The Spirit of Medjugorje

"Dear children! In this time of the grace of expectation, I desire to call you to prayer for Advent to be prayer of the family. In a special way, little children whom I tenderly embrace, I encourage you to prayer for peace in the world; for peace to prevail over peacelessness and hatred. Thank you for having responded to my call. (With Ecclesiastical approval)"

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The Pink Rosary: A Gift From Our Lady

By Christine Frappier

     My journey back to Our Lord began on December 13, 1991, when I was 40 years old. I had just completed my undergraduate graphic design work at the University at Buffalo for the semester and sat at my kitchen table reading a national news magazine. Suddenly, I felt this “inner urge” to go to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Lewiston, New York. The feeling came from absolutely nowhere. It was not something that would come to me. Even though I had a good Catholic upbringing and had learned about devotions like the rosary, I attended church occasionally on Sunday and rarely prayed. I was spiritually dead.
     The shrine was only about 25 miles from where I lived. Without thinking and almost robotic-like, I jumped into my car, stopped quickly for directions, and started the drive to Lewiston.
     When I arrived at the shrine, I stared in awe. I had not visited in over 20 years and had forgotten how beautiful the basilica is with its huge dome in the shape of the Northern Hemisphere and with a statue of Our Lady of Fatima standing perfectly on top.
     I parked my car and walked inside. The back wall told the story of Fatima. I read how the Blessed Mother had appeared to three young children in Fatima, Portugal, each month from May to October 1917. Through them, she asks us to pray the rosary daily and to do penance for the conversion of sinners and for world peace. Wanting to learn more, I visited the bookstore and purchased Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, written by one of the children.
     I quickly completed Sr. Lucia's book. The whole experience created a desire to learn more about the Blessed Mother and her apparitions, so I returned to the shrine's bookstore. My eyes skimmed the covers of many books, but I was powerfully drawn to the beautiful picture of Our Lady on the cover of Wayne Weible's Medjugorje: The Message. It was early spring 1992 and the first time I ever saw the word “Medjugorje.” From the book's cover I learned Medjugorje is a mountain village in Yugoslavia (now Bosnia-Herzegovina), where the Blessed Mother has allegedly been appearing to six children since June 24, 1981. I couldn't wait to read it!
     Through my reading, I learned that the Blessed Mother is giving messages to these children for us and that Mr. Weible was a journalist called by Our Lady to spread these messages. As I read how the Blessed Mother was speaking to him, tears began to fall down my face. Even though I did not “hear” any words, I knew in my heart that she was calling me too.

