More Fruits of Medjugorje

More Fruits of Medjugorje




My husband (a cradle Catholic) and I (a non-Christian) married in the Catholic Church in 1974. My husband's understanding of his faith wasn't very clear and I had no religious instruction at all as I grew up. We raised our two sons as Catholic; they were baptized, went to CCD, etc. but we later learned that they weren't taught much about the Catholic faith and we didn't know enough to realize it at the time. We went to Mass on most Sundays and I would have to classify us as "lukewarm". This continued for the next 13 years until 1986 when I felt a desire to go through the RCIA program at our parish church. I entered into full communion with the Catholic Church on Easter 1987. However, this really didn't change our understanding of our faith since my catechesis in RCIA was inadequate. Again, not knowing any better we didn't realize that I wasn't being taught the fullness of the Catholic faith. To me, at least, God was probably more of an abstraction; I didn't have any type of relationship with Him. I had absolutely no interior life; I had never heard of such a thing being possible.

My in-laws had given me at my baptism a beautiful rosary but I didn't know any of the prayers so I put it away in my jewelry box and forgot about it for many years. Looking back, I can remember seeing it in my jewelry box off and on and thinking to myself "one of these days", but I never did anything about it. I truly believe that the Holy Spirit was inspiring me to pray the rosary but I am not sure whether it was to prepare me for what was soon to divide our family, prevent it, or what. Anyway, I ignored the inspirations but God in his infinite mercy didn't give up on us. He just decided to use a different method to get our attention.

During the summer of 1993, our youngest son visited relatives in Alaska and was exposed to the Jehovah Witnesses and their errors. A poorly catechised 16 year old with no knowledgeable adult to fall back on was an easy target for their highly sophisticated propaganda. He came home and promptly told us that he was going to convert. Well, we may have been ignorant of many things about the Catholic faith, but we knew enough to be horrified at him wanting to become a Jehovah Witness. God knew that this was the only way to get our attention. Our youngest son was always the pious one; he was an altar boy from the 5th grade, he was always so generous and loving. So began our journey back to God and His Truth proclaimed and preserved in the Catholic Church.

In our efforts to convince our son that the Jehovah Witnesses were in error and that the Catholic faith that he grew up in was the true faith, we spent hours at the local Catholic bookstore buying books on defending the faith, refuting various sects, lives of the saints, etc. We also ran across Wayne Weibel's newsletter on Medjugorje. As a little girl I can remember seeing the movie "The Song of Bernadette" and believing it. As I grew up I can also remember reading The New Testament, believing in Jesus as God, Mary as the Mother of God but not really realizing that there were disagreements between the various denominations. So when I read Wayne's testimony I had no hesitation in believing it and thinking that maybe we should go there like at Lourdes. If Mary was appearing now, at this time in history then we would be crazy to not to try and go there, to be on Holy Ground.

As Divine Providence would have it, I had started going to a weekly prayer group at our parish mainly because they called themselves the Medjugorje Prayer Group and it caught my eye. The group was started by two women who had gone to Medjugorje and wanted to do as the Blessed Mother wanted: pray, pray, pray. I had been at this rosary prayer group only a week or so when one of the women announced that there were only a few more seats left on a trip to Medjugorje leaving in two months and if anyone was interested to please talk with her. My husband and I decided to take our youngest son and go there. We had a wonderful trip and our son's heart was touched although we still had some followup work to do with catechesis before he came back completely. We didn't experience any "mystical" signs while we were there, although others in our group were blessed in that way. But I can still recall the sense of peace and love in that village. The love of God and the love of neighbor.

During our search of information to refute the teachings of the Jehovah Witnesses, we had run across "Fatima" and the 1st Friday and 1st Saturday devotions. We felt drawn to complete them and so before we left for Medjugorje in October 1993 we planned to start the following month. I had one big hurdle to overcome and that was confession. I hadn't been required to go to confession to come into the Church since I hadn't been baptized and I can't recall ever receiving instructions in RCIA on how to go to confession although those requiring confession might have received instructions one-on-one. So not knowing any better, I never went, not once since my baptism in 1987 to 1993. However, I was determined to fulfill Our Lady's request for 1st Saturday and to do that I would have to go to confession, not just once but every month for 5 months. I was terrified, of what I'm not sure, but probably of appearing stupid because at this point in my spiritual journey I still wasn't really aware of mortal vs venial sins and my conscience wasn't really formed well. My first confession was in Medjugorje with a poor priest who did the best he could to help me but I was so unprepared he had a tough time of it. But God's grace was there for me and the next day I went again, this time to Fr. Pavich who was able to help me make a better examination of conscience. It took all of those 5 months to work my way through and get my conscience in half way decent condition. It also helped that once I got over the initial hurdle I went to weekly confession for over 18 months and not just monthly as required to fulfill the devotion. I also started to go to daily Mass and to fulfill Our Lord's request for the 1st Friday devotions to His Sacred Heart. I would spend that entire Friday in front of The Blessed Sacrament.

