In the book of Revelation, Jesus writes to the church at Ephesus, “I have this against you, that you have fallen away from your first love.”

   That reminds me of many of the messages of Our Lady to pilgrims who have come to Medjugorje, to the visionaries themselves, and to those who have become aware of Mary’s plan for world peace through them.

   In the times I have visited Medjugorje, I have felt the excitement of those who are newly aware that this is from God and that as His people and Mary’s we are responsible for it.

   But in many of Mary’s messages She speaks of Her sadness that we do not follow through with the decisions She asks us to make.  In Her October message of 1989 She says, “Today I am inviting you, but you are still far away. Therefore from today decide seriously to dedicate time to God. I am with you and I want to teach you to pray with the heart.”

   Jesus, of course, taught us that we should pray always and not cease. In Her instruction, Mary asks us to take a share in Her responsibility for peace on earth.  It would be a frightening failure to deal with Her message as a passing emotional binge and then get back to “life as usual.”

   Sadly, that would be a life that is very unchristian.

The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje,” Volume II – Finally!

   If someone had asked me if I wanted another baby while I was in labor with my first baby, I probably would have screamed, “No!”   And that is the way I felt the last few months while working on Volume II of The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje.”  I have been working on this project for more than a year and a half .  As I type this, the 6^th proof is downloading on my computer. When people have mentioned the possibility of Volume III, I wanted to bop them on the head!  However, when the book finally arrives at my doorstep, I know that all the labor, like having a baby, will be a distant memory. And if Our Lady and Her Son ask me to do a Volume III, of course I will comply.

   Just like Volume I, Volume II is a compilation of articles from our prior newsletters. Volume II covers the years from 1998 to 2004. Included are chapters on basic information about Medjugorje, talks and interviews of the visionaries, testimonies of people who have been touched by Medjugorje, advice on living the messages, and a catch-all chapter called “Bits and ‘Peaces.’ “

   The cover is similar to the first book, but with different pictures.  The cover reflects exactly what the “spirit” of Medjugorje is all about. The “spirit” of Medjugorje is a spirit of peace, love and joy, and the way to peace, love and joy is to live the messages of Our Lady. I designed the cover to be a collage representing the 5 things Our Lady is asking us to do – Pray with the heart, Bible, Eucharist, Confession, and Fasting.  These are known as the “five stones” or “weapons against Goliath,” a theme that runs throughout both books.  Volume I had Our Lady in the center, but I chose the Risen Jesus for the center of Volume II to show that Our Lady brings us to Jesus.

   You can order Volume II directly through the publisher at http://www.authorhouse.com/bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=40618 . Within a few weeks it will also be available online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, or can be ordered through most bookstores.

Mirjana Speaks of Commission Tests.

In a recent meeting with pilgrims outside her house in Medjugorje, and in response to a question about the new commission, the visionary Mirjana spoke about how she had recently undergone scientific tests.

Q: Has Our Lady spoken about the new Church commission studying Medjugorje?

A: Personally I have never asked Our Lady about this. The way I thought was: anything that can help people to understand better and to accept Her messages, I am ready to do it. It is not easy always to do it. For example, the latest commission that we had, I was the one who was tested and it took over two days. There were over 1,000 questions from the psychiatrists and machinery all over my body. And an interesting thing happened: they put me on a lie detector, you know, like in American movies, and they also hypnotized me when they put me on the lie detector. Under hypnosis they brought me back to the apparition. So in order to make a long story short, because it took two days of investigation, their conclusion was: before my eyes, I have something supernatural, and it is beautiful, according to the way my body was reacting. They as experts cannot say whether I see God or Jesus or angels, but it is something beautiful and supernatural. And if that can help and give a hand for the people to accept Medjugorje, then I am ready to do it.

Q: Was the commission established by the Vatican, or the local diocese?

A: I really do not know exactly, because whatever the priests tell us to do, we just do it. I've never asked who was really standing behind it because it does not make any difference to me. Our friars, our priests, were for that, so I did it.                                                                                                                                   The Medjugorje Message

Praying from the Heart with the Scriptural Rosary

By Lucas Amato, S.F.O.

