We all remember that in 1998 the visionaries went to Como,
Italy, to be investigated by a team of doctors, psychologists
and scientists. The head of the team, Dr. Giorgio Gagliardi,
has issued a book, "I Veggenti di Medjugorje: Ricerca
Psicofisologica, 1998" with the results of those tests.
So far the book is in Italian only (see postscript for details).
Before the book is translated into other languages, here is
a summary of what is written on the back cover:
Through personal anamnesia and instrumental tests the subjects
have demonstrated that:
a. To start with, they have had an unusual and life-determining
experience, then continuation of their behavior belonging
to modified state of consciousness of the visionary ecstatic
type which they still present even though with less intense
characteristics.
b. Such experiences generate modifications of some biological
parameters which are measurable.
c. The behavior during their modified state of consciousness,
within the limits of the study carried out, does not have
the prevalent characteristics of hypnosis, but those of the
modified state of consciousness belonging to the ecstatic/visionary/apparitional
type.
d. The hypothesis of conscious deception and of fraud have
no psycho- & neurophysiological support.
We can only be grateful to these scientists who have conducted
these studies with their usual methodical care, because thanks
to their conclusions, more light is being shed on the reality
of the apparitions of Medjugorje. For example, it simply deflates
the statements claiming that the visionaries are liars or
that the apparitions are a subtle fabrication of some people
in the village. Such negative claims underlie most of the
rejection of the apparitions. Certainly, a good actor can
pretend and fool people, but how can six peasants falsify
the readings of encephalograms or other such tests, on the
most sophisticated machines?
Here is the lovely story of little Angelique, 9 years old,
from the Island of La Reunion (Indian Ocean). When she was
6, her family brought her to Medjugorje on pilgrimage, and
there with the pure outlook of a little child, she watched
everything that was going on. She was struck by seeing everyone
pray with such fervor and for so long. Well, her grandmother
had always taught her how to turn to God with the heart. She
quietly took everything in. Upon returning home she suggested
to three friends her same age to start praying the rosary
with her. That day marked the beginning of a veritable children's
prayer group which has been able to persevere and for which
Angelique still is a kind of "shepherdess." It is
she who continues to attract and bring together these children
between the ages of 4 and 14, who today number 33, and who
come together every Friday at 4:30 PM (their town is next
to the Palin of Cafres). Angelique drew up the program: first
a prayer to the Holy Spirit, then the recitation of the Rosary.
Between each decade the children present the intentions which
Our Lady has expressed in Medjugorje, for example they pray
for peace in the world and for priests. They end by saying
the "7 Our Fathers", and the whole thing lasts almost
an hour.
This little autonomous group remains a pure initiative of
children, even though Angelique's grandmother keeps a discrete
watch. The link with Medjugorje remains alive since the people
of La Reunion come here in big numbers. Why should we be astonished
that so many come from this little Island when children have
taken to heart so beautifully Our Lady's plan for conversion!
May She find thousands of little Angeliques to renew the world!
(Don't just come yourself. Bring your 6 year old with you
when you come to Medjugorje!)
We celebrated Vicka's 35th birthday on September 3rd. She
radiated an incredible joy since on their birthdays, the Gospa
usually hugs and kisses the visionaries. "It is an experience
which is impossible to describe," Vicka told us. Isn't
it significant that Our Lady loves to celebrate birthdays
so much? As a matter of fact, on these special days, she joyfully
thanks God for having created this person and she expresses
more than ever her admiration for the beauty and the greatness
of the gift of life.
Only in Heaven shall we fully see the importance of the October
8th Act of Entrustment made by Pope John Paul II, of whom
the Gospa has said, "I have chosen for these times."
With about 1,500 Bishops gathered before Our Lady of Fatima's
statue, he prayed: "To you, Dawn of Salvation, we commit
our journey through the new Millennium, so that with you as
guide all people may know Christ, the Light of the world and
its only Savior." The last time the Holy Father did this
the course of history was dramatically changed. And on that
day in 1984 he said privately: "Medjugorje is the continuation
and fulfillment of Fatima!" On October 8th, the Vicar
of Christ called upon Our Lady:
"Today as never before in the past, humanity stands
at a crossroads. Therefore, O Mother, like the Apostle John,
we wish to take you into our home... Here we stand before
you to entrust to your maternal care ourselves, the Church
, the entire world... Receive the Spirit for us and with us,
as happened in the fist community gathered round you in Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost..."
Six weeks before the Gospa prepared us for this by saying,
"I desire to thank you and to inspire you to work even
more for God and His kingdom with love and the power of the
Holy Spirit." (8/25)
On October 4th Fr. Jozo told pilgrims in Medjugorje that
the Consecration on October 8th is the last step of the fulfillment
of Fatima request which will bring about a New Pentecost.
As Peter was praying with Mary in the Cenacle, the same way
the new Peter, JP II, is with Mary today in Rome waiting for
the Holy Spirit, he said!
Indeed, Satan is capturing headlines to discourage us and
make it appear the world is heading towards Evil's triumph.
But the Gospa is sharing her joy with us, and she's the one
we want to pay attention to: "In my Immaculate Heart
I feel that there are many of those who have drawn closer
to me and are, in a special way, carrying the victory of my
Immaculate Heart in their hearts by praying and converting."
(8/25/00)
In Chicago last weekend we were able to film several TV shows
with Sr. Briege McKenna, and from her mouth we heard things
about the beginnings of Medjugorje that we never knew! It
turns out Fr. Vlasic was the Youth Minister for the diocese
of Mostar and he was distraught because the communists were
seducing the young people away from God - taking them out
of the Church. When Sr. Briege prayed over him in Rome in
May, '81, one month before Our Lady started appearing in Medjugorje,
she was given a vision of streams of living water flowing
from the sanctuary of a church with two steeples where he
was seated. Thousands of young people were coming into the
church and drinking it up... and then going out and returning
with their friends who also started drinking the water! This
prophetic image is most significant because it reveals one
of the most beautiful aspects of Medjugorje's mission for
the world: the attraction of the young for God and their conversion.
May all the young of our families be counted among those thousands!
Kathy Jones, 50, a mother of three grown daughters, is in
Medjugorje today, leading a group of pilgrims. Upon hearing
her beautiful story of healing, Sr. Emmanuel asked her to
share it with you as a special gift for Easter. With tears
of joy, she happily agreed...
" I was raised in a devout Lutheran home in New York
and always believed in God, but from my teen years onward
I rejected organized religion, believing it was created totally
by man and not by God. After marrying Ed and reluctantly agreeing
to raise our children Catholic, I told him, ' Don't EVER expect
me to become Catholic. You have to be born that way - you'd
have to be crazy to choose it voluntarily! ' I rejected the
Church's teachings, thinking they were made up by men who
had nothing better to do than make people feel guilty and
miserable. I occasionally went to church with my family, but
found it profoundly boring.
" In 1987 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and
had major surgery which revealed that it had spread to lymph
nodes. I went through intensive sessions of chemotherapy and
radiation, but the future looked grim and the inevitable recurrence
constantly loomed over my head. During one of my hospital
stays I cried out to God, saying, ' If You're really out there,
please take this despair away and let me accept the fact that
I'm going to die before my children are grown. ' I waited,
but felt no peace and concluded that there wasn't anybody
out there that really cared - prayer was just wishful thinking.
To make matters worse, Ed's employers relocated to Dallas
Texas during my recuperation, and I was sure I would end up
dying there without my extended family support system in New
York.
" Through a bizarre set of circumstances that only
God could orchestrate, I drove my mother-in-law to a prayer
meeting in January 1990, and reluctantly ended up in the room
with a rosary placed in my hands. I desperately wanted to
run out, but politely stayed while the group prayed, and actually
began to pray with them. A profound sense of peace suddenly
came over me, fear left me and I was filled with hope - my
whole life changed that day through the intercession of Our
Lady of Hope... the Queen of Peace! In October of that year
Ed and I went to visit her shrine in Medjugorje (and during
the pilgrimage it became evident that God wanted St. Francis
of Assisi to be a special intercessor and guide for my life).
We went to see Fr. Jozo Zovko in Tihaljina. He blessed me
and prayed with his hands extended over my body. This was
a powerful experience. My friends told me that I had received
a healing. Today I am still cancer-free. I still don't know
whether this is a miracle or a simple result of medical care.
But the most important grace I received then was a spiritual
healing. This formerly skeptical, irreverent woman joyfully
became Catholic the following Easter of 1991, and daily reception
of the Eucharist has been the heart of my day ever since.
My husband Ed, now a deacon, reminds me how I used to tease
him about going to Mass every Sunday, and how I refused to
let a priest come into my hospital room, even when I was heavily
drugged with morphine! As part of my ministry now, I bring
our Eucharistic Lord to those who are ill in the hospital
and pray with them. With God, NOTHING is impossible.
" Now, I experience a deep joy within me and I'd like
to do anything for the Blessed Mother. It is such a treat
to be in her school of love. Pray the rosary! Listen to our
Mother's messages and LIVE THEM! She tells us: ' If you knew
how much I love you, you would weep for joy. ' "
