Sister Emmanuel lives in Medjugorje and is on personal
terms with all of the visionaries. Her website is at http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com
Below are a selection of interesting letters and reports from
her website. They begin from the earliest.
On January 2nd, Mirjana's monthly apparition with the Gospa
took place in Sr. Elvira's "green tent" at the Cenacle.
It was pouring rain and th crowd was very large. All of us
who were close to Mirjana could see that when Our Lady came
Mirjana's face became radiant with joy! During the apparition
she frequently moved her head in agreement with Our Lady,
as well as her lips. Her words were inaudible until just before
the end of the apparition. At this point, we could hear very
clearly that she began to pray the "Our Father"
with Our Lady. Now her face became even more radiant as everyone
listened to the "Our Father" as though it was for
the very first time in thier lives! It was as if the Holy
Spirit was creating each word for us as never before. Very,
very slowly, it seemed each word hung in the air waiting for
Mirjana to discover what would come next. And suddenly it
became clear to us that on Mirjana's face (and through her
voice) we were witnessing the reflection of the incredible
ecstasy of the Blessed Mother's own prayer to the Father!
Time stood still and our hearts were fused with the heart
of Our Lady worshipping the father at the beginning of this
year dedicated to Him in preparation for the Great Jubilee
of the Year 2000!
In Asia, Fr. Tim Deeter was on a team with me most of the
time, and the messages were very well received, especially
among the young people who flocked in large numbers and appreciated
very much Father's charism for them. (He'll be in Medjugorje
for the Youth Festival this summer.)
An amazing part of the mission was in Kerala (India), where
the Christians actually have lived the messages even before
Our Lady came in Medjugorje! At first, I was careful not to
overwhelm them but rather explain the 5 main requests of Our
Lady in a gentle way. But when I shared that Our Lady likes
us to pray the 3 parts of the rosary each day, they were surprised
and said, "Sister, only the lazy ones do that! We actually
pray around 10 rosaries a day here!" When I suggested
that they go to confession once a month, they found it easy
and said, "Here, we are used to going once a week!"
A striking experience occurred one night while we were spreading
the Good News to a group of Hindus on a terrace in a poor
village. They asked all sorts of deep questions about Jesus
and Mary, and their incredible openness of heart brought tears
to our eyes.
A Hindu lady had to struggle very hard to feed the family
and she told her teenage daughter this secret. "You know,
we (Hindus) have many gods. But I found one in the Christian
Shrine [near their house] that is more powerful than ours.
It's St. Anthony (of Padua). Go to him for your needs, because
whatever you ask from him, he'll get it for you!" From
that day on, that girl went to pray in that church daily,
and right there Jesus touched her heart so deeply that she
has become a fervent and active "Catholic", and
even a great help to her bishop, though she is still only
a catechumen.
Another Hindu mother taught her daughters this way: "You
know, my children, the God the Christians have is only good.
You don't need to be afraid of him , he is not like our gods,
he never punishes. And he loves us so much! He is so fond
of us that he even died on a cross for us. And believe me,
no other god would ever do that for us! I recommend that god
to you. He is my favorite, he is the best of all!" One
of those girls became a Christian, she is now 40 and she radiates
the love of Jesus!
http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com/medj/reports/3_1_99.html
(1 Mar 1999)
In the West, people often seek earthly welfare first. In Asia,
holiness is more honored. For example, in India, a daily newspaper
was not ashamed to state, "In order to reach holiness,
the Mother of God gives 5 messages: prayer with the heart,
fasting, daily reading of the Bible, monthly confession and
Holy Mass at the center of life." As a result of this,
millions of people from different religions were reached by
the Medjugorje messages. The Gospa knows how to make use of
everything and everyone in order to touch hearts! As well
as her Son Jesus, she enjoys making multiplications, even
through the media! As Mirjana says sometimes when collaborating
with Mary: "You see Mother, I have done the little part
that was in my power, but please, you do your part now."
During this Lent, out of love, let us choose to live the messages.
Don't we read in the Word of God: "The Kingdom of Heaven
suffers violence and men of violence take it by force."?
(Mt 11,12).
Dear Children of Medjugorje, Praised be Jesus and Mary!
On April 28, Father Schoffberger and I were warmly received
by Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna. During our conversation,
we brought up the subject of Medjugorje. Among various positive
things I also wanted to share with the Cardinal my sadness
about the wave of unacceptable slanderous reports against
several witnesses of Medjugorje, even by so called 'Catholic
media', copied out by people who, for the most part, have
never personally met the visionaries nor the local priests.
The Cardinal was not taken in by these old methods used in
the East to destroy the good name of a priest who bothers
the 'regime'.
After having listened calmly to me, the Cardinal said, "
Do you know, Sister, I invited Fr Jozo Zovko to speak in my
Cathedral two years ago?" " Yes, I remember well
! (The meeting took place on September 26, 1997)". And,
without any further comment, he summed up his innermost thoughts
on the matter:
" Would you please tell Father Jozo that I invite him
once again to speak in my Cathedral!"
* On May 2nd, Mirjana said to all those present that the
Gospa, because of unbelievers, wept a great deal at the beginning
of the apparition. Afterwards she extended her hands in prayer
over the crowd. According to Mirjana, rays of golden light
came forth from both of her hands.