Our rosaries didn't turn golden at Medjugorje but later after our return they did. Why? Only God knows. He grants us those types of gifts according to the needs of each individual. My own rosary links, my baptismal gift, not only turned golden but God granted an additional gift, a signal grace, to me on the completion of the 5th month of my 1st Saturday devotion to Mary's Immaculate Heart.

On March 4, 1994 (First Friday before the last Saturday of the 5 First Saturday's) while I was before the Blessed Sacrament praying the rosary, during the 5th sorrowful mystery on the 5th bead from the end of the mystery as I was meditating on Our Lord's death on the cross, I had a sudden knowledge given to me that something had happened to my rosary. No voices, I just knew instantly that something had changed. After finishing my prayers I went outside into the sunlight and went to the last mystery (I always pray my rosary in the same direction) and looked at the beads. My rosary has multi-facet, clear crystal beads. I checked the 5th bead from the end and saw to my awe and amazement that the once multi-faceted bead had been physically changed into a new shape. One half of the bead was completely smoothed over (rounded), there is no trace of any facets at all, one fourth of the second half of the bead has three distinct facets that are completely different from the facets on the other beads (two large facets with a skinny facet between them; to me they represent The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit; with the skinny facet being The Holy Spirit between Father and Son), the last one fourth of the beads completely unchanged; it looks like all of the other faceted beads on my rosary. I believe that Our Lady granted this miracle to me as a signal grace for my sincere efforts to change my life and because of her humility and desire to give all glory to Jesus her Son, this miracle was granted on the 4th of March (First Friday) instead of the 5th of March which would have been the 5th Saturday of my devotion of 5 First Saturdays.

What was one of the most difficult times in our family turned out to be one of God's greatest gifts to us. I thank God for His mercy and I have written to those Jehovah Witnesses who tried to convert our son and I thanked them too. All things turn to good for those who love God. God took this evil and turned it into a blessing for us and I hope that God will bless them too and all those who have been misled from the Truth who is Christ. Our family continues to learn and grow in our faith. Our youngest son is now actively discerning the possibility that God might be calling him to the priesthood. May we continue to be faithful to God and heed Our Lord and Lady's requests and may the Most Holy Trinity be praised, blessed, loved and adored now and forever. Amen.

Cyndi




I remember watching a secular show on Medjugorje (I believe it was Oprah Winfrey) and no matter how many testimonies people gave about their amazing spiritual experiences while there, or how many physical cures were being attributed to Our Lady's intercession by guests on the show, the only items that really seemed to interest the audience were the Rosaries people had with them that had turned to a golden color or to gold. Perhaps in this money oriented society where people place more value on gold than they do on their own souls or on the spiritual experiences of individuals who have traveled to Medjugorje, God is speaking to some people in the only language they will understand or take interest in - gold and special effects. These Rosaries certainly gained the attention of the audience while someone saying that their lives had been entirely changed 180 degrees met with little interest. Is God unwilling to go any length to reach the hearts of his children?

I hope we are all awaiting the Church's final decision regarding Medjugorje, I am. At the same time, I cannot disregard the favors and answered prayers which I have experienced myself through Our Lady's intercession and God's most gracious love.

When I married my husband, a wonderful man who was raised in a Jewish household in which neither practiced the Jewish faith nor seemed to have any interest in God whatsoever, I knew that I would be raising our children to come in the Faith by myself. Actually his father was and is to this day an avowed "atheist". I saw more Christian qualities in my future husband than I did in most people and with the understanding that our children would be raised in the Catholic Church, I entered into the marriage without reservations and with complete trust in God.

After my daughter's First Holy Communion, which my husband attended as he did her Baptism, I was sitting with her in church one evening and I saw a family holding hands and worshipping joyfully together. In my heart I sighed because I believed that I would never know that special bond of faith in my own family, perhaps I said a silent prayer in my heart but I do not remember. The very next Sunday my husband dressed for church along with us and he never stopped coming, God hears our most silent longings. I immediately started praying to Our Lady of Medjugorje for his complete conversion to the Church. Immediately after watching a video about Medjugorje, about a year later, my husband simply asked me how to enter the RCIA and if we could be married in the Church on the same day he was Baptized. After meeting with "our" Pastor and deciding to conduct both ceremonies on the Sunday closest to our legal anniversary, we realized that the date we had chosen was the anniversary of the reported apparitions at Medjugorje. Our Pastor kidded my husband that he should not fall gravely ill that day after his Baptism because he was receiving his First Communion, Confirmation, and the Sacrament of Marriage on the same day and he was only allowed four Sacraments in one day.