Oklahoma City Bombing 1995

     While reading Mr. Weible's book, the following quote leaped from the pages: “You have forgotten, that through [fasting and] prayer, you can stop wars, and you can alter the laws of nature.” These words wouldn't leave me, just like those inner urges. I felt I was being called to create a poster on Medjugorje, but I didn't understand why or how to do so. I was only a beginning graphic design student.
     Through my research, I learned Our Lady of Medjugorje is calling us back to Jesus and is requesting that we pray (especially the 15-decade rosary every day), fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays, do penance, convert our lives back to the way God wants us to live, and have a strong faith. It was time for me to start living the messages. I located a Catholic bookstore, bought a blue crystal rosary with directions, had a priest bless it, and taught myself once again how to pray the rosary.
     The next several months were spent completing schoolwork, getting married, and moving to Massachusetts. Images had been appearing in my mind and heart of the poster's composition: the Blessed Mother would be on the right encircled by a rosary made of pink roses, and words were on the left. I wasn't sure what words, but I felt it should be the message on fasting and prayer from Wayne Weible's book. I wanted to be sure, however, so I thought I would ask Mr. Weible. I thought I should ask him in person and planned to call his office to see where he was speaking next.
     I was very nervous about calling Mr. Weible's office and wanted to wait until another day, but I had one of those strong inner urges again so I called. His office told me that he was speaking that night at the Fatima Shrine in Lewiston, New York! As he used to speak all over the world, I hung up the phone in total disbelief. Yet, should I go? Because I had moved to Massachusetts, it would be at least a nine-hour drive, and I didn't know if I could get there in time to see him. I didn't know what to do. But as I walked into our bedroom, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. All I saw was the “Buffalo” on my University at Buffalo sweatshirt. Because Buffalo is so close to Lewiston, I knew in my heart I was meant to go. Also, I rarely wore the sweatshirt in the spring because it was so heavy, but that morning was very cold so I had put it on. I called my husband at work, told him I'd be home the next day, got into my car, and headed for Lewiston.
     When I arrived, Mr. Weible already had begun to speak, but it didn't matter. Afterwards, he stayed and signed his books in the bookstore. I stood at the end of the long line to have him autograph his latest book. I wanted to be the last one. When it was my turn, I told him briefly about the poster and that I was searching for the right words to put on it. He was wonderful. He actually believed me. He told me to read Matthew 6:24-34 and that he'd pray for me. I got an answer! At the time, I had no idea what was in those verses, but I got an answer. I was elated!
     Being back at the shrine gave me great peace. I visited both the basilica and the bookstore. When I turned to leave the bookstore, hanging up on the wall above me was a picture of the Blessed Mother—the same one that was on the poster in my mind! I later learned that it was a photo of the statue of Our Lady of Grace from the church in Tihaljina, a small village not far from Medjugorje. That was the first time I had seen that picture.
     As planned, the next day I arrived back in Massachusetts. I quickly looked up Matthew 6:24-34 and read:

No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [wealth].

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. . . .

     At first, this reading gave me much peace, but I later began to question how it relates to Our Lady's poster. I concluded that the reading was a personal message meant just for me. God was telling me that doing the poster wasn't going to be easy, but I shouldn't worry. He will take care of me.
     This message was confirmed a week later when I received a birthday gift from my mom—Medjugorje Day by Day by Fr. Richard Beyer. I opened the book where she had placed a bookmark. Before my eyes was “Read Matthew 6:24-34,” and on the bookmark was printed “Do All You Can.” My mother later told me that she had randomly placed the bookmark in that page.
     It was time to start work on Our Lady's poster. The more I prayed, the more I knew in my heart the message on it would be Our Lady of Medjugorje's message of July 21, 1982: “Through fasting and prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature.”
     Within a few weeks, I visited a local fabric store and purchased the material for the poster's background. I never “saw” a background color in the image in my mind but was very attracted to a smooth cotton blend in the soft blue color of Our Lady's mantle. I then created a rosary out of 50 fresh long-stem pink roses and hung it in an open doorway so the roses would not get bruised and would be free to open. A professional photographer was scheduled to take slides of the rosary the next day. The roses were so fresh that I feared they wouldn't open up for the photo shoot. On the day of the shoot, however, they all bloomed perfectly.

