There were two things that happened on Monday that I didn't get a chance to blog about - - I climbed Mt. Krizevac (also called Cross Mountain) and I went to a late night apparition Ivan had at the Blue Cross.
Today (Tuesday), we went on a mini excursion to Šurmanci and Počitelj, then I went back to Nancy and Patrick's castle, and then I participated in the Tuesday (formerly Wednesday) evening program.
Mt Krizevac (literally translated to "Mount of the Cross")
In the 1920s-1930s, Medjugorje had terrible hailstorms that destroyed their crops and even their livestock. The town of Medjugorje has historically been a fairly poor town (they were still using horses and wagons in the 1980s!), and these hailstorms were destroying their livelihood.
Franjo told us that the older women in the village came up with the idea to erect a giant cross on the top of Mt. Krizevac (formerly known as Mt. Sipovac) to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of Jesus' death and resurrection. The people of the town hauled cement, water, wood, etc (everything they needed to build the cross) up it's treacherous slopes (it's quite rocky and steep) and they built the cross ~30 feet high. Embedded in the cross are several relics from Rome for the occasion, including a piece of the cross which is believed to be the one on which Jesus was crucified.
On the cross, they engraved the words, "To Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the human race, as a sign of their faith, love and hope, the pastor Bernadine Smoljan and the parish of Medjugorje erected this cross. From every evil deliver us, O Jesus."
The cross was a covenant that the town of Medjugorje made with God, to protect them from hailstorms. Apparently, they haven't had a hailstorm since. But - on days when they know a big storm is coming, they ring the bell on St. James church all day long to remind God of their covenant, haha.
Mary has revealed that the cross was all part of God's plan: “Dear children, the cross was also in God’s plan when you built it. These days especially, go on the mountain and pray before the cross. I need your prayers. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Which makes me wonder - when did God choose Medjugorje?!? The beginning of time, or what?
On the way up to the top, there are bronze sculptures and crosses signifying the stations of the cross. So just as pilgrims climb apparition hill and pray the rosary on the way up, you also climb Cross Mountain and do the Stations of the Cross on the way up. It was a really tough climb. Some people do it barefoot. I wasn't quite up for that yet...
The top was gorgeous. I did some praying/writing/reflecting while appreciating the view:
Lord, You fell carrying Your cross three times.
How many times in my life have I fallen?
God, give me both the strength to rise and the strength to keep from falling in the first place.
Your power can move mountains...or help 60 year-olds climb them :).
I also did some reflecting on my week in Medjugorje and the inspiration I've found here...but I'll save that for its own post.
Ivan's Apparition
Ivan, Marija, and Vicka still see Our Lady daily at 6:40pm, but sometimes She appears extra times. She appeared yesterday during Ivan's Monday night prayer group.I headed to the Blue Cross for the apparition, and I will confess I brought my iPad with me because I was going early (at 8:30 for a 10pm apparition) and I thought it might be good to have something to do. So silly of me. There wasn't any still time to read because we were praying the whole 1.5 hours leading up to the apparition!
We prayed a Rosary, and then the men from the Community of Cenacolo led everyone in praise songs - in all different languages. It was beautiful! Then at 9:30, we prayed a Rosary to prepare for Our Lady's coming.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if every time there was downtime and silence, it was filled with open prayer and public worship? What if on the L train in Chicago, passengers were singing "Amazing Grace" or in line at the DMV, people prayed the Rosary?
Anyway, here is Ivan's description of the apparition:
“Tonight I would like to describe what is the most important from tonight’s meeting with Our Lady. Also tonight Our Lady came to us joyful and happy and at the beginning, She greeted us with Her Motherly greeting, ‘Praised be Jesus my dear children.’ Then, for awhile, with Her arms extended, She prayed over all of us here and She prayed especially over the sick present here. Then, in a special way, I recommended all of you, the sick present here, all your needs, your intentions. Then Our Lady said:
'Dear children, also today, in a special way, I desire to call you, through this time, to pray for my intentions and my plans that I desire to realize with the world, with this parish, and with my Church. Dear children, pray and be persevering in prayer. Thank you also today for having responded to my call.'
“Then Our Lady blessed all of us with Her Motherly blessing, and She also blessed everything you brought to be blessed. After that, I recommended all of you, all of your needs, your intentions, and your families. After that Our Lady continued to pray over all of us there and left in that prayer, in an illuminated Sign of the Cross, with a greeting, ‘Go in peace my dear children.’ This is what would be the most important from tonight’s meeting.”
'Dear children, also today, in a special way, I desire to call you, through this time, to pray for my intentions and my plans that I desire to realize with the world, with this parish, and with my Church. Dear children, pray and be persevering in prayer. Thank you also today for having responded to my call.'
“Then Our Lady blessed all of us with Her Motherly blessing, and She also blessed everything you brought to be blessed. After that, I recommended all of you, all of your needs, your intentions, and your families. After that Our Lady continued to pray over all of us there and left in that prayer, in an illuminated Sign of the Cross, with a greeting, ‘Go in peace my dear children.’ This is what would be the most important from tonight’s meeting.”