The second intercession came just before the ceremonies were to take place. Two weeks before the appointed date, I herniated two discs in my back and was confined to a hospital bed. I saw this as Satan's way of trying to avoid the baptism and certainly the Holy Eucharist. My husband said not to worry that we would just have to postpone, but I was terrified to do so. I saw Satan's hand in this and perhaps I was afraid that something would happen to my husband before he received his Sacraments. Again I prayed fervently to Our Lord and I asked for the intercession of His Blessed Mother. A friend of mine had just returned from Lourdes, a fact I did not know, and upon hearing that I was too disabled to stand up and attend my own wedding and all that went with it, she sent a bottle of Lourdes water to my home. I prayed the Rosary, reverently and faithfully used the water from the spring, and told everyone to go on with the preparations - I would be there. I still could not stand up or even sit up by myself the evening before our wedding but on the day of the wedding, after my final blessing with the Holy water; I got dressed, traveled to the church, sat through all the ceremonies and the Mass, and even had the strength to have a celebration with our friends afterwards. Our Pastor, who was very uncomfortable with sacramentals and certainly never wanted to discuss even approved Marian sites, was so touched as I walked down the aisle with my white satin covered cane that he explained the entire chain of events to everyone in the congregation. <> So maybe all miracles are not published in books or put before councils but how many events of this nature occur on a daily or hourly basis in the lives of the faithful? It was a video about Our Lady of Medjugorje that immediately moved my husband to convert and start the fasting asked for there, our wedding and his sacramental life happened to occur on the anniversary of the reported apparitions at Medjugorje, and it was the Holy water from Lourdes (I believe) which gave me the ability to insure these most important events would occur. I still do physical therapy daily and I am often in pain but on that day, I was carried in the arms of Our Lord and Our Lady was certainly the Matron of the Highest Honor at our wedding.

Some miracles through the intercession of Our Lady cannot be proven with x-rays and documents but I should note that the human matron of honor at our wedding, my best friend Janet, started reading about Medjugorje that very evening and this year I sponsored her as she entered the Church at the Easter Vigil.

In Mary's Son,

Thomasina Newman




Well another story of rosaries turning gold but this one is kind of neat. I saw it myself.

In San Antonio, Texas about 1988-89 I attended a talk on Medjugorje in a Catholic church. After the talk we all went over to the Parish Hall. Just about the time everyone had visited and the snacks and drinks were being put up....a lady in the kitchen screamed and came rushing out saying her rosary turned gold. She held it up for everyone to see and it was gold alright. But the best part was just.....gettinggggg....ready...to happen... (Suspenseful huh? haha)

Well anyway, to my right about 10 ft. away was a little old lady about 85 yrs. young, all bent with age. She had her rosary in front of her and her friends (about the same age) were on either side of her. By the look in the lady's eyes and the expression on her face, there was no doubt that she was hoping that her rosary would turn.

I smiled at the thought and continued to look at her when it happened. Like small, tiny little flash bulbs, a series of quick flashes could be seen going around her rosary. And her eyes lit up and she exclaimed with joy "my rosary just turned gold also..come and look". Well I did..Each link, just before and just after the Our Father bead, had turned a beautiful rose gold color. Like a shiny new penny they stood out. And I saw the whole thing...

Just thought I would share that, 'cause it's true...

Peace

Richard




We had been in Medjugorje all week and had visited all the sites and were feeling very tired, and I had not felt good all week. I had felt very privileged to have Fr. Jozo bless me. I had asked the Holy Mother for this; I also asked her why I had been so sick. I knew she didn't send and bring me this far just to be sick all week; it was almost time for us to leave Medjugorje and head back home.

Debbie, my wife, had managed to climb Cross Mountain Easter Sunday evening. She had blisters on her feet from the three-hour climb and return, and she had missed supper at the home we were staying at (Pension Pero) which was almost at the foot of the mountain. I was helping her to get her supper - it was approximately 6:40 or so, time for our Holy Mother's daily apparition. My friends, Tom and Jenny and their daughter Pat, were outside and got to see the miracle of the sun dancing in the sky. They had also been very sick this week. Debbie and I missed it.

We were downstairs that evening and would be leaving the next morning at 4 am. We went to bed early that evening already packed to go home. A young man asked me to wake him up in the morning in time to get ready for the bus. His room was outside the building towards the front; our room was further back of the building. I had to walk on the side of the building to the front - this side of the building was in sight of the mountain and also the cement cross so far up there at the very top.

Well, that night was very dark for there is not much lighting in the little village of Medjugorje. And to top it off, it was raining. I woke up at 3 am and told Debbie I was going to wake up Tobias, the young man. Tobie was going to become a priest when he returned to the States. His father is a deacon in the Catholic Church back in the USA. I walked the small walkway to the front of the building and to my left was the mountain. As I walked, a small light at the top of the mountain caught my eye, exactly where the Cross is. I stopped and turned to face it, and then it flickered like a fluorescent light that wants to light up. Then it got brighter all they way up the Cross and then down again, then up again, and then it started to pulsate. My heart jumped. I felt all the hair on my arms and neck stand up, as if by static electricity. I forgot all about the rain and Tobias, who I went to wake up.

