during this apparition.

Fr. Paul hearing confession next to St. James

The Confessional of the World

By Louise Lotze

Last March I was inspired to write to my mother's former pastor, Father Paul Tobin, who was now assigned in Campbell, OH, and encourage him to look into joining a group with whom I would be making a pilgrimage to Medjugorje for the 25th anniversary. I knew that Father Paul could speak Croatian and that he was a very pro-Marian priest. Later he told me that he had to pray about this trip. Fortunately the visionary Ivan was coming to Randolph, OH, and Father Paul heard about this and went to hear Ivan speak. It was after this that Father Paul was convinced he should go. It so thrilled him that he understood every word that Ivan spoke in Croatian. Father Paul did not need the English interpreter. With his pastor's permission, Father Paul made his plans for June.

Upon arriving at the Cleveland airport I was just approaching the check-in line when Father Paul arrived with a big smile and his luggage in tow. He commented to me that he still wasn't sure why he was going or why I had suggested it to him. I told him that the Holy Spirit had inspired me to invite him, and of course Our Lady had a big part in wanting him there too. Little did he know the plan Our Lady had for him in Medjugorje.

On the morning of the 24th, Father Paul concelebrated with 60 priests inside Saint James Church for the English Mass. That afternoon our combined group of about 35 walked to the visionary Mirjana's house in Bijakovici where she spoke to about 60 of us crammed into her pilgrim basement dining room. She spoke about the early days of the apparitions with an interpreter and answered all our questions. In the evening since it was June 24^th, and the anniversary of the first day of the silent apparition, the Mass behind the church was packed with pilgrims and with 252 priests concelebrating at the outdoor altar.

In the afternoon of June 25^th, the day of the anniversary, we walked to the Cenacolo and heard testimonies by two of the drug addicts who need to be healed from this great evil. Sister Elvira, an Italian, founded this community and brought it to Medjugorje. It is now an international community. A group of young Sisters danced and sang for us and we all were enjoying their program. Father Paul noticed the large icon of the Resurrection displayed in the room, painted by the members of the Cenacolo. The men explained the symbolism and the figures for us. Father Paul later purchased a copy at the gift shop to take back to his pastor. That evening was the awesome Croatian Mass and the Feast of the Queen of Peace. Five of the six visionaries were present at this Mass and later sang with the pilgrims. It was such a joy-filled evening.

In the meantime Father Paul was busy with Mary's plan for him. While I thought he was one of the priests concelebrating at the Croatian Mass, he was actually hearing confessions and could only hear the Mass as it was broadcast outside the Church surroundings. Father Paul was a devoted confessor who would not get up and walk away from a line of penitents. Since he was also fluent in Italian, his language plaques on the ground said English and Italian. He discovered he had 3 Italian penitents to every English one. I called him our Saint Padre Pio, but later I decided he was also like Saint Leopold Mandic, patron of confessors, and the first Croatian saint, whose statue is near the outdoor confessionals.

While we were at the Cleveland airport on June 22nd, I had told Father Paul that Medjugorje has been called “the confessional of the world.” Several days later he asked me to repeat what I had told him about Medjugorje. He said I had given a prophecy which he was indeed living. Not only did he hear confessions every evening, but pilgrims were snagging him after the morning English Mass and asking him for confession. Father Paul was told by them that he was "getting a reputation." His lines were long and he always stayed until the last one was heard. Some evenings he even went early and started confessions at 5:00 PM. Several evenings he heard confessions until 12:30 AM. Early into our pilgrimage he made the comment, "I've never done anything like this in my life." He heard confessions standing in the field in the sun because they had no other place for him, also in the hot confessional boxes where the air conditioning wasn’t working, and frequently alongside the stone Church wall in the outdoors.

Once a French woman came to him and asked him to hear her confession. He said "I know a little French, of course I will." One man approached him and said, "Father, I am Italian." Father Paul responded, "That's not a sin," and they both burst into laughter. A lady asked him when she finished her confession if she should find a therapist when she returned home. Father Paul said, "Absolutely not! Jesus is your only therapist." Another lady returned to him 2 more times that evening just to show her gratitude after she had phoned home. The most unusual occurrence however was the note he received from a lady. After her confession she went to a bench and wrote a small message and brought it to him. He opened it, and to his surprise it said: “ I love you, Father Tobin.” She had signed her name. He said, "I've never received a love letter before this one." The day we met to go to hear Father Jozo at Siroki Brijeg, we couldn't find Father Paul. Well of course he was unexpectedly hearing confessions and missed this trip

On June 29th, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, we had a surprise birthday party for Father Paul at our pansion. It was his 68th birthday and the cake had 'Happy Birthday' written in Croatian on it. It was later that evening that he received the "love letter" from a penitent, an unexpected gift. Father Paul wasn’t keeping track, but in my daily journal I had recorded the hours each day he spent in hearing confessions. (We would ask him each morning at breakfast how late he had heard confessions the previous night). He was surprised to hear it came to over 38 hours in 9 days. Our Lady's plan for him was fulfilled, I feel confident.