I didn't see a bright light or anything (I guess sometimes that happens) and I couldn't really even see Ivan in the darkness, but I was 20-30 feet away from the Mother of God and I felt truly blessed :)
Šurmanci - the Relic for St. Faustina
I heard the story of St. Maria Faustina and the Divine Mercy of Jesus earlier this week. In 1931, He appeared to Her and told her to paint an image of Him with red and pale rays radiating from His heart with a caption: "Jesus, I trust in You!" He told her, "I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that venerates this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on Earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory."
She asked about the significance of the rays, and Jesus told her, "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays poured forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart on the Cross was opened by the lance."
Along with this image (which I had seen before, but never knew the history of), St. Faustina was given the following prayer for Divine Mercy from Jesus:
"This prayer will serve to appease My wrath. You will recite it for nine days, on the beads of the Rosary, in the following manner: first of all, you will say one Our Father and Hail Mary and the I Believe in God. Then, on the Our Father beads, you will say the following words: ‘Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, for our sins and those of the whole world.’ On the Hail Mary beads you will say the following words: ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.’ In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: ‘Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world'"
"Recite the chaplet unceasingly that I have taught you. Whoever recites it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even in the case of the most hardened sinner, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls that trust in My mercy."
Yesterday, Rosemary gave me a "How to pray the Divine Mercy" pamphlet, and then today, David and Franjo suggested we do it in this church in Šurmanci (without knowing I had just heard of it).
To add to the significance, we prayed this prayer in front of a shrine to the Divine Mercy with a life size icon of the Divine Image - which came to life and healed Ugo Festa of multiple sclerosis in 1990 (the shrine has since been moved from Rome to Šurmanci).
When we repeated "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world" I found myself crying.
She asked about the significance of the rays, and Jesus told her, "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays poured forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart on the Cross was opened by the lance."
Along with this image (which I had seen before, but never knew the history of), St. Faustina was given the following prayer for Divine Mercy from Jesus:
"This prayer will serve to appease My wrath. You will recite it for nine days, on the beads of the Rosary, in the following manner: first of all, you will say one Our Father and Hail Mary and the I Believe in God. Then, on the Our Father beads, you will say the following words: ‘Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, for our sins and those of the whole world.’ On the Hail Mary beads you will say the following words: ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.’ In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: ‘Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world'"
"Recite the chaplet unceasingly that I have taught you. Whoever recites it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even in the case of the most hardened sinner, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls that trust in My mercy."
Yesterday, Rosemary gave me a "How to pray the Divine Mercy" pamphlet, and then today, David and Franjo suggested we do it in this church in Šurmanci (without knowing I had just heard of it).
To add to the significance, we prayed this prayer in front of a shrine to the Divine Mercy with a life size icon of the Divine Image - which came to life and healed Ugo Festa of multiple sclerosis in 1990 (the shrine has since been moved from Rome to Šurmanci).
When we repeated "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world" I found myself crying.
The Lord offers us infinite mercy, and all we have to do is ask for it and show mercy to others.
There is also a relic of St. Faustina there (part of her bone I believe).
I think the funniest part of the trip was that Franjo turned onto this winding road leading down the mountain to Šurmanci and Kelly joked, "How are your brakes?" and Franjo joked right back, "Now, I teach you how to pray with the heart." Hahahahaha.
We decided to do a little sight-seeing and went to see the town of Počitelj, which has a castle with a long and complicated history...mostly, it was just fun to do something a little different and stand on a castle wall on a sunny, 70 degree day :)There is also a relic of St. Faustina there (part of her bone I believe).
I think the funniest part of the trip was that Franjo turned onto this winding road leading down the mountain to Šurmanci and Kelly joked, "How are your brakes?" and Franjo joked right back, "Now, I teach you how to pray with the heart." Hahahahaha.
Počitelj
Back to Nancy and Patrick's Castle
When I met Nancy and Patrick earlier this week, I was absolutely overwhelmed by their faith, their love, and their story. I saw Nancy at mass on Sunday and I went over to hug her and let her know that she really made an impression on me and that I want to be like her, because she radiates love and joy.
She told me, "It is all from the Mother - She loves and so I love. God Bless you, you are so beautiful" and she hugged me and the joy and warmth I felt in my heart was so real that I started crying. She told me to come by again before I left town.
So, I dropped in today, not knowing what to expect but just hoping to spend some more time with these amazing people.
When I arrived, Nancy was giving Patrick's testimony in Italian to a large group. I sat in the sun and watched for a bit, and then after it was over and everyone started to clear out, I headed into the kitchen to find her. She gave me a big hug and told me she was so glad that I came back. She introduced me to Josh, a 23-year old who was staying there and said "You both speak English! Talk!"
I almost died of shock to have the opportunity to talk to someone my age lol!
Josh is from Kentucky and we talked a little bit about how we ended up in Medjugorje and then he got pulled away to clean some dishes. Then I met Daniel, who is from Steubenville, Ohio and is studying International Business and we talked about business and my work and vertical integration and I didn't even care what we were talking about because he was younger than 60 years old!!!
Haha I joke - I adore the people in my group, they're all twice my age and they told me I have a lot of sets of parents while I'm here haha. I've drank with them and eaten with them and prayed with them and climbed mountains with them and they're wonderful, but it was a real blessing to spend some time with people my age today.
So Dan and I talked quite a bit, and then I met Elisa, who is Italian and doesn't speak that much English, and I could barely even bring any Italian words to mind to try and converse with her, but she was hilarious still. Then Josh "gave me a tour" of the castle (which mostly consisted of him saying he didn't really know what anything was except for where the guys stay haha), but it was fun to just explore the castle on the beautiful day.
I almost forgot - Josh showed me his Rosary because the links had all turned to gold. This is a really common miracle at Medjugorje, but I hadn't seen it until today.
I did get a chance to ask Nancy why they built it like a castle, and she said it was inspired by St. Teresa of Avila, who wrote "The Interior Castle," which was based on a vision she had of the soul as a crystal globe in the shape of a castle containing seven mansions, which she interpreted as the journey of faith through seven stages, ending with union with God.
The priest who gave the sermon at mass today (there are about 15 in attendance for every English mass) was from Marquette, Michigan, and his sermon was really wonderful. He talked about how the Eucharist is not only a memento for us to remember Jesus by (the same way a wife might give her husband a picture before he goes off to war, Jesus gave us the Eucharist to remember him by), but it's even MORE than that because Jesus Himself is present in the Eucharist.
So basically, He said "I will be leaving you soon, but I love you so much and can't stand to be apart from you so here is this gift to remember me by and to know that I am with you."
If a wife could physically be with her husband in any way, she would do so, but we don't have the power that God has, so we have to settle on a picture or a letter etc.
Jesus does not settle. He found a way to remain with us :)
Aaaaand now it's almost 1am and I am SO READY FOR BED! Tomorrow is my last day in Medjugorje, because Thursday we are leaving for a day in Dubrovnik and we fly out of there very early in the morning on Friday. I'll have to make the most of tomorrow!
Peace ♥
So, I dropped in today, not knowing what to expect but just hoping to spend some more time with these amazing people.
When I arrived, Nancy was giving Patrick's testimony in Italian to a large group. I sat in the sun and watched for a bit, and then after it was over and everyone started to clear out, I headed into the kitchen to find her. She gave me a big hug and told me she was so glad that I came back. She introduced me to Josh, a 23-year old who was staying there and said "You both speak English! Talk!"
I almost died of shock to have the opportunity to talk to someone my age lol!
Josh is from Kentucky and we talked a little bit about how we ended up in Medjugorje and then he got pulled away to clean some dishes. Then I met Daniel, who is from Steubenville, Ohio and is studying International Business and we talked about business and my work and vertical integration and I didn't even care what we were talking about because he was younger than 60 years old!!!
Haha I joke - I adore the people in my group, they're all twice my age and they told me I have a lot of sets of parents while I'm here haha. I've drank with them and eaten with them and prayed with them and climbed mountains with them and they're wonderful, but it was a real blessing to spend some time with people my age today.
So Dan and I talked quite a bit, and then I met Elisa, who is Italian and doesn't speak that much English, and I could barely even bring any Italian words to mind to try and converse with her, but she was hilarious still. Then Josh "gave me a tour" of the castle (which mostly consisted of him saying he didn't really know what anything was except for where the guys stay haha), but it was fun to just explore the castle on the beautiful day.
I almost forgot - Josh showed me his Rosary because the links had all turned to gold. This is a really common miracle at Medjugorje, but I hadn't seen it until today.
 |
| It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but the links used to be silver like the cross and medal, and now they're golden |
I did get a chance to ask Nancy why they built it like a castle, and she said it was inspired by St. Teresa of Avila, who wrote "The Interior Castle," which was based on a vision she had of the soul as a crystal globe in the shape of a castle containing seven mansions, which she interpreted as the journey of faith through seven stages, ending with union with God.
The Evening Program - Adoration
The day ended with outdoor Adoration of the Eucharist from 10pm-11pm, for which I sat next to a very good-looking German boy (who gave me his cushion for kneeling on the pavement - where do I find guys like him in the U.S.?!?) and his mother. The Adoration included singing praise in several different languages and it was beautiful, especially after the sermon at mass today.The priest who gave the sermon at mass today (there are about 15 in attendance for every English mass) was from Marquette, Michigan, and his sermon was really wonderful. He talked about how the Eucharist is not only a memento for us to remember Jesus by (the same way a wife might give her husband a picture before he goes off to war, Jesus gave us the Eucharist to remember him by), but it's even MORE than that because Jesus Himself is present in the Eucharist.
So basically, He said "I will be leaving you soon, but I love you so much and can't stand to be apart from you so here is this gift to remember me by and to know that I am with you."
If a wife could physically be with her husband in any way, she would do so, but we don't have the power that God has, so we have to settle on a picture or a letter etc.
Jesus does not settle. He found a way to remain with us :)
Aaaaand now it's almost 1am and I am SO READY FOR BED! Tomorrow is my last day in Medjugorje, because Thursday we are leaving for a day in Dubrovnik and we fly out of there very early in the morning on Friday. I'll have to make the most of tomorrow!
Peace ♥
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