I instantly ran and called Debbie out. Nobody was around. We stood there, Debbie in my arms in front of me for it was raining, and we kept looking up to the top of the mountain, and the Cross again lit up, flickering as before, brighter and brighter and pulsating. Debbie said, "I prayed when I was up there that you would see this." It was our 25th anniversary, and we had come to Medjugorje as pilgrims to celebrate and be with our Holy Mother at this special time, Easter. The Cross then got so bright it was almost blinding, and Debbie said, "I wonder if this is for us?" We were still in the rain, totally forgetting where we were, or the rain, or Tobias still asleep in his room. Then as she said, "I wonder if this is for us", as if to answer, all of a sudden the Cross got even brighter, extremely bright, then it exploded like a giant star, and we felt a force like a concussion that went through our body and soul. We were crying, and Debbie knelt down. Then the light on the Cross ever so slowly flickered down and further down and further down, until it went totally out. We were at a loss for words, but we both know the Holy Mother had done a wonderful thing for us this night.

The following Sunday at our Rosary meeting in Sumner, Washington, USA, the whole group of approximately 30 people - parents and their children, as well as myself (who had missed the miracle of the sun in Medjugorje) - now stood outside of our prayer building at the same time, 6:40 pm or so, and witnessed the sun with the shield in front of it, dancing and pulsating, with colors coming out of it. We all stood there smiling and crying. Everyone saw it - nobody was left out, all looking up into the sky and taking in this wonderful gift from the Holy Mother herself. It lasted approximately 20 minutes. This Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday here at home, and we were receiving a gift and a sign of God's love (which is His mercy) through His most beloved Holy Mother, Mary, the Mother of God. Nobody in the whole group had ever seen the miracle of the sun, and they thought they had to go to Medjugorje to see it. They know now that this is a blessing and a special sign especially for them, but this is another story and there are many, many more.

God's blessing,

Nicholas




I am a cradle Catholic that fell headlong out of my bed of faith in my 20's. My husband and I married on a beach with a JP presiding because the Church had too much red tape for us to deal with especially since he wasn't Catholic.

After a couple of years of marriage and spotty Mass attendance, I discovered my husband was getting interested in this little village in the former Yugoslavia. He would wake me up in the middle of the night to read passages from books from the six visionaries and to read messages Our Lady gave to them.

Since I wasn't about to let someone outshine me in my own faith, I started reading those books. They were interesting but at the same time they condemned me as I wasn't living my faith or practicing it very well. To really make matters interesting, my husband was converting to Catholicism! And he wanted to change our plans to travel out West to going East....to Medjugorje.

We were there for the 10th Anniversary when a lot of people expected something big to happen. Speaking for myself only, yes, a lot of things happened.

First of all, I had decided a long time ago that I hadn't wanted children and I was wishy-washy on abortion. I probably wouldn't have had one myself but who was I to decide for others. I was also on the fence about contraception. I had just gotten off of it myself prior to going to Medjugorje but I couldn't say why other than my goals had changed in life and it was as a result of reading books about Medjugorje and Fatima.

While attending daily (plus some!) Mass in Medjugorje, Fr. Pavich gave a moving sermon on how St. John the Baptist leaped for joy in his mother's womb upon coming into the presence of the mass of cells which was our Savior. I finally got why abortion was wrong as well as contraception. Duh! So I went to confession while there and it was so cleansing! I couldn't wait to go back to my room to do my penance. Besides, while waiting for the priest to get free, I had opened the Bible at random and had come to the part where Gabriel informs Mary that her "barren" cousin Elizabeth was with child. I took this as a sign that God would be blessing my marriage with children soon.

Following my penance, I laid down on my bed and dozed for a moment. I woke up and proceeded to look around the room. I saw Mt. Krizevac and St. James Church clear as a bell. Yet when I looked at about the area of my belly, I saw this startling whiteness. And in the whiteness, I saw Our Lady clothed in blue and laying in about the area of where my arms were lying across my abdomen. She was about the size of the 3 foot statues people have in their yards. I realized suddenly how unworthy I was to be seeing this and I jumped up. The vision went away. I was shocked but I was definitely awake.

Immediately after that I met my husband in front of St. James for the daily Rosary and apparition. While praying in front of the window where they occurred at that time, I heard some women shouting behind me with great joy and tears. "Maria, Maria!" I looked all around trying to figure what they were yelling about. My eyes lit on the windows of the apparition room and I could see her! She was in the window. I grabbed my husband and pointed, too overcome with emotion for seeing her twice in one day! He saw her, too! The conclusion of this story is that after leaving Medjugorje and spending one night in Dubrovnik, my husband and I conceived a child. Joseph will be starting kindergarten in a few weeks.