This event took place during Eastertide, during these days
when it is so important to celebrate the victory of Light
over darkness. This gesture of Mary also recalls what she
did before Catherine Labour? Rue du Bac in Paris, in 1830.
Let us continue to ask her for the Light she is so eager to
give us. Dear Gospa, Mother of Light, never tire of extending
your hands over us !
Sr. Emmanuel
Nota Bene: Let me tell you about an interesting report, already
published in the magazine "Maria" (March-April 1999)
concerning Medjugorje.
(Remember that during Pentecost 1998, Pope Jean-Paul II invited
the 'New Communities' to Rome. On this occasion, Cardinal
Ratzinger expressed the confidence the Church has in those
Communities, founded for the most part after Vatican II. He
spoke of a "New Springtime in the Church".)
Among these communities, that of "The Beatitudes"
is present in Medjugorje. It seeks to be of service to the
pilgrims who flock there in great numbers. In order to be
well in line with the Church, Dr. Fernand Sanchez, Moderateur
General, and Father Francois-Xavier Wallays, a member of the
Community's general council, went to Rome on January 12, 1999.
They received from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the
Faith its directives in regard to Medjugorje. They were warmly
welcomed by the Congregation's Secretary, Archbishop Tarcisio
Bertone.
Cardinal Ratzinger and Mgr Bertone know the Community of
the Beatitudes and how it developed within the Church, after
its recognition by Cardinal Coffy, at the time Archbishop
of Albi (France) in 1976.
Moreover, their presence in Medjugorje having started in 1989,
Archbishop Bertone was able to refer to something concrete,
i.e 10 years of prayer life and apostolic work of this Community
there. The conversation which took place was therefore based
on the precise experience of the particular community. It
should not be taken as a word systematically given to every
Catholic group. Nevertheless, some elements give much light
on the Vatican's position towards Medjugorje, and should cut
short many rumours. Besides, they can easily be checked in
Rome itself.
Dr. S. - Can we remain in Medjugorje and continue our apostolate
there of Evangelization with the pilgrims ?
Arch. B. -Not only can you do so, but you must remain in Medjugorje,
at the service of the pilgrims ! (The answer was categorical.)
Dr. S. - Can we continue to accompany private pilgrimages
there?
Arch. B. - It is necessary to accompany private pilgrimages!
Archbishop Bertone stated, "For the moment, one should
consider Medjugorje as a Sanctuary, a Marian shrine, in the
same way as Czestochowa." He added:
"The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith has asked
the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia Hercegovina to take over
the dossier of Medjugorje and start again from the beginning.
A team of experts will take part in the work."
According to Archbishop Bertone, what primarily interests
Rome is above all giving solid pastoral guidance to the crowds
who have gone to Medjugorje over such a long period of time,
just as they have gone to Czestochowa. As to deciding whether
or not the 6 "visionaries" see Our Lady, that is
still not the fundamental question. Since the Church remains
neutral on the authenticity of the apparitions, one cannot
affirm for the moment, "There are supernatural things
there", nor " Mary said". But one may say,
"Such and such a word is attributed to Mary" and
to teach, along these lines, Christian doctrine. Neither can
one affirm, as in the case of the Ordinary of Mostar, that
everything is bad and false at Medjugorje, because if that
were the case, the Holy See would have already intervened
and would have warned the faithful. It is the "Constat
de non supernaturalitate", published by the Ordinary
of Mostar on October 2, 1997, which led the Holy See to take
a stand and clarify the Church's position in its May 26, 1998
letter to Bishop Aubry. (ref below, see PPS).
Archbishop Bertone insists : The aim of Rome is to stress
good pastoral and sacramental care, especially in regard to
the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. Rome asks
that pilgrims be led to prayer, to conversion, to the Faith
of the Church, and that one should avoid allowing them to
seek extraordinary, anecdotal or superficial things, in short,
everything that could be a distraction from that which is
essential.
According to Fr. Francis-Xavier, from this conversation
it is clear that Rome is not primarily concerned with the
'visionnaries' and the 'messages' but rather the question,
"Can the faithful be allowed to go there ? Is there something
of God one can experience there ?" The answer is YES.
Therefore Medjugorje must be allowed the possibility of continuing
its apostolate.
(More information will be given later on)
_____________________________________
PS - Cardinal Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna (Austria),
is the main author of the "Catechism of the Catholic
Church". He preached the 'Lenten retreat' last year to
Pope John Paul II and his Papal Household.
PPS - This very important letter is found on the Web at:
www.childrenofmedjugorje.com (July 1, 1998)
www.beatitudes.org/edm/ (July 1, 98)
www.medjugorje.hr (Press Bulletin , 98)
* My mission in the U.S. ends today. At the National Conference
on Medjugorje at Notre Dame, Indiana, Father Jozo surprised
all the 4000 participants by his joy and serenity. As we were
mentioning new calumnies spread in the media, he just smiled
and said, "This has been going on and on for eighteen
years ! We must look at Jesus. What did he do when he was
threatened and attacked ? He didn't stop healing the sick,
delivering the tormented, and announcing the Good News to
the poor. The Gospa told us at the beginning, 'Do everything
I ask of you and let God work.' "