Our Lady of Grace and Christine

     In March of 1995, I traveled to Medjugorje to take slides of the statue of Our Lady of Grace for her poster. Even though the Bosnian War lingered, armed guards loomed at the Croatian airports, roadblocks and checkpoints had to be passed, and I traveled alone, I had no fear. I also had no set itinerary and no idea how to find Tihaljina, the location of the statue. But as if Our Lady were my personal tour guide, I quickly joined some pilgrims who were traveling to Tihaljina and at last arrived at my final destination. Looking up at the statue and into Our Lady's eyes, with a childlike plea, I softly said, “Smile, Mary. This one's for your poster.” I proceeded to take over a dozen slides, but of course this first one turned out the best.
     Back home, I bought the required design software and finally started to put into the computer what had been in my mind and heart the last three years.
     During the first seven years, the drive and desire to make this poster for Our Lady never went away. The poster had become an integral part of my life, and I worked on it and this story whenever I could. I grew spiritually from attending Mass occasionally on Sunday to becoming a daily Communicant and from saying a few yearly prayers to praying daily the 15-decade rosary and the 15 St. Bridget prayers, to studying the Bible, and to fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. I wore my scapular and used holy water. I tried to lose my attachment to material things, to become humble, to be patient, to really love my family and friends, and to love God so much to totally trust Him and surrender to His Holy Will.
     But the more I tried to be holy, the more I was tested. The next several years contained many personal trials, some more than I could bear. Instead of praying more, I gave up one Mass and Hail Mary at a time, until I had dwindled down to the bare minimum of going to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation and of praying only a five-decade rosary a day. I felt so weak. I prayed all the time: “God, please don't give up on me.” “Please don't take away this beautiful gift of making the rosary poster for Our Lady.” “I'll try harder.”
     I never lost the inner drive to create a poster for Our Lady. About once a year, I would open the file to this story or to the poster, make some minor edits, and close the file. Also, thinking they might help, I went back to college and took more writing and graphic design classes.
     I believed that the poster would never get done unless I started to pray more and fast again. After all, how could I do a poster promoting prayer and fasting if I didn't do so myself? During the next year, I tried to work my way back to my previous spiritual routine. But life changes. Because of some health problems, my spiritual director advised me to no longer fast on just bread and water and to give up other foods on Wednesdays and Fridays. Daily, I now try to attend Mass, spend time in Adoration, pray the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and complete a few other devotions. My heart is filled with peace.
     Our Lady's poster was finally completed during the summer of 2011, almost 20 years since its inception. Through those years, I got married, my husband passed away, and I lived and worked in four different states. I currently reside back in the Western New York area where this story began.
     Over the 20 years, several variations of the poster had been created. In the last few versions, I designed a collage of ghosted images of natural disasters and wars in the background. I finally had achieved the technical skills necessary to create such a collage, but something wasn't right. I could not get the poster to “work.” I knew then that I needed help. I asked everyone I could to pray for me for the completion of this project. Many people offered prayers, rosaries, novenas, and Masses. I invited a few friends and family members to critique this story and the poster, and they provided valuable suggestions. One friend candidly proposed—and she was right—that maybe I wasn't making the poster the way Our Lady wants it. Lastly, while working on the final version, one special friend called me daily to ensure I stayed focused.
     Through their spiritual offerings, guidance, and support, I was given the grace and the help to begin anew and to finally bring this project to fruition. I asked a local printer to rescan the slide of the pink rosary so the background would be back to the original blue. I skillfully placed Our Lady in the middle of the rosary and made all the necessary technical corrections. No photos of natural disasters or wars were added. The rosary made from fresh pink long-stem roses, the soft blue cloth background like Our Lady's mantle, the photo of Our Lady of Grace, and Our Lady's message on fasting and prayer were all there. I felt at peace. After all these years, I finally learned how to ask for help and how to follow my heavenly mother's instructions.

Hurricane Charley 2004

     Lastly, I believe God gives us special talents to do His Holy Will. But He also instills in our hearts the desire to use them. For example, besides loving to create an artistic composition in graphic design, I have always had an interest in photojournalism and have taken photos of the aftermath of wars and natural disasters. God instilled in me the desire to record history. When I look back at my life, it is amazing the places I managed to be, at just the right time, to take just the right photo. I have a photo of me chiseling the Berlin Wall in 1990 when it was being taken down and a picture of a blown-up bridge from the Bosnian War. My photos weren't planned, but they weren't just a coincidence either. In their entirety, they point to Our Lady's poster and are part of her message. I include two of my photos in this story: (1) buildings located across the street from the Federal Building in Oklahoma City that had been bombed in 1995 and (2) a destroyed home in Florida after Hurricane Charley passed through in 2004. We all wonder if it is possible to prevent tragedies such as these. Our Lady of Medjugorje has given us a beautiful message of hope: “Through fasting and prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature.” We just have to answer her call.