   My wife and I had been promising each other for years that we would take a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, but it was only after we retired that we finally made the time to do so.  And wonder of wonders, we found ourselves there on June 25, 2006, the 25^th Anniversary of Our Lady’s appearances to the six visionaries.  For those of you who have been there, my explanation of the resulting peace and joy is not necessary; for those who have not, my words will prove inadequate.

   No, we didn’t see the sun dance in the heavens, although many did.  Nor did we witness any external healing, even though others were healed. But what we did experience was for us far greater: we went through an interior conversion that brought us full circle to our re-commitment to Jesus through His Mother and ours.

   Her simple, but powerful message hit us right between the eyes like a ton of bricks: put God first in your life and be at peace with Him and everyone else. And pray, pray, pray from the heart. But our Mother did not stop there with general directives; no, She showed us how to accomplish putting Him first: Mass, Rosary and Scripture every day, monthly Confession, and fasting on bread and water Wednesdays and Fridays.

   Well, with some trepidation, we promised God and each other that we would commit ourselves to the above 5 practices that His Mother had asked of us.  I say “trepidation” because we feared that fast; but we found that to be among the easiest. What we did discover most difficult was to pray the Rosary from the heart. Back home, we found that often in our daily recitation of the Rosary our minds wandered. I lose my concentration so easily. Sure, I start off fairly well at the beginning of each mystery; but before I realize it, I’ve drifted off into thinking about some upcoming chore, like my shopping list or some needed repairs at home.

   So I looked to St. Dominic and St. Francis of Assisi for guidance. These two great saints were well acquainted with each other during their lifetimes upon earth. In fact, so high was their regard for one another and their respective missions, that they seriously considered becoming one Order. Although they ultimately decided that the Lord wanted them to remain separate, both orders retain a close fraternal relationship. In fact, to this very day, a Franciscan is invited to lead the celebration of St. Dominic’s feast day (August 8); likewise, a Dominican presides over the Mass on St. Francis’ feast day (October 4).

   What was it that drew these men and their respective orders toward each other? Can those common elements help us better meditate? Certainly among other things, they shared a great love of Holy Scripture and a deep devotion to Our Blessed Lady. Therefore, why don’t we combine our prayers to Mary with sections from the Bible that apply to those mysteries? We began the practice of reading entire sections from the Bible that dealt with each mystery, even before beginning that decade.  Nothing too new, but this was a big help to our meditations.  However, we soon realized that after 3 or 4 Hail Mary’s, our minds again began to drift. It was then that we started to reflect on a different Scripture quote before each Hail Mary.

   Now, our Rosary meditations are much more meaningful, flowing from the heart as we become less spectators of the mysteries and, like Mary, become participants.  In fact, for us now, each Hail Mary becomes the melody and the Scripture verse the words to our spiritual song to Our Blessed Mother.

   I have since been moved to organize the fruit of our Scripture reflections on the mysteries into a pamphlet entitled: “Scriptural Meditations for the Dominican Rosary and the Franciscan Crown.”  The Franciscan Crown consists of the Seven Joys of Mary, which includes four out of the five Joyful Mysteries of the Dominican Rosary, plus three other mysteries. Here are the Seven Joyful Mysteries in proper order: Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Finding the Boy Jesus, Resurrection and the combined Assumption/Coronation Mysteries.

We add two "Hail Mary's" at the end to honor the last 2 years of Our Blessed Mother's "earthly sojourn."

   In thanksgiving to Our Mother, I would like to offer this pamphlet free of charge.   You can download a full copy in color by accessing the following website:  www.RosaryScripture.faithweb.com. 

Editor's note: Lucas is from Sun City Center, FL.  

Rosary Trivia

Did you know that Elvis Presley recorded a song called “The Miracle of the Rosary” in 1971 (issued on the 1972 album,”Elvis Now”)?  Here are the lyrics: “O Blessed Mother we pray to Thee/Thanks for the miracle of Your Rosary/Only You can hold back/Your holy Son's hand/Long enough for the whole world to understand/Hail, Mary full of grace/The Lord is with Thee/Blessed are Thou among women/And blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus/O Holy Mary dear Mother of God/Please pray for us sinners/Now and at the hour of our death/And give thanks once again/For the miracle of Your Rosary.”

The Rosary Bridge

By June Klins

“The Blessed Virgin will make a bridge for you to Heaven.” (interviewer, “Our Lady of the Cape” magazine)

   This past summer my friend Carolanne and I went on a pilgrimage to the beautiful shrines of Quebec, Canada. At one of the shrines called Cap de la Madeleine there was an Adoration service in the evening that took both of us back to Medjugorje. The violin music, the guided meditations, the silence were all clues that the priest had been to Medjugorje. And sure enough – the next day we learned he had been to Medjugorje three times and will be going again in October of 2008. He told us that he patterned the Adoration service after the one in Medjugorje.

   The history of this shrine is very interesting and I cannot believe I never heard this story before, especially when they average over a half million visitors every year.

   This amazing story began on the eve of the Ascension of 1867, when no one came to church for confession. That day the pastor of Cap de la Madeleine, Father Desilets, saw a pig enter the chapel holding a rosary between its teeth. He took this as a sign from God that the Rosary had “gone to the pigs.”  He became determined to revive the devotion to the Rosary.  He consecrated himself to Our Lady and promised to promote devotion to the Rosary. As a result, the parishioners began to return to church and now the chapel could not hold all the people! They needed to build a larger church but the stones to build it had to be transported from the other side of the St. Lawrence River. Around the end of November, the pastor asked his parishioners to pray the Rosary to obtain an ice-bridge so the stones could be brought across the river.

   January and February passed and the river had not frozen over yet. The people persevered in their prayers. Then the pastor made a vow that if the Blessed Virgin would intercede for an ice bridge for the stones to be transported, he would keep the old church intact and dedicate it to the Queen of Heaven under the title of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.  A 25-30 foot wide ice-bridge was obtained on March19, the feast of St. Joseph. They called it “the bridge of the Rosaries.”  The stones were transported all week over the bridge using sleighs so that the church could be built. The Rosary was prayed as the stones were being moved. The ice bridge lasted until March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.

   As was promised, the old chapel was restored and on June 22, 1888, the official dedication was held. Fr. Desilets had prayed on that day that he might be given a sign that would tell him that this was God’s will that this little chapel would be a place of special honor for Mary. On this day the statue of Our Lady opened its eyes in the presence of Fr. Desilets, as well as another priest, Fr. Frederic Jansoone, and a handicapped man!

    Fr. Frederic was so taken with this miracle that he said he felt the rest of his life that the eyes of the statue were following him. He immediately began a mission to preach the name of the Blessed Virgin throughout the nation.  He led a very holy life, dedicated to the Rosary, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988. When they exhumed his body to obtain a bone for first class relics, they found that his body was incorrupt!  Our Lady of Medjugorje said, “Even the Rosary alone can work miracles in the world and in your lives” (1/25/91).

Editor’s note: The statue of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was crowned under the authority of Pope Pius X in 1904 and again under the authority of Pope Pius XII: it is the only crowned Madonna in Canada. Pope John Paul II made his personal pilgrimage to Cap de la Madeleine on September 10, 1984. Blessed Fr. Frederic’s incorrupt body lies in a church not far from the shrine. Subscribers in the Erie- Buffalo area interested in a weekend retreat at Cap de la Madeleine Shrine, please contact Carolanne Kilichowski at ckilichowski@msn.com

“Spiritual Multi-tasking”

By June Klins

      Recently I attended a fascinating teachers’ workshop called “Romancing the Brain.”  One of the points mentioned was that the human brain can only process one thing at a time. The presenter explained that we can do more than one task at a time – and we do - and have coined the term “multi-tasking” – only if one of the tasks has become a habit to us and we do not have to process information.

    After the workshop it came to me that when we pray the Rosary we are really multi-tasking. As we pray the Hail Mary’s, Our Father’s, etc. we are meditating on the Mysteries of our Redemption. The prayers that we say do not have to be processed because we know them and they have been engrained in our brains and our hearts. I have heard it referred to as the “background music” of the Rosary. That leaves our brains free for meditation on each of the individual Mysteries.