During the return flight to Cleveland I asked Father Paul for his impressions of his first pilgrimage to Medjugorje. He said, "I never felt like I was in a foreign country. I felt so at home since I could speak and understand their language." He also commented on how very humble and hospitable the Croatian people are. Olga and Milenko, the owners of the pansion, treated him like a relative and he could speak to the taxi drivers in Croatian, also. He was so thankful for this opportunity. He said that one of his memorable moments was being present at the Cenacolo for Mirjana's monthly apparition. It amazed him how very quiet and well-behaved all the young children were who were literally sitting at his feet. I then told him that I felt the reason he was called to go to Medjugorje was to save souls. He responded, "I certainly hope so." A few weeks after being home he came to Assumption Church, his former parish, and celebrated a morning Mass. His homily was focused on Mary, since Saturday is Mary's special day. Father Paul is already giving witness to Our Lady. He related 2 stories concerning Medjugorje and concluded by saying, "I think Our Blessed Mother is very pleased with what She sees there." I agree with him wholeheartedly!

Father Paul, in writing about his experience in Medjugorje, noted, “I was privileged to be there for the 25th Anniversary of the apparitions and to be present on July 2nd for Mirjana's message at the Cenacolo in Medjugorje. The greatest spiritual experience was my time in confession. During my 42 years as a priest, never did I spend 6 to 7 hours hearing confessions for two weeks straight. The power of prayer and the call to conversion are very real and powerful in Medjugorje. Truly, Medjugorje can be called ‘the confessional of the world.’ "

Editor's note: Louise is from Ashtabula, Ohio. Louise later added, “Although Father Paul missed the June visit to hear Father Jozo's talk in Siroki Brijeg, he was blessed, not only to hear Fr. Jozo, but to concelebrate with him in Pittsburgh, PA, on Nov. 9. Father Paul was overjoyed! God provides in wondrous ways!”

Fr. Paul's birthday party

Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral in London

My Boring Confession

By Brian Klins

“Your sins aren’t exciting enough anymore,” my friend sent to me in a text. It was a reply to a message I had sent him about the confession I had just left. I broke away from work today for a quick stop into the confessional booth at Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral (in London). It’s the only church I know that has confession everyday from 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM. It’s the drive-thru to forgiveness.

Mass was being celebrated as I waited in the queue and carefully considered each of the sins I had committed throughout the past week. After about 9 other evildoers, I entered the confessional booth and began “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…” I continued on with my transgressions while an old white haired priest remained with his eyes closed, seemingly pondering over what I was saying. His head was propped up against the frame of the confessional window while he listened intently to each of my sins. On completion, there was a long silence. I waited. I cleared my throat. I breathed heavily. I waited longer. Finally, after about half a minute, a startled priest woke up, gasped for air, grumbled, and stumbled around with some words, “Thank you for a good confession…”

Luke was right; my sins aren’t what they used to be. It’s a good thing.

Editor’s note: Brian and his wife Susannah and son Thomas live in Beckenham, England. Brian’s sins are not “exciting” any more because through frequent confession and living Our Lady’s messages, we receive the grace to overcome our sins, including the “exciting sins.” “God allows me every day to help you with graces to defend yourselves against evil.” (Our Lady, 10/25/84)

In the middle of the word sin is “i.” Sin is simply too much of the me. It is self-love gone out of order… God permits trials. Why? Precisely to purge us of excessive self-love. St. Catherine of Genoa said, “To arrive at union with God, the problems God sends are absolutely necessary.” In fact they are indispensable – no cross, no crown. The reason is that problems shift the focus from self to the problems. They initiate a struggle. The greater the struggle to accept them without complaint, the more we die to self. How right Shakespeare was when he wrote: “Sweet are the uses of adversity.”

Excerpted from Our Lady Says: Love People by Fr. Albert Shamon

Medjugorje prayer cloths – the white one in the center with a cross is the only one that is not an original and cannot be reproduced.

