Signal Graces from Medjugorje

By Den Todaro

   It was February 8, 2004, when Fr. Bill Kiel and I, along with 22 other pilgrims departed from Pittsburgh International Airport for Medjugorje.  Accompanying us on that journey were four school teachers and five people with medical backgrounds.  We had planned a mid-winter trip that year so we could enjoy the peace and serenity of Medjugorje without the large crowd of pilgrims during the summer months.

   In spite of the cold weather, we did all the things groups usually experience during a week in Medjugorje.  We even had the rare opportunity to meet privately with Fr. Jozo, where he spoke to us and later prayed over each of us individually.

   I remember the day we climbed Mt. Krizevac. There was an inch of fresh snow on the ground. The locals claimed it was the first snowfall in 20 years; amazingly, no one fell or was injured ascending or descending the mountain.

   I specifically recall the day we climbed Podbrdo (Apparition Hill).  It was a cloud-free, sunny morning about 11 a.m.  We began our leisurely climb up the hill, stopping only at each bronze casting to say a decade of the Rosary.  It was then, when one of the pilgrims named Sue who, at the time, was a physician’s assistant for an otolaryngologist, walked over to me and said, “Den, I’m cured.”  I responded, “Sue, what do you mean?  I had no idea that you were ill.”  Sue then confided in me, saying that she had ovarian cancer that had progressed to stage 3B.  Sue confidently said, “I felt this incredible peace and warmth fill my entire body, and I just know I’m cured.”  I replied, “Sue, that’s sometimes the way things happen here, but just to be sure, when you get home, have your doctor order the necessary testing procedures.”

   I also remember Sue telling me that everywhere she looked she saw the face of Jesus in the rocks.  “Look, here’s another one,” she stated as she picked one up to show me.  It was shaped like a heart.  I said to her, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”  It was February 14.

   The story doesn’t end there.  During my trip to Medjugorje in 2003, I bought a pair of rosary beads for my mother.  However, everything about them was wrong for her.  They were even brown in color.  I recall saying to my mom, “Let me have those rosaries; and I’ll get a nicer pair for you.”

   As fate would have it, on this trip, I was holding and praying on these brown rosaries; which, by the way, were made of Morono glass from Italy, when something unusual happened.  Just as Sue said, “Den I’m cured,” my rosaries turned to a beautiful crystal blue color!  I stood there in awe, as they sparkled in the sunlight,  trying to absorb what had just happened.

   As the group moved forward up the hill, I remember standing there for 10 minutes, as if suspended in time, unable to move or speak, only to stare at my transformed rosaries.  I thought to myself, “Yes, Sue, you are cured and here’s the confirmation directly from Mary.”

   When we returned home, Sue was tested and was 100% cancer- free and still is today.  As for my rosaries, I couldn’t wait to give them back to my mother.  I gave them to her saying, “Mom, how do you like these?”  She replied, “They are beautiful,” as her face lit up with a smile.  I said, “Would you believe that they are the same brown ones that I gave you last year?!”

   I wouldn’t go as far as calling this a miracle, but it surely was a strong signal grace I received that day in Medjugorje.  Whether Sue was cured at that moment, or at some other event, is not important.  What is important is that she believed she could be cured and was!

   Yes my friends, Medjugorje is for real.  If you feel the urge to go, don’t fight it.  Mary wants you there to help with Her plan.  All I can say is that I know you won’t regret it.  It just may be the most incredible trip of your life. Go!

The Killer and the Rosary

By Sr. Emmanuel

    To understand that Our Lady needs us, it helps to begin with the awareness that we also need Her and that Her help never fails those who pray to Her with a sincere heart. This American Monsignor is a good witness of that.  

   On May 14, 2009, Msgr. William Kerr, a leading human rights figure, died.  Msgr. Kerr often spoke of his very first hospital assignment, where he ministered to a young burn victim dying from his injuries.  Later, he recalled, he would be called upon to perform even more ghastly duties.   

   In 1978, the police called Msgr. Kerr in the middle of the night to accompany them to a sorority house in Tallahassee.  When he arrived he was told that all but one of the girls in the house were dead or near death, killed by the infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy.  After administering last rites to one of the college girls who was dying, the police on the scene asked Fr. Kerr to speak with a girl who had survived the massacre unscathed.  They had a very specific question:  Why did Bundy stop right inside the door to her room, drop his weapon, and leave without touching her? 