   So the next time someone tells you that the Rosary is just a repetitive prayer, tell them about “spiritual multi-tasking.”

The Rosary, a Powerful Weapon Against the Devil

By Fr. Gabriel Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican

   The recent Apostolic Letter of John Paul II, "Rosarium Virginis Mariae" encourages all Christians to turn back to the prayer strongly recommended both by the latest Pontiffs and recent Marian apparitions. Paul VI called the Rosary a compendium of the Gospel. To make it more complete, John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light to cover Jesus' public life. Padre Pio called the Rosary beads “a weapon of extraordinary power against Satan.”

   One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism: "Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end." The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is a meditation centered on Christ.

   Today more than ever, the world is in need of prayer and meditation. It is in need of prayer because people have forgotten God, and without God the world has put itself on the edge of a precipice. This is why in Her messages, Our Lady insists so much on prayer. Without God's help, Satan wins. The world is also in need of meditation because if the great Christian truths are forgotten, souls become void. This void is grabbed up by the enemy, and he fills it with his lies. And today we see the results with widespread belief in superstition and occultism.

  The most obvious danger for our society today is the downfall of the family. The rhythm of today's world has broken the family unity. Little time is spent together, and even when the family is together, its members don't speak because the television speaks. Where are the families which recite the Rosary together in the evenings? Pope Pius XII insisted in his own time: “If you pray the Rosary together, you will experience peace in your families; you will get on together.” “The family that prays together, stays together,” would say Father Peyton, the untiring apostle of the family Rosary. “Satan wants war,” Mary said one day in Medjugorje. Well, the Rosary is the weapon which is able to guarantee peace for the world, because it is a prayer and a form of meditation able to transform hearts and defeat the enemy.

                                                                                                                                              Echo of Medjugorje, #168

The Stone Chaplet from Medjugorje

By Geri Galle

   I made my first pilgrimage to Medjugorje in September, 2005.  When I returned, I brought back 25 chaplets, made of the stones from Apparition Hill.  They were blessed by Our Lady during an apparition and a priest who I met in Medjugorje who had received a physical healing of a blood disease while in Medjugorje.  I gave one of the chaplets to my boss, Chris. I knew he was Catholic - his wife teaches CCD.  I assumed he was practicing his faith.  When I gave him the chaplet he told me he didn't think anyone had ever taught him the Rosary, so I wrote it out for him.  He told me he hadn't been to Mass in a very long time.  He didn't even go on Christmas and Easter - he said he didn't want to be a hypocrite. 

   Several months went by and one day he showed me he was carrying the chaplet in his pocket.  I asked him if he was saying the prayers and he replied, “Not yet, I'm just carrying it.”   About a month, later, he asked me what time Mass was at the local church near our office.  He knew I attended daily Mass there.  I was pleasantly surprised.  That was about a year ago.  Chris has since left the company for another opportunity, but we stay in touch.  He now attends daily Mass, receives the sacrament of Reconciliation monthly, has joined a prayer group and is planning to be baptized in the Spirit through a Life in the Spirit seminar.

   At one point last year, he lost the chaplet.  He didn't tell me for several days. When he told me, I was inspired to tell him to ask his guardian angel to find it for him and while he was at it, he should ask for his angel's name.  This was on a Monday. I told him if he hadn't found the chaplet by Friday, I would get him a new one.  On Thursday, I was riding the train into work and the thought occurred to me to ask if he had found the chaplet.  As I walked into the office, he was coming the other way with a big smile on his face.  As we said good morning, he reached into his pocket and showed me the chaplet and he said, with the biggest grin on his face, "And her name is Helen!"  He went on to tell me that morning, he went into his closet and as he reached for the pants he was going to wear, he said out loud, "Come on, Helen".  Something fell to the floor from the pocket of the pants, his chaplet!  He assures me he searched his pockets many times before this happened!

Editor’s note: Geri is from Piscataway, NJ.