Healing

By June Klins

Since my return from Medjugorje last June, few days have gone by without someone requesting one of our Medjugorje prayer cloths. So many people are in need of healing, and questions sometimes arise: Why are some people healed and some not? God alone can answer that, but perhaps we can gain a little bit of insight by looking at the Scriptures. My pastor, Fr. Larry Richards, says, “The best way to know the mind of God is to read the Word of God.”

In reading the gospel stories about Jesus’ healings we see that Jesus did not heal everyone in His time either. According to Mk 1:34 and Mk 3:10, “He cured many” (not all). There seemed to be some diversity in His healings too. Sometimes the healing was immediate, as in the cleansing of a leper in Mt 8:3, and sometimes it was gradual, as with the blind man in Mk 8:23-25. In some instances Jesus told the people He healed not to tell anyone, such as the deaf man in Mk 7:36. But there were also times when Jesus directed those He healed to proclaim His glory. In Mk 5:19, Jesus tells the man who was healed, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you." After Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, she fed them (Lk 4:39), but after Jesus healed the girl in Mk 5:43 He directed others to feed her.

However, there is one consistent theme throughout the stories of Jesus’ healings, and that is the word “faith.” It was either the faith of the person who was healed or the faith of others, for example the mother’s faith in Mk 7:29, the centurion’s faith in Lk 7:9, or the faith of the four friends in Mt 9:2. In contrast, it was because of a lack of faith that Jesus could not work many miracles in his hometown (Mt 13:58), and that the apostles could not perform a healing in Mt 17:20.

As any good mother, Our Lady wants us to be healed, so it is no coincidence that one of Her main messages in Medjugorje is “faith.” In a recent interview Vicka said, “Everyone of us must witness his faith and pray for the gift of faith.” Vicka frequently says that what Our Lady wants the most is for us to have a “firm faith.”

Fr. Michael Scanlon, president of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, has a healing ministry, and devoted a chapter in his book, Let the Fire Fall, to the subject of healing. Father wrote: “A key element in healing is faith. Healing is almost always associated with someone’s faith – the faith of the sick person, the faith of the minister, the faith of the assembly…before you pray for healing, pray for faith.” He said we should pray with perseverance. He said that the watchword is “pray.” This, too, is another of Our Lady’s main messages.

Fr. Scanlon alluded to the fact that one thing that can block healing is unrepentant sin. I recall one time I went to a healing service of a priest who has the gift of reading souls, and there was a crippled man there who wanted to be healed. The priest told him that he would be healed after he forgave his brother. The man was adamant that he would never forgive, and he went home in a worse state than when he came because now he was angry. I remember how sad I felt, both because of his physical condition, but also his hardened heart. Reconciliation is another of Our Lady’s messages.

So we see that faith, prayer and reconciliation are associated with healing. Is there anything else? There was an occasion in the gospel when the apostles could not heal a boy who had been possessed by demons. After healing the boy, Jesus said to them,” This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting." (The word “fasting” is sometimes omitted from modern texts of Mark 9:29). Fasting is another of Our Lady’s main messages.

Why did Jesus tell some of those He healed not to tell anyone? By “God-incidence,” as I was writing this article someone sent me a reflection about healing. It said that the reason Jesus told them not to tell was that, “Jesus had another deeper concern, which was based upon his unparalleled insight into human nature. He knew that the temptation would be to focus on the 'magic' and to get caught up in the 'bread and circuses' and to miss entirely the inner dimension, which was the root and core of the healing. “

Fr. Scanlon wrote regarding physical healing: “We should seek it when we are ill, and pray for it whenever we get a chance, yet we should never seek healing for itself.” The Lord tells us, “You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (Jms 4:3) Fr. Scanlon continued, “And never forget that healing is a sign of the Lord’s desire to repair our sin – the greatest wound.” Jesus said to the healed paralytic in Mt. 9:2, “Your sins are forgiven” and to the man who had been ill for 38 years, “Do not sin anymore” (Jn 5:14). And He rebuked the towns that did not repent after witnessing His mighty deeds (Mt 11:20).

According to Webster’s Dictionary the word healing comes from the Old English word “hal,” meaning “more at whole.” Fr. Scanlon continued that the rightful perspective for healing is the perspective of eternity. “Until Jesus comes in glory, there will be death, disappointment, frustration, confusion and failure even when we pray…until the Lord comes again there will be much we do not understand…We know that anything can be healed, but not everything will be healed. We know that the experience of enduring illness can build character. We know that suffering has a redemptive quality to it. We don’t know why some people are healed and some are not, but we do know that all will be made whole when we are with the Lord. It is better to die young and spend eternity with the Lord, than it is to live a full and healthy life on earth and lose eternal life.”