   The young woman refused to speak to anyone except a priest.  When Fr. Kerr approached the near-catatonic girl, she told him that her mother had made her promise, before going off to college for the first time, that she would pray the Rosary every night before bed for protection – even if she fell asleep praying the Rosary, which she had that night. When Bundy came into her room to murder her as he had the other girls, the beads were still clutched in her hands. 

   Ironically, Bundy later sought out Msgr. Kerr as a spiritual counselor while he waited on death row.   Over the course of their sessions, Bundy explained to Msgr. Kerr that when he entered the girl’s room, he just wasn’t able to continue with his spree, he dropped his weapon, and he fled.   

   Such is the power of our Mother’s protective mantle.  Such also is the wisdom of a mom, who managed to give her daughter the most efficient, powerful weapon – the rosary –  which later saved her life.

Seer at Famous Apparition Gave Enthralling Hints of What May Be in Her First “Secrets”

Part II

Editor’s note: In 1985, Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo gave some rare and revealing indications of what is in the secret prophecies she maintains the Blessed Mother gave her before her daily apparitions halted in 1982. This interview with Fr Petar Lubicic, the priest who will reveal the secrets to the world, is continued from the September, 2011 issue.

Father Ljubicic:  Out of the ten secrets that each of you will receive – and you and Ivanka [Ivankovic] already did [now also a third named Jakov Colo] – do you know which of them will be exactly the same? I mean, which secrets will be exactly the same for you, for Ivanka, and the others?

Mirjana: No, I don’t know.

Father Ljubicic:  Someone said that only three of the secrets that each of you received are identical, while all the others are different.

Mirjana: The one about the sign is identical, I am positive about that because there will not be six different signs.

Father Ljubicic: Not on the same spot.

Mirjana: The sign is the same sign. Personally, I never spoke about the secrets with any [of the others]. After all, in the same way that the secrets were entrusted to me, that is how they were entrusted to the others as well.

Father Ljubicic:  Thus far I never spoke with you about the permanency of the sign. Each of you maintains persistently that it will be indestructible, permanent, and very large. Accordingly, one will be able to understand it as something tangible.

Mirjana: Yes, the sign will be indestructible and permanent. Naturally, it will be clear to everyone that it is not something constructed and erected. Nobody will be able to say that it was brought and placed in that particular spot by, let us say, someone from Medjugorje.

Father Ljubicic:  The sign’s manifestation – will it be during the day or night? By asking that, am I encroaching on the secret?

Mirjana: Oh, that is a secret. I cannot answer because that touches upon… the secret already has a specific date and time.

Father Ljubicic:  Does the secret have a specified minute and second?

Mirjana: I know the exact day and the hour.

Father Ljubicic:  Do you anticipate that there may be some people, some souls, who will perhaps ‘feel’ something, without anyone else’s knowledge or anticipation, that something is about to happen and will, therefore, come in large numbers?

Mirjana: I do not know. But I did have the opportunity to ask Our Lady something to that effect. I do know that, during the secret’s manifestation, there will be spiritual conversions.

Father Ljubicic:  There will be conversions?

Mirjana: Yes, there will be conversions.

Father Ljubicic:  Do you think that [of those who will convert] a majority of them will be those who were suspicious, who doubted, who didn’t believe?...

Mirjana: There will be all kinds: those who were just suspicious, those who didn’t believe at all, and others.

Father Ljubicic:  Do you think that there will still be those who will remain hardened – despite the explicit, tangible, visible signs and warnings?

Mirjana: Yes.

Father Ljubicic:  There will be?

Mirjana: Yes, there will be.

Father Ljubicic:  Yes, of course, just as there always were. Even today, so many see the obvious works of God, yet they simply reject Him because they are so hardened, just as the Pharisees did.

Mirjana: Those are the ones who have shut their souls to God.

Father Ljubicic:  Let me touch upon Our Lady’s latest message. It seems that Our Lady is drawing attention to our greatest enemy, Satan. It seems that he is increasing his attacks, that he is attempting to create confusion and entangle the entire situation.

Mirjana: He is responsible for the unbelievers –  Satan. This is why she said to bless the home with Holy Water on Saturdays. He is the one who makes people into unbelievers. Who else?

Father Ljubicic:  Do you think that Godlessness is growing or decreasing today?

Mirjana: Father, it is increasing. A miracle is necessary for Godlessness to decrease.

   In a later interview with the same priest, Mirjana expanded upon the other secrets, urging especially conversion of the young. They were especially the ones Mary wept over, she explained. “I now know about things that are not particularly pleasant,” said the visionary, whose daily apparitions halted in 1982, when she received the tenth secret – the first of the six to do so. “I believe that if everyone knew about these same things, each one of these people would be ‘shocked’ to their senses and would view our world in a completely different light. Of course, my greatest advice to all is to pray for all the unbelievers. You see, Mary expends the greatest amount of time talking about that very thing. We must also not forget the elderly and the infirm. They are ours, too. They sacrificed their whole lives. Many of them lived their entire lives for God and in prayer. Their senior years shouldn’t have to be sad and miserable. I cannot elaborate much more, it is hard for me [to do that]. You see, so much is tied to the secrets. If the people saw the first secret, as it was shown to me, all of them would most certainly be shaken enough to take a new and different look at themselves and everything around them.”

Father Ljubicic:  The manifestation of that secret, will it only be a momentary thing or will it be something that will last for an extended period?

Mirjana: It will last for a little while.

Father Ljubicic:  Little while?

Mirjana: Little.

Father Ljubicic:  Will its effect be lasting and permanent or will its effect be momentary and passing?

Mirjana: How can I explain that without encroaching on the secret? Let me just say that it won’t be good at all, it won’t be pleasant.

Father Ljubicic:  After that, if anyone were to come here knowing that such and such had occurred, will that person be able to see anything – any evidence that something indeed did happen here?

Mirjana: Yes, yes, yes.

Father Ljubicic:  It will be visible?

Mirjana: Yes.

Father Ljubicic:  This whole situation: it seems that she is trying to prepare us and to ‘dress’ us with saintliness, God’s Love and perfection, so that we may greet Our Lord when He comes. Is there anything that signals something of that nature?

Mirjana: Just as any mother, she cares for her children. She wants us to come and meet God the Father well-prepared. She doesn’t want us to weep and wail when it’s too late. God said that He forgives at any time – providing the soul repents sincerely. All she asks for, the one thing she waits for, is for all of us to repent so that we may be forgiven. What follows are the secrets that are really unpleasant. I would be happy if everyone would finally understand that. I cannot tell [the secrets], but once they begin to be fulfilled, then it will be too late.

Father Ljubicic:  Will the interval between the first and second secret be lengthy?

Mirjana: That varies according to the secrets. What I mean is that, for example, the time between the first and second secrets is of a certain period, between the second and third is of different length. For example, and I stress: for example, the first secret may take place today and the second one already tomorrow.

Father Ljubicic:  Tell me, what do you think about the people who are specially inspired by God, I mean persons who are having genuine mystical experiences, the mysterious experiences? I am talking about those to whom God is showing and saying something, in a variety of ways – things that will occur in the future. Can you make a connection between them and the present world situation?

Mirjana: I believe that they, too, were chosen by Mary – just as we were. All of us were not chosen because we are somehow better than the rest – not at all. I simply mean that all of them were chosen to help people, to focus the people’s attention [on God], to tell people [about Him and all that will happen], to instruct the ones around them in some way, to talk with them and to tell them what Mary says. To do and say the same things that she tells us. Perhaps people will listen to them. The main task for all of us [seers] is to spread the faith in God.

Do Not Be Afraid

By Cathy Nolan

Called by Our Lady
By Louise Lotze

    Having recently returned from a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, the pangs of wanting to go back have already started.  Anyone who has been there knows exactly what this is like.  If God so wills, I will return again next summer.  As usual, I brought some books back to read from the Franciscan bookstore. I have slowly been reading each night the book, 30 Years of a Phenomenon –  All from A to Z, by Marijan Sivric and Ivo Scepanovic.  Two things caught my attention. 

   Over the past years in Medjugorje I have met two different people from the U.S. who have been there over 100 times each.  I was amazed over this, but not surprised, since they have been taking groups there for many years now.  Well, now I have read in this book that a man from  Austria, Franz Gollowitsch, has completed 500 visits to Medjugorje, starting in 1985!  His son organizes trips there, so Franz is in Medjugorje three times a month. His reasons are briefly stated:  “I love this place of prayer and peace!”  Franz not only visits there, but has helped with humanitarian aid during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

  What a blessing it has been for the people of Europe who can go to Medjugorje so easily.  It took me over 27 hours to return this time, having traveled through five airports with only two hours of sleep the night before my departure.  Anyone who has been on a pilgrimage realizes that this is not that unusual, but Our Lady gives us the graces to endure.