I'm sure arguments can be made regarding what happened to me there. One thing I should mention is that I was a trained journalist and a very big skeptic. I went with an open mind but I didn't go looking for spinning suns, rosaries turning gold, or anything like that. I specifically told God I didn't want any of that to happen to me because I wanted to be open to whatever the Spirit brought. Sure, people around me saw the sun spin and their rosaries turn for them. And yes, I suffered spiritual envy but then again, I was happy they had that happen to them. It was their personal signpost on their walk of faith. And I had my own.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't have homesickness for Medjugorje. There you experience how God meant for it to be for us. The praying, the sharing, the love, the patience, the holiness of the little old ladies climbing the mountains, the sanctity of the Mass, and the deep intimate love of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Truly awesome. If you believe in Medjugorje, whether you've been there or not, you know the main thing is to bring the beauty and love to the rest of the world.

That's my story. If you believe me, that's fine. If not, that's fine, too, as I love you regardless and hope you feel the same for me. God Bless you all and in the words of the Gospa:

"Pray, pray, pray" & "Peace, peace, peace"

Tammy S.




Currently, I am a chiropractor in private practice in Kansas. Our first pilgrimage to Medjugorje was in April, 1989. I was a Franciscan brother then, co-directing a group of 55 pilgrims, mostly from the Detroit area. Since we had also visited Rome and Assisi, only three days were allotted for us in Medjugorje (not nearly enough). Drenched in the peace of that holy place, we boarded the bus to leave for Dubrovnik to begin our trip home. As I took my seat on the bus, I heard Our Lady say to me interiorly, "Look for me in the sun tonight." I thought I could be just imagining it, but decided to look anyway when we arrived at our hotel in Dubrovnik. I had often heard Our Lord speak to me this way, but not the Blessed Mother, so I was anxious to see if it would come to pass.

The sun was much too bright to even glance at it at 6:30, but then precisely at 6:40 P.M., a white disc appeared over the sun, dulling its brightness, enabling us to look directly at it without injuring our eyes.

The disc began turning, both clockwise and counterclockwise, and moving vertically as well as horizontally over the sun, turning everything from scarlet to silver to copper to royal blue to purple to green--and then some (definitely no pastels, but brilliant breath-taking colors). Some British tourists, not members of our group, happened by and were astounded! In the midst of our joy and excitement, we told them about the events of Medjugorje as the sun pulsated, strobed (appeared to be flashing on and off), and exhibited every hue of the rainbow.

Meanwhile, my mom was three floors above us on her balcony and I was down below on the veranda with about ten others. After watching the sun "dance" for twenty minutes, all at once, my mom, a friend, and I saw Her--in dazzling gold with folded hands, the sun just coming up to Her knees, as if she were standing behind the sun. "The Woman clothed with the Sun!" Then, she opened Her hands, extended downward as in the Miraculous Medal. Others, simultaneously saw a cross or chalice. All we could do is stand there in awe and cry. Surprisingly, the rest of the group was eating and opted not to come out to see the solar phenomenon when we ran inside to tell them about it. But they would not have to wait long, because the next day when we returned to Rome, the sun repeated its spectacular display at 6:40 P.M. but with far less intensity of colors, witnessed by all 55 pilgrims on the bus. As a man both theologically and scientifically trained, I could attribute these occurences to nothing other than the power of God, revealed to us through His Mother. No natural explanation could suffice.

To return to Medjugorje is a tremendous grace. I think why people long to go back there is that it is so much like Heaven, our true home. Nothing in this world can satisfy us as the peace flowing like torrents of grace from Our Lady's shrines. May She always hold you close to Her Immaculate Heart.

Allan Weilert, M.T.S., D.C.




In 1987, my wife Dianne and her mother went to Medjugorje. For a year after the trip, unknown to me, Dianne fasted and prayed for my conversion. I was about as anti-Catholic as you could get. I had been raised Catholic but fell away in my teens and my total lack of spirituality was a really big problem in our marriage. Dianne knew that if she even tried to talk to me about any religious topic, I would be out of there!

By a quirk of fate, which is a story in itself, she managed to get me on a plane to Medjugorje the following year. I was thinking about a divorce and going to Medjugorje was sort of an appeasement to her before I left her for good.

While in Medjugorje on the second day, I re-injured an old back injury that I incurred in a motorcycle accident 16 years earlier. I had none of the prescription drug with me needed to relax my back and Dianne and I both knew I would be confined to bed for at least a week, which was the entire rest of the nine day trip! After all of the prayer and fasting she had done, Dianne was horrified that her chance of using Medjugorje to convert me was probably ruined before it got off the ground.

As soon as I reached the villa we were staying at, I just kicked off my shoes and went to bed without supper. I was in intense pain and totally crippled and spasmed like a pretzel. I managed to go to sleep and cannot remember anything until the next morning.

I woke up the next morning and realized that Dianne had allowed me to oversleep. It was breakfast time and I was several minutes late already. I stood up and immediately realized that I had no pain or limited movement at all. For the first time in 16 years I could move my head fully to the left. For the first time in 16 years, I had absolutely no pain at all in my back. Even without the current spasm, my back always hurt in varying degrees, day and night, 365 days a year. I could not believe the way I felt!

I walked up to the breakfast room and all eyes were on me as I walked into the room. I felt like Lazarus walking from the grave. Someone asked how I felt and I relayed to them that not only was the intense pain and spasm gone, but the constant residual pain and immobility were also gone for the first time in 16 years. They all applauded and praised the Lord. Unknown to me, they had prayed that night for my recovery so that my Medjugorje experience for a conversion would be a success. I did not believe in healings, especially for someone who was an unbeliever like me! Their faith overcame my total lack of faith!

Needless to say, my Medjugorje experience was off to a truly great start! Many things happened on that nine day trip that I could spend months talking about. We saw rosaries turn gold, we saw the miracle of the sun, we saw other physical healings, we saw spiritual healings (which I also received two days later) and many, many other wondrous events.

Before the trip I was always in back pain and my neck was always stiff. Today, nine years later, I have not had a single pain ever again in the area of the damaged disc. I can lift, bend, etc., as well as any twenty year old and I am now age 50!

I know there will always be discussions about any ongoing apparition. It is human nature to doubt the supernatural. It is also Satan's intent to downplay anything from Our Lady or her Son. You can believe anything you want until an official statement comes from the Church but don't try to convince me about Medjugorje being a fake. I would have gladly paid any price I could for either the physical or spiritual healings I was blessed with in Medjugorje. I feel like Saul of Tarsus after he changed to Paul after his little road event.

I thank God that He did not call me from this earth before I had a chance to start turning my life around and I now know I belong to him for whatever he wants of me from now on. God uses places like Medjugorje to wake up the dead, which is what I was.

God Bless you all,

Your friend in the Two Hearts,

Tom T.




My sister and I have been to Medjugorje. I asked God to grant me humility so wherever I went I would just miss the miracle of the sun or when people were healed. I would hear about them just afterwards and could see others and how happy they were. But I still believe they were happening. I could see and hear the holiness of those around me.

There was one instance that happened to my sister and me that was unexpected. We are of Norwegian extraction so we are very reserved in our behavior. I tell you this because what happened to us was so contrary to our demeanor. When we went to listen to Father Jozo, he had a healing service after Mass where all the priests went to each of us and blessed us with a crucifix. My sister and I noticed that some people were "resting in the spirit". This was new to us and we were not of a mind to do something so embarrassing. Well, God gave me another dose of humility and we were both "slain in the spirit". It is something to experience. As we both were blessed, we both felt a tingling all over and could not help but go down to the ground. Then we both felt an overwhelming sense of love and forgiveness that made us both start crying. We couldn't move and felt very heavy and very relaxed and peaceful. Even after we got up we didn't want to talk to anyone but just wanted to meditate on what had happened and how we felt. It was life-changing.

My father, who is very Norwegian, and does not believe in Medjugorje, loaned us the money for the trip. He gave us his rosary to be blessed. Out of all the rosaries that I took with me to be blessed - his was the only one to turn completely gold! My rosary has turned partly gold - I think of it as a sign that I need to work on my soul a little harder. Maybe then it will turn all to gold.

There is no way to convince someone of a miracle. We should only pray that peace pervades us all. We can do nothing to change a single thing about a person - it is our pride that insists that we can "fix", "prove" or "convert" someone. Let God teach us all in His good way. Let us all encourage each other to be good, to pray and to turn always to God to lead us to heaven.

Mary in Oregon




I recently returned from my third pilgrimage to Medjugorje, and I just wanted to share some of my experiences (and the experiences of my companions) which might help some of you in your discernment of these apparitions. I know in the depths of my soul that Blessed Mother is truly present in Medjugorje. Here are some of the things that I and my companions experienced/witnessed:

--I saw the sun spin, dance, and gyrate on many occasions. I saw the "Host" in front of it (which blocks out the brightness of the sun) turn from green to blue to scarlet. On one occasion, while standing in line for confession, I saw the sun partially eclipse and take the form of a heart. That was especially beautiful! One of my friends saw the "Host" seemingly bleed. Blood poured from it.

--The links on 3 of my rosaries turned from silver to gold.

--At exactly 5:40, the time of the apparition, while standing in line to go to confession, all of a sudden, a multitude of little birds flocked to the tree next to St. James Church and began singing and singing as though in recognition of the Lord's Sweet Mother. What a beautiful sound. They sang for almost a half hour. This happens every evening.

--One evening, while the rosary was being prayed prior to the apparition at St. James Church, an incredible thunderstorm was taking place outside. The storm had gone on for a couple of hours. At exactly 5:40, the rain stopped suddenly. Not a drop of water fell from the sky for about 5 minutes. 5 minutes later, the downpour continued.

--On 2 occasions I saw the cross on Mt. Krizevac light up, pulse, turn from red to green, and shoot off flames. A number of people with me also saw this.

--A friend of mine, while returning from Apparition Hill to his house, looked back at the hill and saw the 5 Joyful Mysteries statues blazing with light. There is no electricity on Apparition Hill. This man, after being given a medal from Medjugorje, had also been healed from an incurable illness. He had gone to Medjugorje to give thanks to Our Lady.

--I was present at one of Jakov Colo's apparitions last Oct. As the apparition began, I felt what I would describe as "electricity" in the air surrounding me. There was a feeling of warmth and great heaviness about me. I could feel this warmth and heaviness enter me and pour over me from my head to my toes. Later on, I spoke with 2 members of my group who had also been present at the apparition. One man had lost his daughter 2 years earlier. She appeared to him during Our Lady's apparition to comfort him. My roommate's sister, who had been brutally murdered 11 years earlier, appeared to her to comfort her. The man was a complete non-believer prior to this experience. Not so afterward. My roommate had never been able to cry over her sister's death. She was finally able to do so.

--I have stayed at Mirjana, the visionary's house, on 2 occasions. I have had the opportunity to speak with her and to observe her. She is a very humble and gracious woman. I have also been blessed to be present at one of her 2nd-of-the-month apparitions. I have this apparition on videotape. Watching Mirjana prior to the apparition, she was very serious, very intense. Her head was bowed as she prayed. Suddenly, she raised her head and her eyes filled with tears, and the expression on her face is one I will never, ever, ever forget. She looks like a little child who is looking at the most beautiful thing in creation. Her face is radiant, humble, joyful, sad, and happy all at the same time. She prayed, but her voice was inaudible until she prayed the "Our Father" with Blessed Mother. At that point, her voice could be heard. This was surely the "real thing". No doubt at all in my mind. It was most beautiful.

--Many of my companions have smelled the fragrance of roses in different places in Medjugorje...Apparition Hill, Krizevac, walking through the vineyards.

--3 of my traveling companions were on Apparition Hill one day, sitting on rocks together and reading from a prayer book. The words in the book began to change colors. They lit up on the page and changed from one luminous color to another. They were able to smell the scent of roses at the time that this happened.

--When I returned from my first trip to Medjugorje, I was in what I would describe as a state of grief. I longed for Medjugorje with all my heart. It was hard to be back in the "rat race". One night I was praying the rosary on my sofa and crying because I was so "homesick". I fell asleep on the sofa. I awoke in the middle of the night with a strong wind blowing over me (no doors/windows were open). My heart was pounding. In my mind, I heard the words, "I am always with you." I felt so joyful. I didn't know then what the wind meant. A month later, I was told by a friend that Blessed Mother in Medjugorje has told the visionaries that she is always "in the wind".

I could go on and on, but I won't. The bottom line of Medjugorje is the good fruits which have resulted over the years. The miracles, the wonders, the signs: all of these are really just icing on the cake. The real call is loud and clear: prayer with the heart, fasting, confession, Holy Mass, Scripture. Medjugorje is a place where all of these messages are being lived. We are truly blessed that God has allowed Our Lady to come to us, to call us back to her Son.

To Jesus Through Mary,

Margaret




In 1988, a local TV station news crew went to Medjugorje to report on the events there. At the time, I was practicing no faith, much less considering ever becoming a Catholic. Well, Our Lady had other plans. One evening I was home and happened to walk into the family room about the time the TV crew was making a report on Medjugorje. I watched for a minute and rejected the whole thing and the people who went as religious nuts. I realize now that I was supposed to see that report because by watching, the seeds for conversion had been planted. I asked a friend of mine that I worked with if he had seen the report. He was born and raised Catholic. He indeed had watched the report, but was reserving judgement. A few days later he came to work with more info on Medjugorje. He had met someone he knew that had recently returned. After looking at some of the info he had, I knew that Our Lady was appearing. I felt it in my heart. Suddenly I simply was inhaling anything and everything on Medjugorje, the Blessed Mother, the Church, etc. I could not get enough education. I longed to go to Medjugorje but couldn't at that time. Three years later, I finally joined the Church and in 1995, I went to Medjugorje. Medjugorje was beautiful, so much so that I went back in '96 and '97. My conversion is continuing, it goes on daily. I've had some beautiful experiences in Medjugorje, but they are fairly lengthy and if anyone reads this and would like to hear about them, I'll be glad to reply.

God Bless,

Tom Hubbard




I'm going to begin my first Medjugorje experience, something that I witnessed during my first pilgrimage in 1995.

On the Feast of the Assumption in August of that year, the weather had been somewhat cloudy and light rain showers had been in the area on and off all day. Towards afternoon there was a clearing and although cloudy, the threat of rain was over.

Our guide in Medjugorje, Ainja Simovic, informed our group that later that evening the visionary Ivan Dragicevic and his prayer group would meet on Apparition Hill. Also, Ivan would have an apparition with Our Lady around 10:30. Hearing this news, several in our group including myself, decided that we would beat the crowd and go to the hill after our evening meal.

Once on the hill, I positioned myself on a fairly good rock. Not too bad a seat. Ivan's group was supposed to meet near the cross on Apparition Hill where Our Lady first revealed herself to the children in 1981. This cross has a very small corpus attached to it. So, I was only maybe twenty to thirty feet from this cross. Actually, I was positioned so the cross was on my left. As the evening progressed, more and more people began to come and as night closed in, you could see a trail of flashlights going down the hill into the village. It was a tremendous sight. At some point, Ivan's prayer group arrived, although I did not actually see them, I certainly could hear them. Songs were being sung and the rosary was being prayed and this went on for some time.

The night was now definitely upon us and unlike most nights in Medjugorje, there were very few stars out. Evidently, it was still overcast. But it was so dark, you really couldn't see clouds or much of anything else in the sky, moon included. At some point on this dark night, the singing stopped and also the prayer. Evidently Ivan was getting ready to receive the Blessed Mother. It was really quiet! Then, people began to stir, taking pictures, talking, etc. I finally got up off my rather hard seat to see what was happening. I didn't see much of anything to be excited about. Suddenly, instead of looking into a dark night I saw a field of dark purple extending from the cross on my left and stretching in front of me to my right. It's really hard to describe. Then, I saw a small "star" float in moving from my right, going left. It stopped and hovered very close to the cross. I watched and was amazed at this, so much so that I forgot about the camera hanging around my neck. I then saw two more stars fairly close to the first, although I did not see them arrive. They were just there. Finally, they were just gone. I didn't see them leave, they just were not there anymore. I turned to a lady behind me who was from our group and asked her about the three "stars". She informed me that she hadn't seen anything unusual.

A few minutes later we began to hear from a microphone that had been hooked up about Ivan's apparition with Our Lady. We were told that Our Lady had come and that she was happy to see all the people on the hill. She was dressed in gold and she had also come with three angels. I fully believe the three stars I saw were the angels.

Tom Hubbard




I'll continue on with some Medjugorje experiences I've had. In 1996, I again went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje and once again I was in the village during the Feast of the Assumption. One evening prior to the feast day, I went to bed fairly early. I had my mosquito repellent on and bravely had the one small window in my room open trying to get a breeze and hoping my repellent worked. Awhile later, I was awakened by a buzzing sound that simply could only be one thing, a mosquito. He was relentless! I could no longer ignore him and got up briefly to do battle, but of course he was gone. I noticed the time being around 3:00 am.

I laid back down in hopes of drifting back to sleep, but was really awake. I was laying looking up and out of my two by two window and noticed that one small star in the early morning sky had positioned itself perfectly centered in my window. What happened next, I'll tell and I'm open to all ideas as to what I saw and why. As I watched this star, it split. Part of it would drift away briefly, then would rejoin the original part and the whole process would begin again. I don't know how long I watched this, but it was for several minutes. What I was seeing or why I don't know, but it happened.

Looking from this same small window in my room, I could see St. James Church in the distance and would look at it at night. On one occasion, I saw the most beautiful blue light, almost a streak, ascend from the top of the church into the night sky. I really cannot do this color description justice, since the blue was almost neon in its brightness and I guess a dark turquoise.

On the feast day that year during the Croatian Mass, I along with many others were sitting outside the church. Clouds began forming and the wind picked up, but the sun still was shining. During the time of Our Lady's apparition, I looked up in the sky, and saw the clouds part and a definite form of a cross was outlined. Not only was it a cross, but it was a mission cross, with the top, bottom and two ends rounded. Another in my group mentioned seeing this also.

In 1997, I was blessed with leading a group to Medjugorje. Again I was there during the Feast of the Assumption. The only unusual event that I witnessed on that pilgrimage happened during Our Lady's apparition, on the feast day. A beautiful rainbow stretched basically the whole length of the village. It was awesome! Also, as I and many, many others gazed at this rainbow, I looked at the sun. There, to the right of the sun was one cloud and it was in the shape of Our Lady, Queen of Peace. A woman next to me also saw this. These are basically the major events that I witnessed in Medjugorje. Of course, the inner feeling that you have in Medjugorje, is something that I have never totally been able to duplicate anywhere else.

Peace to all.

Tom Hubbard




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