Somewhere in Heaven is a young man shaking his head, saying “You’ve got that right, Father.” The day after I typed the words, “It is better to die young…” I heard a corroborating testimony. A young man in Florida had been in a motorcycle accident and was near death. A lady who had been given a prayer cloth that was touched to an original Medjugorje cloth prayed over him with it. As she was praying, she was inspired to ask if he had ever been baptized. He was conscious enough to say he had not been baptized, but would like to be. He died immediately after he was baptized. Did he receive a healing? The world would say no. However, we know that he got the best healing possible – a spiritual healing – a free ticket to Heaven!!! He hit the jackpot – this is what it is all about!!!

When Father Scanlon published his book in 1998, he felt that the outpouring of healing graces seemed to be unprecedented in the history of the Church. Our Lady confirmed this last October: “Today the Lord permitted me to tell you again that you live in a time of grace.” Fr. Scanlon wrote, “I believe that the healing we see all over the world signifies a new urgency in the Lord’s work in the world…He is announcing His presence unmistakably. Those who see it will be saved; those who avert their eyes to the Savior’s work will be lost.”

Editor’s note: Because of space limitations we cannot share all the blessings we have heard, but we would like to share two astounding testimonies about the cloths that were made: A man in Texas who was in danger of losing his leg because of a gaping infected wound that would not heal baffled doctors when it completely healed after the cloth was laid on the wound and people prayed. And a woman in the Philippines was completely healed of endometriosis and a tumor after praying with the cloth on her stomach. Praise God! To borrow an original cloth, send us a self-addressed stamped envelope and include your phone number. To receive one we made to keep, send a self-addressed stamped legal size envelope with $.52 postage on it. Please do not send any money for the cloths because they are blessed sacramentals. If you would like to express your thanks, you could pray a Rosary for Our Lady’s intentions. We thank Linda Sommers, Carol Weis, Maggie Carollo, Aggie Schnupp and Pat Berrier and Dianne Meyers for making more cloths for us.

A Healing in Panama

By Maria Jesus M de Kam

Sometimes we don't see any miracles, sometimes we are full of pride, and sometimes we want God to do our will and not His Will. I requested the sacred cloth from Medjugorje for a special person. When my friend and I went to his house, my friend prayed with the cloth that she placed over his stomach. Then my friend told me that when she was praying with the cloth over the stomach of this person she felt that something was moving inside the stomach - a very strange feeling. During the following days my friend was calling by phone to see if there was any positive change. After 9 days this person passed away.

One month later his wife was explaining to me what happened the last minutes of her husband’s life. He was talking to somebody. He said: ”You are so beautiful...I want to go with you..let's go, right now!” ...and he died. She said that he was smiling and very happy.

After this I saw the MIRACLE: The sacred cloth was the first step of the "cleaning process" of this person. He received the sacraments during those days and then he was ready to go with Our Mother, the Queen of Peace!

Editor’s note: Maria, whose nickname is Susy, lives in Panama City, Panama.

Young people from workcamp 2006

The Heart of a Mother - the Touch of God

By Dave Sheehan

Sr. Bonifacija Barbaric and her Community of Mother Krispina have been taking care of abused, abandoned and pregnant women in the Medjugorje area. These women had been staying at Mother’s Village but now needed a new home for themselves and their children. Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic went into action, and with the help of a generous donor from Ireland, a partially-constructed building on the outskirts of Medjugorje was acquired. The volunteers of St. David’s Relief Foundation also received the call to return to Bosnia-Hercegovina. For two weeks, we spent our time working to rehabilitate the women’s shelter known as the KAY Centre.

When our work pilgrimage came to a close, there was much to ponder. What have we accomplished during our time here? One of our volunteers, Debbie, put it this way. “Being a mother, I know the love I felt working on this project. Mothers are life givers and I feel we gave life to this empty shell of a building that will soon become a house full of joyful voices, a peaceful place to give life, to heal, and to grow closer to God.”

Do you need peace in your life? Do you need to heal, to forgive, to be forgiven and to grow closer to God? Then, remember Our Lady’s words, “Do whatever He tells you,” and you just might find yourself in Bosnia-Hercegovina with us, doing God’s will. There is healing within the will of God and there is peace.

Editor’s note: Dave is from Crowley, TX. To read the full story and for information on this year’s workcamp in July go to www.stdavids.org, or contact us.

Thank you once again to Diana Stillwell and Bernard Gallagher for their photos.