   The second thing I read really was quite humorous for me.  In the year 2010, I attended the Mladifest (Youth Fest) in Medjugorje.  At that time I was so very impressed with the Croatian outdoor evening Mass behind St. James Church. The music was exceptionally great, and I was thinking at the time what a superb choir they have from local talent. The singing was so awesome, and a solo was especially magnificent.  Well, here it is a year later, and I discovered in this book that the Italian singer, Andrea Bocelli, donates his time and talents each year as part of the Youth Fest.  Apparently Our Lady invites nothing but the best for her Son, Jesus!  This is also true for the violinist at Adoration in Medjugorje, Melinda Dumitrescu. I discovered a few years ago that Melinda is from Romania. She was a child prodigy and studied at the Music Academy in Lubeck, Germany, as a student of Prof. Zachar Bronn. She came to Medjugorje as a consequence of her faith in Our Lady's apparitions and of her personal encounter with Fr. Slavko Barbaric.  For her, music is a prayer from her heart.  Her violin is the voice of her heart. She now lives in Medjugorje and is involved with the prayer program there – a fruit of Our Lady's apparitions. She can see, especially during Adoration, that some feel as though they are in Heaven.  The prayer rhythm there in Medjugorje melts hearts, as she believes. 

   In conclusion, we all are called by Our Lady to be Her hands and feet in this world.  If we spread and live Her messages, then we are helping Her.  I have heard some say they can't afford to go to Medjugorje.  I have also read testimonies of how people have trusted Our Lady and placed this problem in Her hands.  Somehow She comes through for them and they either win a lottery with just enough money to pay for the trip (such as the priest that was present with my group this summer), or else they receive an unexpected sum of money which covers the cost.  Is Our Lady calling and inviting you?  If so, you will be richly rewarded and never regret going there.  It may be contagious, so beware!

Starting a Rosary Group

By Kathy Wolf

  The first time my family was in Medjugorje, we were in the apparition group with Ivan, and the Blessed Virgin gave us a message to pray as families. We decided then that we would pray the Rosary as a family. On Sundays, we gather at 12:30 and pray one Rosary together. Whoever is hosting has a light meal after the Rosary. I send out an email a day or so before, announcing where it will be, the latest monthly message of the Blessed Virgin, and any intentions that anyone wants us to pray for. I ask that anyone who receives the email but cannot come, pray the Rosary on Sunday around the same time.

    This prayer group has been in existence now for eight years. Some of the pilgrims who have been with us on subsequent pilgrimages to Medjugorje have joined when they heard about the group. The group has grown, and the email goes out to people all over the country and some to the rest of the world!   It started by going out to all of our family –  even those who are not attending church.

   When I came back from Medjugorje that first year, I felt strongly about starting this group. Mary states over and over

in Her messages to pray for the family. On this past pilgrimage, She gave two messages to pray for the family and pray as families. It was not easy to talk to my siblings who don't attend church, but I did. When I sent out the email, I stated several times that if they didn't want to receive the email to let me know and I would take them off. No one ever asked to be taken off!  The one relative I was worried the most about calling was actually the most interested. This year when I went to Medjugorje, he sent petitions for me to take!  

   I have seen miracles happen through this group. So I encourage anyone who is thinking about it, to start a Rosary

Group.  Mary will guide it and intercede. God will open hearts! God bless.

St. Leopold Mandic and the Paralyzed Man

Totally Yours October Conference 2011

  October 22-23, 2011  

Location:    Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows

Speakers:

Dana - Internationally known Irish singer

Stanley - Amazing testimony, Died for three days and now speaks of the Lord`s Mercy

Fr. Paul Nomellini - Gives Marian Retreats throughout the US

Dennis and Cathy Nolan - Inspirational workers for Our Lady including Marian TV

Hector Molina - Gifted communicator for the Gospel and teacher of the Catholic Faith 

Lay Fast Day for Priests

   Fasting is praying with the body. We, the laity, can offer one common day of fast for our priests in the local, national and Universal Church. As lay members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we need to support our priests. The Father told St. Catherine of Siena that priests are His “Christs” –  those anointed ones of God – whose hands bring us Jesus in the Eucharist. We will offer our priests to Our Blessed Lady’s care and protection by fasting on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2011, from dawn until 3:00 PM. Our fast can be concluded at 3:00 PM with a personal prayer for priests. Our fast intention will be for their spirituality, their needs, and thanksgiving for the sacrifice of their lives –  which they daily offer for us. You can fast from anything that you feel lets you share in some way in the sacrifice of Our Lord. You may fast from food, television, speech, cigarettes, or anything else on behalf of our priests past, present, and future.