A photostatic copy of a page from Ilustracao Portugueza, October 29, 1917, showing the crowd looking at the Miracle of the Sun during the Fatima apparitions. (Source:Wikipedia)
The story is familiar to most of us. In the summer of 1917, Our Blessed Mother, introducing herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary" (Nossa Senhora do Rosário), appeared to three shepherd children -- Lucia Dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto -- in Cova da Iria, near Fatima, Portugal.
A year before the apparition, the "Angel of Peace" (believed to be St. Michael the Archangel) appeared to the children and invited them to pray with him. During a later apparition, St. Michael held a Host in one hand and a Chalice in the other. The children saw blood dripping from the Host into the Chalice. The Angel of Peace then lay prostrate on the ground leaving the Host and Chalice suspended in midair. After praying, the Angel took the Host and gave it to Lucia; he gave the Chalice to Francisco and Jacinta to drink.
For six consecutive months in 1917, beginning on May 13 and on each 13th day of the month until October, Mary gave the world, through these three innocent visionaries, a "peace plan from heaven". Calling the world to conversion, penance, and prayer, Our Blessed Mother told the children that if people heeded her invitation, many sinners would be converted and "my Immaculate Heart will triumph and a period of peace will be granted to the world".
"Pray, pray a great deal", she asked the children, "and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them".
On October 13, 1917, so that many would believe that the apparition was true, she brought forth the famous "miracle of the dancing sun" which was witnessed by a hundred thousand spectators, including skeptical journalists and photographers who acknowledged the phenomenon in the Portuguese press, including the avowedly anticlerical newspaper, O Seculo.
As in previous and subsequent Marian apparitions, those of Fatima came with Our Blessed Mother's special requests. Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fatima specifically asked us to sanctify our daily work and duties, to pray the rosary daily and to consecrate ourselves, our families, and our communities to her Immaculate Heart.
She also requested that we faithfully practice the First Saturday Devotion, which includes the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reception of the Holy Eucharist, five decades of the rosary, and fifteen minutes of meditation and adoration.
In 1930, Fatima was officially declared "worthy of belief" by the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima. The late Pope John Paul II attributed his surviving the assassination attempt on his life in 1981 to Our Lady of Fatima.
What may not be too familiar is that years after the apparition, the local Bishop had a statue of Our Lady of Fatima sculpted and blessed. He directed that the statue be transported to far-flung parishes in Portugal to spread the message of Fatima.
Pilgrims to Fatima, however, complained about the absence of the venerated image so that another statue was made. The Pilgrim Virgin has been traveling the world, visiting more than 100 countries, since 1947. Along the way, numerous reports of conversion, cures, and miracles have occurred.
Currently, through the effort of San Diego resident Thomas McKenna, who is on the board of the pilgrim statue organization, the Pilgrim Virgin, accompanied by Carl Malburg from Indiana, is visiting San Diego. It was in the Philippines in January 2007. The current itinerary may be found by linking to Tour Calendar in www.pilgrimvirginstatue.com.
It is not too late to avail of the opportunity to see the Pilgrim Virgin. The San Diego tour started in St. Mary Star of the Sea in Oceanside on January 4. The remaining schedule is as follows:
January 16, St. Mark in San Marcos
January 17, St. Mary's in Escondido
January 18, St. Patrick in San Diego
January 19, Our Lady of the Rosary in San Diego
January 20, St. Joseph Cathedral (2:30 PM Procession to be led by Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone)
January 21, St. Elizabeth Seton in Carlsbad
January 22, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lakeside
January 23, St. Pius X in Chula Vista
January 24, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Ukrainian in La Mesa
Showing posts with label Marian Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marian Spirituality. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Friday, November 9, 2007
Mary’s Invitation
Doing the Stations of the Cross in Medjugorje. Pilgrims trek up to the large stone cross at the summit of the large mountain at Krizevac, which was erected by the local people in 1933 for the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s death.
Doing the Stations of the Cross in Medjugorje. Pilgrims trek up to the large stone cross at the summit of the large mountain at Krizevac, which was erected by the local people in 1933 for the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s death.
(Last of three installments on Medjugorje)
In 1981, when word broke out that something extraordinary was happening in a small village in Communist Yugoslavia -- “Gospa” or Our Lady was reportedly appearing daily to six children, ages 9-16 -- pilgrims from neighboring towns and countries began traveling to the site.
From Italy, an overnight ride by boat from Pescara, across the Adriatic Sea, to Split was one popular route. Others traveled by car to Northeastern Italy, crossing the border town of Trieste into Slovenia. Still, others flew into Split, Mostar or Zagreb by Yugoslav Airlines. Many, like pilgrims of Santiago de Compostela, bravely walked for hundreds of miles.
However, the journey was not the toughest part. The Communist authorities were stringent about anyone visiting Medjugorje. Yugoslavia was an atheistic state -- any public display of religion was banned. The authorities, therefore, could not permit any tourist or pilgrim to enter their country to participate in a religious event!
Yet, somehow, Fr. Rene Laurentin, a noted Marianologist (a theologian specializing in the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary) made it through, after repeated attempts. His visits culminated in the book, “Is the Virgin Mary Appearing at Medjugorje?”. In collaboration with Dr. Henri Joueux, Fr. Laurentin wrote another book, “Scientific and Medical Studies on the Apparitions at Medjugorje”.
I first learned of Medjugorje on Christmas 1987, when I came across a two-page article in a Catholic magazine. In August 1988, with my wife Lucie, and my parents, I made my first trip to Medjugorje, by way of Fatima, Lourdes, and Rome. That first trip changed my life in such a profound way that even to this day, I have not completely understood its effects. I made several trips thereafter, and in 1993, wrote the book, “From Mt. Krizevac to Mt. Carmel”, in an attempt to trace a pilgrim’s outer (physical) journey and inner (spiritual) conversion.
It was difficult to persuade a publisher to take the book. Even Catholic publishers were not interested in a book about a Marian apparition that was not officially sanctioned by the Church, forgetting the fact that Marian apparitions cannot be officially approved until they cease. Political opposition from the Bishop of Mostar towards the Franciscan community running the parish of Medjugorje was not helping things either. A memo from the diocese of San Diego instructed parishes not to promote the devotion. The Southern Cross, San Diego’s diocesan newspaper, was silent about the apparitions.
But, the Mother of God is a persistent individual. Asked by the visionaries why she was appearing to them daily, she replied: “Are you tired of meeting with me?”
Thirty million pilgrims from every corner of the world have come to Medjugorje but the “Gospa” has not stopped. Never in the history of the church has a Marian apparition lasted this long -- 27 years!
Today, it is not that difficult to travel to Medjugorje. The trip involves a short flight from Rome on Croatia Airlines, a dramatic improvement from Yugoslav Air. From Split, it is a 3-4 hour ride by bus through the Dalmatian Coast. There are hundreds of well-established Marian travel agencies around the world. My favorite is Mir Arizona, organized by Helen Zec. She was one of the few brave ones who continued to bring pilgrims to Medjugorje in the height of the war in 1991-93 and did a lot for refugees and orphans of the war.
In the 1980s and into the 90s, pilgrims stayed at private homes -- villagers graciously opened their homes to host pilgrims. There were no commercial accommodations. A warm shower was a luxury. I remember Pansion Jerko fondly; we stayed in small bedrooms above a tiny snack bar. Lucie and I remain grateful to Maria Cilic who opened her house to us and gladly served our group of San Diego pilgrims homemade meals in 1989.Through the years, we’ve stayed at homes, around St. James church. The last several years, we often stay at Ivan’s home or at his brother Dragan and his wife Juanita’s place. We enjoy staying with their family, as well as with Ivan’s mother, Zlata.
The village has changed through the years. Back then, it was tough to find souvenirs to bring home to family and friends. There was only the small Franciscan gift shop next to the church, where one could get a rosary. You could not even find a statue of the Blessed Mother. Now, the place is dotted with religious stores, much like
Lourdes or Fatima, and life size statues of the Blessed Mother are available for hardy pilgrims to bring back home.
In the old days, you were isolated from the rest of the world. A brief international call through a public phone in the post office was costly. Now, internet is available. And you can readily call or text with your cell phone. Back then, a cup of cappuccino, after evening mass, would cost you only 50 cents. And a taxi to any place in town was $4 flat. Now, it’s a euro or $1.50 for cappuccino and five euros or $7 for the taxi.
I often wonder why some people readily jump at the chance of a pilgrimage to Medjugorje -- who would not want to be in a place where the Mother of God appears each day? -- while others, sincerely intending to go, never come around to doing it. Still, others think that what’s happening there for 27 years is some kind of Catholic hocus-pocus, and do not want to be bothered. Why travel halfway around the world from the United States or the Philippines when you can pray in your local church, in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Blessed Sacrament if you wish?
What Fr. Jozo Zovko says about this may be true. Whether you believe it or not, he says, you find yourself in Medjugorje because, for one reason or another, you have been invited to come. In other words, you did not choose to come. The Blessed Mother herself invited you to come.
Fr. Jozo is not one person who speaks lightly. He was the parish priest of Medjugorje, when a few days after the apparitions began, he returned from a retreat to find his little parish turned upside down. Frantic parishioners told him that the Gospa was appearing to six children. The communist police was coming in full force to stop what to them was a religious uprising.
While the visionaries, accompanied by throngs of villagers, were on Podbrdo (the Hill of Apparitions), Fr. Jozo remained in church, skeptical, wondering what he should do. The Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared in Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and other places. But in his parish? That could not be true. Yet, falling down on his knees to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, he heard a voice that said: “Fr. Jozo, take care of the children!” Fr. Jozo got up and went out of St. James Church only to be met with the children, rushing to church, pursued by the communists.
Fr. Jozo protected and defended the visionaries, and for that he paid a heavy price. He was sentenced to prison, was tortured and scheduled for execution. In prison, the Blessed Mother appeared to him and comforted him.
Today, Fr. Jozo is a retired priest in nearby Siroki-Brieg, where he has built an impressive orphanage that takes care of from 5,000-7000 children.
Fr. Jozo welcomes pilgrims and assures them of Mary’s special invitation. For those who cannot come, he says that is fine. Mary has been here for 27 years, she will continue to wait for them.
Doing the Stations of the Cross in Medjugorje. Pilgrims trek up to the large stone cross at the summit of the large mountain at Krizevac, which was erected by the local people in 1933 for the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s death.
(Last of three installments on Medjugorje)
In 1981, when word broke out that something extraordinary was happening in a small village in Communist Yugoslavia -- “Gospa” or Our Lady was reportedly appearing daily to six children, ages 9-16 -- pilgrims from neighboring towns and countries began traveling to the site.
From Italy, an overnight ride by boat from Pescara, across the Adriatic Sea, to Split was one popular route. Others traveled by car to Northeastern Italy, crossing the border town of Trieste into Slovenia. Still, others flew into Split, Mostar or Zagreb by Yugoslav Airlines. Many, like pilgrims of Santiago de Compostela, bravely walked for hundreds of miles.
However, the journey was not the toughest part. The Communist authorities were stringent about anyone visiting Medjugorje. Yugoslavia was an atheistic state -- any public display of religion was banned. The authorities, therefore, could not permit any tourist or pilgrim to enter their country to participate in a religious event!
Yet, somehow, Fr. Rene Laurentin, a noted Marianologist (a theologian specializing in the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary) made it through, after repeated attempts. His visits culminated in the book, “Is the Virgin Mary Appearing at Medjugorje?”. In collaboration with Dr. Henri Joueux, Fr. Laurentin wrote another book, “Scientific and Medical Studies on the Apparitions at Medjugorje”.
I first learned of Medjugorje on Christmas 1987, when I came across a two-page article in a Catholic magazine. In August 1988, with my wife Lucie, and my parents, I made my first trip to Medjugorje, by way of Fatima, Lourdes, and Rome. That first trip changed my life in such a profound way that even to this day, I have not completely understood its effects. I made several trips thereafter, and in 1993, wrote the book, “From Mt. Krizevac to Mt. Carmel”, in an attempt to trace a pilgrim’s outer (physical) journey and inner (spiritual) conversion.
It was difficult to persuade a publisher to take the book. Even Catholic publishers were not interested in a book about a Marian apparition that was not officially sanctioned by the Church, forgetting the fact that Marian apparitions cannot be officially approved until they cease. Political opposition from the Bishop of Mostar towards the Franciscan community running the parish of Medjugorje was not helping things either. A memo from the diocese of San Diego instructed parishes not to promote the devotion. The Southern Cross, San Diego’s diocesan newspaper, was silent about the apparitions.
But, the Mother of God is a persistent individual. Asked by the visionaries why she was appearing to them daily, she replied: “Are you tired of meeting with me?”
Thirty million pilgrims from every corner of the world have come to Medjugorje but the “Gospa” has not stopped. Never in the history of the church has a Marian apparition lasted this long -- 27 years!
Today, it is not that difficult to travel to Medjugorje. The trip involves a short flight from Rome on Croatia Airlines, a dramatic improvement from Yugoslav Air. From Split, it is a 3-4 hour ride by bus through the Dalmatian Coast. There are hundreds of well-established Marian travel agencies around the world. My favorite is Mir Arizona, organized by Helen Zec. She was one of the few brave ones who continued to bring pilgrims to Medjugorje in the height of the war in 1991-93 and did a lot for refugees and orphans of the war.
In the 1980s and into the 90s, pilgrims stayed at private homes -- villagers graciously opened their homes to host pilgrims. There were no commercial accommodations. A warm shower was a luxury. I remember Pansion Jerko fondly; we stayed in small bedrooms above a tiny snack bar. