“Dear children! I am looking at you and I see you lost; and

you do not have prayer or joy in your heart. Return to prayer, little children, and put God in the first place and not man. Do not lose the hope which I am carrying to you. May this time, little children, every day, be a greater seeking of God in the silence of your heart; and pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes joy for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

THE SPIRIT OF MEDJUGORJEP.O. BOX 6614 • ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 16512

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EDITOR: JUNE KLINSPHONE: (814) 898-2143E-MAIL: jklins1981@verizon.net

EDITOR EMERITUS: JOAN WIESZCZYKSPIRITUAL ADVISOR

FR. WILLIAM KIEL

VOL. 29, NO. 8 PUBLISHED MONTHLY August 2016

CURRENT MONThLY MESSAGE OF JULY 25, 2016ON ThE 25Th DAY OF EACh MONTh, ThE BLESSED VIRGIN GIVES A MESSAGE TO ThE VISIONARY,

MARIJA, ThAT IS TO BE GIVEN TO ThE WORLD.

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time.” Pilgrims relate stories of wanting to visit Medjugorje or being called to make a pilgrimage, but do not have the finances to travel. These future pilgrims pray that they may be able to do what Our Lady or God wants of them in regard to the pilgrimage. They relate stories of money coming to them in ways they would not have imagined, and they say, “It was unbelievable that I got just the amount of money needed to travel to Medjugorje.” When asked if they believe in God, “Of course I do” is their response. Then why would you not believe God could do amazing things for us? “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” When the miracle of the sun appears to us, that is a miracle; were we not told not to look at the sun without protective lenses? Amazing, awesome experience through God! Many times God does for us what we think is impossible!

In the article in this issue regarding “The Silence of the Birds” [page 3], many pilgrims have experienced the silence of the birds around St. James Church during the alleged apparitions. It is an awesome event – not unbelievable, but a supernatural occurrence. Even the birds are under the care of God, so why would we not believe God would not do “the impossible” for us? Many miraculous occurrences happen. Believe in God!

Hopefully, the next time we pray the Creed and say, “I believe in God,” we will reflect on what we do really believe and to what extent we believe. Do I believe enough to expect God to bring into life around me what

I thought impossible? Do I know God as the Almighty, all-loving God who can do all things?

Believe in God! Be aware of God’s presence!Editor’s note: Fr. Kiel will be the spiritual director for a

pilgrimage to Rome/Medjugorje, October 23 - November 5, 2016. For more information, call Bernadette at (412) 563-3857.

Unbelievable??? Impossible???By Fr. Bill Kiel

Fr. Bill Kiel

Our thanks to Susannah Klins, Pat Weller, Sue Taccone, Diane Niebauer, Marge Spase, Sue Kirby, Mary Tirak, Rose Leach, Dianne Yochim, Cindy Bielanin, Joanne Warren, Peggy Chludzinski, Kathy Luschini, Vickie DeCoursey, Estrella Igras, Louise Lotze, and those who want to remain anonymous for their help with the July mailing. We also thank our proofreader, Pat Berrier, and our webmaster, Jason Klins.

Our Lady’s message to Mirjana Soldo on July 2, 2016Dear children, my real, living presence among you should make you happy because this is the great love of my Son. He is sending me among you so that, with a motherly love, I may grant you safety; that you may comprehend that pain and joy, suffering and love, make your soul live intensely; that I may call you anew to glorify the Heart of Jesus, the heart of faith, the Eucharist. From day to day through the centuries, my Son, alive, returns among you – He returns to you, though He has never left you. When one of you, my children, returns to Him, my motherly heart leaps with joy. Therefore, my children, return to the Eucharist, to my Son. The way to my Son is difficult, full of renunciations, but at the end, there is always the light. I understand your pains and sufferings, and with motherly love I wipe your tears. Trust in my Son, because He will do for you what you would not even know how to ask for. You, my children, you should be concerned only for your soul, because it is the only thing on earth that belongs to you. You will bring it, dirty or clean, before the Heavenly Father. Remember, faith in the love of my Son will always be rewarded. I implore you, in a special way, to pray for those whom my Son called to live according to Him and to love their flock. Thank you.

Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” [Mt 19:29, Mk 10:27(NAB)]. “…for nothing will be impossible for God” [Lk 1:37(NAB)].

How often have we used the word unbelievable without thinking, “What am I saying?” Let us look at the word

believe. We use this word saying, “I believe in God.” When something amazing or out of the ordinary happens, we may say, “I cannot believe that!” “That is unbelievable!” We see, hear, touch or taste something truly wonderful, but still may say, “That is unbelievable.”

In our human state we may think something unbelievable, but looking into scripture, we are given the words that with God all things are possible. Do we not believe God is all-knowing, infinite in love, and almighty? Why the contradiction? We believe in God, but we do not believe that for God nothing is impossible?

God is awesome! Look at the intricacies of creation; we see, feel, and taste created things, yet we say the structure of plants or animals are unbelievable. Who created them? God! Why not use words such as “truly amazing,” “awesome,” “marvelous,” “astounding,” and “miraculous”? In our human minds, we do not understand all that God does in our universe, world, or lives, yet we believe God is the Creator and with God all things are possible.

When prayers have been answered in a way we had hoped, we may say, “It was unbelievable how quickly my prayers were answered and I got what I prayed for this

Prayer Intentions of Pope Francis for August:Sports: That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between peoples and may contribute to peacein the world.

Living the Gospel: That Christians may live the Gospel, giving witness to faith, honesty, and love of neighbor.

God’s awesome creation, Kravice Falls, near Medjugorje

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second that the visionaries would drop to their knees and go into ecstasy, every bird outside would go completely silent.

That absolute silence of the birds haunted him, Dr. Margnelli admitted. A few weeks after returning to Italy from Medjugorje, Dr. Margnelli became a practicing Catholic.

This fascinating phenomena has been witnessed by a number of pilgrims, including Notre Dame’s basketball team.

Deacon Brian Miller explained, at the 2016 Marian Conference at the University of Notre Dame last month [May], that one year in the ‘80s, the Notre Dame basketball team was

in Yugoslavia for a summer tour playing basketball. They made a side trip to Medjugorje. They made the trip under Coach Digger Phelps, who spent 20 years as head coach (1971-1991) of Notre Dame’s men’s basketball team and then many years as an ESPN broadcaster and analyst.

David Rivers, who was the star point guard on the team, and the 25th overall pick of the 1988 NBA draft, playing professionally for the Lakers and the Clippers, shared a testimony about the Medjugorje trip at Notre Dame’s library. Rivers, it is noteworthy, was not even Catholic.

“He said it was stunning,” Deacon Miller recalled. “There were all these birds outside [in Medjugorje, as the apparitions were to begin].” At that time, the visionaries had their apparitions in the rectory of St. James Church, and during the day the basketball team was there, there were thousands of birds outside, making noise, “and then as soon as Our Lady came, boom, it was quiet, until She left,” Deacon Miller said, recollecting Rivers’ testimony.

www.danielklimek.com

Birds flying around the steeples atSt. James in Medjugorje

The Silence of the Birds: the Powerful Experiences of an Atheist Doctor and Notre Dame’s Basketball Team in Medjugorje

Br. Daniel Maria Klimek, T.O.R.

One of the most fascinating phenomena that people have experienced in Medjugorje is the silence of the birds, an occurrence that has been reported as transpiring at times when the visionaries have their apparitions. This occurrence has been reported by people as diverse as members of Notre Dame’s basketball team, including players who were not Catholic, and an atheist Italian neurophysiologist who scientifically examined the apparitions of the visionaries.

Dr. Marco Margnelli was an ardent atheist who used to travel to various locations trying to disprove claims of mystical phenomena—he traveled, for example, to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1987, trying to disprove the stigmata of Padre Pio. He came to Medjugorje in 1988, hoping to prove the experiences of the visionaries to be false, he admitted.

Author and journalist Randall Sullivan recorded the event in his book The Miracle Detective: An Investigation of Holy Visions. Dr. Margnelli experienced various occurrences in Medjugorje which rocked his beliefs. He met a woman who was miraculously healed of leukemia. He studied the apparitions of the visionaries and came to the conclusion that they do enter into a genuine state of ecstasy, even admitting: “we were certainly in the presence of an extraordinary phenomenon.”

What moved him most powerfully, however, was the behavior of the birds. Before the apparitions of the visionaries would begin in the rectory, there were thousands of birds outside chirping and cooing, being incredibly—at times, deafeningly—loud.

Until the moment when the apparitions would begin: the

My Cure in MedjugorjeBy Irene Douglas

On the plane going to Medjugorje I twisted my knee and was unable to go downstairs. Even walking was a problem. I was staying on the second story, so I had a problem going down the stairs. I did not think you could tell my problem, but in church I was kneeling and trying to get up, when, all of a sudden, two women on each side helped me to stand up.

So one day, I was in church and the priest was saying the Chaplet of Mercy and was starting at each limb, so when he said the legs, I tried to kneel and very simply said, “Father, You sent me here and I’m unable to go to the hill [Apparition Hill] Irene on her 90th

or the cross [Cross Mountain].” I could feel the rubbing in the inside of my knees. I stood up and walked to where I was staying and asked the lady to walk upstairs with me. We got to the landing, and I said, “Do you see how I’m walking?” We hugged each other and cried. I made it to the hill and the cross and suffered no pain again.

All I could think is – it is so very simple. With so few words, He will heal. It’s His choice. Medjugorje has helped me twice. I only hope my story will help someone to see that it takes very few words for the Lord to respond with a complete healing.

Editor’s note: Irene is from Bellevue, WA.

About the cover: While in Medjugorje in June, I purchased a 3-pack of statues of Our Lady of Medjugorje. The clerk wrapped them well, and I carried them home in my carry-on luggage. I was disappointed when I opened the package to find that the hand had broken off two of the statues. I was going to get them repaired, but then it dawned on me not to repair at least one of them so it can remind me to be Our Lady’s “extended hands.” “Through prayer, the Most High will give you an abundance of grace, and you will become my extended hands in this restless world which longs for peace” (Our Lady, 1/25/12).

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On my 2012 pilgrimage to Medjugorje, I was blessed to have met Allison Shipley. This past June, Allison was again on my pilgrimage. Much has happened in her life and I had wanted her to write her story, but then one day, through God’s Providence, I discovered her testimony was on www.Marytv.tv in the “Fruit of Medjugorje” archives. I think Allison was probably relieved that she did not have to write it!

Allison was first diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in 2008, and started going to Fr. Bill Kiel (our spiritual advisor) for help with healing. At one of Fr. Bill’s healing services, she saw a flyer for a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in which Fr. Bill would be the spiritual director. Allison said: “I never struggled with the fact that I was diagnosed with cancer. I was always at peace with it. I just kind of knew that Jesus had His hand in it and that everything would be okay, but I just wanted to come and pray for my family. I knew that it would be a rough road for them to be with me through such a hard time and the fact that if something did happen to me. I just wanted to pray for my children (I have two sons – one is 28 and one is 23); just to know that they, my husband, my parents, and all my siblings would be okay if something happened; just to pray for them to have peace…”

Allison went on that pilgrimage in 2009 and came home feeling “blessed and graced in so many ways.” The following year, Allison returned to Medjugorje and on this trip, she met a man and his wife who were doing humanitarian work. She traveled outside the villages of Medjugorje with them.

Throughout this time, Allison was receiving very aggressive chemotherapy for the cancer. It had now moved from her breast to the lymph nodes. In addition, she had several large tumors on her liver. She continued to go to Fr. Bill for healing Masses and was receiving treatment for the tumors on her liver, and the largest one decreased by half in size. After about three years of chemotherapy, the cancer was completely gone from Allison’s breasts and from her lymph nodes, but the tumors on her liver were still there. Allison said, “Having the cancer, being diagnosed with the cancer – the journey through that is a hard road. I mean, it’s a continual struggle to battle keeping it from your body, keeping it from going to other parts of your body, and it is something you deal with every day.”

Throughout all of this, Allison longed to go back to Medjugorje and be with the families she met in the villages outside Medjugorje. “I fell in love with them. I fell in love with beautiful families and the children. The children are amazing – they’re smart and loving, but they have nothing. I mean, they literally have NOTHING except the things that people bring to them, and a little bit that they can get on their own.”

Allison began going to Medjugorje two or three times

a year for extended stays to be with the families to “help them in any way I can – spiritually, emotionally – just loving them and receiving the same love back from them.”

On one of her pilgrimages, Allison received a blessing from the visionary Vicka. “She prayed upon me, and in that moment, I just felt completely, completely surrounded with the presence of Mary, completely surrounded by the presence of Jesus, and just felt healing in my body.”

Allison said that her journey continued with her family by her side through everything. The friends she met through her pilgrimages also supported her. “I met so many wonderful people who have also become my support system – friends that I felt like I’ve known my entire life. And we came here with the same love of Our Lady, which was instilled in me through my mother. She’s always had a beautiful devotion to Our Lady and the love and passion for Jesus to turn to Him and to draw closer to Him. And we find that here, and we find our healing – whatever healing that might be – and I found many, many different healings while being here.”

“I continue to come back. I come back two or three times a year. I have, as I said, developed strong relationships here. I have family here now that I would never have come to know had I not come to Medjugorje for the reason of looking for healing. It’s turned out something completely different. It’s turned into being in love with people that, in ordinary life, we would never have come across. You would never come across children and families who are struggling clean across the world. And each time I come, I take my groups – we go to the places to meet the people – the different people that I care for. They come, they meet them, and feel the same way I do. They come to know them, to love them. So together at home, we started a nonprofit charity... we raise funds to support the families – to come back... with food and clothing and shoes, and together we all make it work. The name of our nonprofit charitable organization is ‘Medjugorje Calls You.’ We are a fully licensed charity formed within the United States.”

“If anybody is interested in coming to see our beautiful families, knowing the kids, seeing their faces, we have a website – www.Medjugorjecallsyou.org. We have a Facebook page, ‘Medjugorje Calls You,’ where you can also go on. We try to keep people updated as to what we’re doing and how everybody’s doing. I recently started bringing groups to Medjugorje in an effort to just allow other people to experience Medjugorje. If I could do that, even if it’s 15 people 20 people a year, that’s 15 or 20 people that get to feel the beauty and the graces and blessings of Medjugorje.”

Allison spoke a little about her prayer life. “My prayer life is one that I just trust in Jesus. I trust in Him in every aspect of my life. My prayer life is not a conventional prayer life...

Never, Never Lose hopeBy June Klins

House belonging to family being helped by Medjugorje Calls You

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When my daughter-in-law, Susannah, and I were in Medjugorje in June, we were blessed to have met Sean Bloomfield, the director of the highly successful film, The Triumph, as well as the new Medjugorje film, Apparition Hill. The cast and film crew of Apparition Hill were on pilgrimage in Medjugorje at the time, and they read the prayer petitions at the noon Mass on June 12. After Mass, we spoke briefly with a cast member named Jill and with Ben, the “star” of The Triumph. Ben told us he is now a pilgrimage leader and that he does speaking engagements as well! Wow! For those who saw The Triumph, Ben is certainly a “fruit of Medjugorje.” We took a few pictures, and asked Ben to write his story for us sometime. He said he would, so we will pray for that.

In the meantime, a mailing staff member, named Sue, was at home doing the inquiries at the movie theater and with the marketing director about possible dates for a screening of Apparition Hill in Erie. Shortly after I returned, we booked the movie for 7:00 P.M. on September 15, the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. Hopefully Our Lady will not be sorrowful when She sees how many people will attend this movie! We have a theater reserved with 317 seats. Tinseltown will not allow tickets to be sold at the door, so if you are interested in a ticket, you will need to send a self-addressed stamped business-size envelope (since the tickets they sent us are almost 9 inches), along with a donation of $10 ($5 for age 21 and under) made out to Medjugorje Calls You (see the above story) OR Mary Mission (see page 7 and our November 2015 issue). If you

Apparition Hill

I don’t do novena after novena. I just talk to Jesus. I talk to Him every day. I talk to Him throughout times I’m working in my yard, and I’ll feel just a breeze come across and I know that it’s Him in my presence telling me, ‘Just keep going and doing what you’re doing. I’m here with you and you’re going to be good.’ And I have been – I’ve been just blessed tremendously.”

Just before Christmas (2015), Allison had scans done, and for the first time since her diagnosis in 2008, was told that there is no sign of cancer in her body! “And that had been after years of no type of treatments… It’s a beautiful feeling to hear those words – I think a big relief to my family and friends.”

Allison concluded her testimony with some wonderful words of wisdom. “One of my favorite words is hope. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I had hope. And I had it the entire time that I went through the trials of dealing with the sickness – just hope … knowing that Jesus is beside us through everything. And I think, coming over here, people are looking for things or trying to find healing in different ways, especially physical healing. I never had expectations of physical healing, but I think we all have the hopes of physical healing when we have an illness. And you find that here, because you are just surrounded by many people who have hope – hope in everything… I think people fear even the fact that Jesus will return one day and things will be different, and it’ll be a time when the earth is no longer as we know it. But for me, I know how much Jesus loves

Cast and film crew of Apparition Hill

us, and I have hope in our world converting and knowing, everybody feeling the love for Jesus… I believe – especially for my children, my nieces and my great-nieces and nephews – I believe Jesus wants us to continue life here on earth and to know love. I believe that He wants the little one in my family to grow and know love of a spouse, becoming a parent, or a mother. So I can just say that I’ve always had hope. I mean hope is just a beautiful thing that I think none of us should ever lose, because when we hope, and we hope in Jesus, all things are possible, everything happens everything good. And when the bad things do come and happen, and when we have hope in Him, and we have trust in Him – complete trust – when we say, ‘This is in Your hands and You are doing this for me; I’ve just got it to give it to You, ...our hearts are at peace: our minds are at peace, and we can go through each day knowing that we walk beside Jesus. He carries us when we can’t walk. His Mother is praying for us and Her intercession is so powerful in our life that everything is possible. We should never, never lose hope and think that anything that comes our way in life is something to be feared, because we have hope and we have that love in Jesus.”

On my pilgrimage this past June, I noticed that Allison climbed Cross Mountain barefoot. Although I never asked her, I suspect she did it as an act of thanksgiving.

Editor’s note: Allison lives in White Oak, PA. You can watch her heartfelt testimony in the “Fruit of Medjugorje” archives on www.MaryTV.tv. It is Episode #208, which aired on 3/15/2016.

cannot decide which charity to help, you can make out two $5 checks, one for each.J Please include a phone number in the case of any changes. Send it to us at P.O. Box 6346, Erie, PA 16512. Please mark “Apparition Hill” on the envelope. If you can not afford the price of a ticket, but would like to attend, please call Sue at 814-882-2008.

The posters we received with the tickets say, “Apparition Hill follows seven strangers as they investigate one of the greatest paranormal mysteries in the world: Medjugorje.” Our spiritual advisor, Fr. Bill Kiel, saw the film earlier this year and recommended it. Also, Sr. Claire Marie, who lives in Medjugorje, and has the Gift of Knowledge, told us that the film is very good and that we should bring it to our areas. If you would like to bring the film to your area, or to see if it will be coming to a theater near you, you can visit apparitionhill.tv.

Our Lady told the visionaries that Her actual birthday is August 5. Perhaps you could have a Mass said for Our Lady’s intentions for a birthday present for Her. Don’t worry that you read this too late. You have another chance, since the Church celebrates Her birthday on September 8. Happy Birthday to Our Lady! As of July 25, 2016, the number of Masses reported for Our Lady’s intentions was 16,429.

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Fr. Leon

Fr. Slavko’s Interview of MirjanaThe following is excerpted from a book recently purchased in

Medjugorje, called Encounters and Experiences in Medjugorje, Book II. Published by the Information Center, Mir Medjugorje, this book is a series of interviews by Fr. Slavko Barbaric printed in the magazine Glas Mira (The Voice of Peace) between 1993 and 2000. This particular excerpt is from an interview of visionary Mirjana in 1993.

After 10 years of apparitions, the war came. What were your thoughts then and what are they now, when you remember that we were called to peace?

During those 10 years, I learned that we should never ask, “Why?” The first question with many of us was just that: “Why, why us? Haven’t we suffered a lot already?” I learned not to ask, but to patiently carry each cross that is given to us. God will never give us a cross that we cannot carry, and He will never leave us alone. We are His children. I think that this was precisely the reason that Our Lady came to Medjugorje, so that we are not alone, to be with us. She tried to prepare us, to educate us, and to transform us! She did not succeed. And here, we now have the war. And still, She did not leave us. She is with us. She brought many people in the world to love us, and they are with us now, helping us. If we did not have them, who knows what would happen to us… She came to help us carry these crosses, which are coming from all directions.

You have started a family; you are a mother of one child and expecting another. We heard people say: when the visionaries choose to have family, then there is hope for us all. Many mothers are afraid of the future. What can you tell them?

Yes, I am a mother. I learned that we get nothing from being afraid and nervous about what will happen and how we will live… We need to place our lives and the lives of our family in the hands of God; we need to be certain that God will not leave us, and that He will help us. Through all of our trials and tribulations, sufferings and misfortunes, He knows what is best for us. To all families, I recommend to put God and Our Lady in the first place and to always give thanks to God for all that they have – home, love, community, marriage, because those are all gifts from Him. If they do that and if they understand that, then everything will be different.

Despite all the difficulties, the world still has a future?If we have faith in God, then we have faith in the future

as well. Those two always go together – the faith in God and hope for the better. I would recommend to the leaders in the world to think of the people a little more, to put God in the first place, and nations, countries and governments in the second place… because, after all, there is only one country and that is the one in Heaven. We people must pray for those in power in the world that God will help them, that He will enlighten their minds and show them the right way, so that they may know how to lead their people. To all those who suffer, I would like to call out to [them] that they have one Mother, who loves them very much, who prays for them and who suffers because of them and with them. Let us all pray to Her and She will help us. I know that from my personal experience. Let us put ourselves under Her motherly mantle.

A Teaching by Fr. LeonBy June Klins

When I was in Medjugorje in June, Fr. Leon Pereira, O.P., the priest who now ministers to the English-speaking pilgrims, was giving little teachings before the 10:00 A.M. English-speaking Masses. One of the days, Fr. Leon gave a lesson on the symbolism of three parts of the Mass, which people may not know about. I was wishing I had recorded what he said. I recently discovered that MaryTv.tv now features the teachings on their website; they are called “Sanctuary Snippets.” I started watching them because they are very informative, and was pleasantly surprised to find that on July 5, Fr. Leon repeated the teaching we heard on June 17! The transcription of his teaching follows below.

“I want to talk to you about three parts of the Mass which you might not notice, because other things are happening at the same time. The first one is at the offertory, where the deacon [or priest] takes wine and he pours it into the chalice, and then he takes the water cruet and he adds a drop of water into the chalice. And he says, ‘Through the mystery of this

water and wine, may we come to share His divinity, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.’ The wine represents the divinity of Christ here and the drop of water represents our humanity being subsumed, lost in Christ’s divinity. Mother Theresa – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta – always said this was the part of the Mass where she always put herself and her intentions in the chalice with that single drop of water.

“The second part of the Mass that I want to highlight is at the end of the Eucharistic prayer. The priest holds up with the deacon [if one is present] the

Body and Blood of Christ, and he says or he sings, ‘Through Him and with Him and in Him, etc.’ Now here the Body and Blood are held up separately, symbolizing – well, when was the Body and Blood separated? At Christ’s death. And so it symbolizes the death of Christ. So imagine, if someone showed up at your front door and offered you the dead body of your son. How would you feel? This is what we’re doing to the Father. We offer Him the death of the Son – except we’re also recognizing the worst thing that can happen in

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According to the Church calendar, August 11 is the feast day of St. Clare of Assisi. It is, however, also the feast day of a lesser-known saint named St. Philomena. In 1802, St. Philomena’s bones were discovered in a catacomb; it was determined she was only 13-15 years old when she died as a virgin and martyr. Devotion to her spread, as miracles were attributed to her intercession. She is the only person recognized as a saint solely on her powerful intercession. She has been called the “wonder worker” because of all the blessings which have come through her intercession.

One place where St. Philomena has been active recently is in Uganda, where a school is being built in her name. Stephen Sematiko recently reported that a donation from Hubert Liebherr (see our June 2016 issue) enabled more

classrooms to be built. If you would like to sponsor one of the children to attend this school and receive uniforms, shoes, breakfast, lunch and medical services, in addition to a good Catholic education, you can go to their website, www.greenvillagechildrencenter.org/ or call 701-530-9310. If you live in the USA, your donation is through Mary Mission, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and your donation is tax- deductible.

A priest who spoke recently at our Carmelite Days of Prayer suggested that to become more humble, we could pray the Litany of Humility. Another priest I know gives this prayer as a penance for Confession! The Litany of Humility can be found in the Pieta Prayer Book. We printed it in our March 2008 issue, so it can also be found on our website at www.spiritofmedjugorje.org/mar2008.htm.

Editor’s note: If ever want to search for something in our back issues (going back as far as March of 2006), there is a search bar at the bottom of our homepage. I could never have remembered which issue this prayer was in, but using the search bar, I found it in seconds! I thank my son, Jason, for adding this very helpful feature to our website.

St. Philomena Primary School

St. Francis of Assisi and humilityBy June Klins

As I mentioned in an article last month, I have been keeping a journal for years. Besides my own thoughts, feelings, etc., I also jot down memorable things that a priest may say in a homily. So as I was looking through my journal recently, I came upon something I heard a priest say in a homily regarding St. Francis of Assisi, who happens to be our patron saint this year. The priest said that although St. Francis was very humble, he did not consider himself to be humble. This priest gave some advice as to how to become humble like St. Francis. He said that when you are humiliated, just say, “No one is perfect,” or when someone insults you, say, “You may be right.” Easier said than done, right? So we pray.

A Busy Saint – St. Philomena

the world is first of all, the death of Christ. Killing God is the worst thing – deicide. There is nothing that can be worse than this, and yet it’s not bad enough to stop God loving us. God knew all these things would happen, and He shows us His love for us through the death of Christ.

“And the last bit I want to highlight is before the priest‘s Communion. He takes a bit of the Host; he breaks it and he puts it into the chalice. I think in the old days they would make three crosses over the chalice, symbolizing the three days Jesus was in the tomb. And then he puts that fragment back into the chalice and that symbolizes Body and Blood coming back together – the Resurrection. It symbolizes the

Resurrection. So all these things – all the symbols – are powerful, and

they are part of the Mass, and they show us what the Mass is doing. The whole Mass is symbolic. Remember the Mass is not the Last Supper. The Mass is the re-creation of Good Friday, not of Maundy [Holy] Thursday. Count the number of steps. There are seven steps going up to where the high altar used to be. This is the sacred mountain of Calvary. And this is the sacrifice of Calvary, not Jesus sitting on IKEA cushions and doing Maundy Thursday with His disciples. No, the Mass is Good Friday, the one unrepeatable sacrifice of Christ, made present for us.”

Fasting for Others“For the Son of Man did not come to be served

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

By His example, Jesus taught us that we can – and should – serve others. By His death on the cross, He taught us that we can also sacrifice for others.

This is one of the most beautiful aspects of fasting. Fasting for the intentions of others brings us out of ourselves and makes us less self-centered. Fasting for others gives powerful meaning to our sacrifice.

“But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it (demon) out?’ He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting’” (Mark 9:27-29 ).

Not only does fasting make us less self-centered, fasting together with prayer gives weight to our prayer intentions. Fasting helps us to focus on others and not ourselves. “...Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother (cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, 15). By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger” (Pope Emeritus Benedict). www.livethefast.com

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MARY IS CALLING YOUOn June 24, 1981 in Medjugorje, Our Lady appeared to six

children. She identified Herself as the Blessed Virgin, Queen of Peace, and has continued to appear daily. Her message is PEACE, peace with God and man. Her words to the visionaries, “I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and obtain peace, you must return to God.”

Today, all but three of the visionaries have daily apparitions of the Blessed Mother. During the apparitions, the visionaries do not react to light, don’t hear any sound or react to being touched. They feel that they are outside of time and space. All the visionaries declare to see the Blessed Virgin as they see other people - in three dimension. They pray and speak with Her.

The Blessed Mother is confiding ten secrets to each visionary (some are chastisements for the world) and promises to leave a visible sign at the place of the apparitions in Medjugorje for all humanity. This time, this period of grace, is for CONVERSION

and a DEEPENING OF FAITH. After the visible sign, those still living will have little time for conversion.

Father Jozo Zovko, who was the pastor of St. James when the apparitions began, has spoken about what he calls “the weapons” or the “the five stones” of Our Lady. They are: prayer with the heart, especially the Rosary; Eucharist; Holy Bible; monthly Confession; and fasting.

The publisher recognizes and accepts that the final authority regarding the apparitions at Medjugorje rest with the Holy See in Rome.

Permission is given to spread the text of any original works and may be used with the following conditions: 1) No words are changed; 2) “Spirit of Medjugorje” is cited. For articles by other sources, permission must be obtained from the original source.

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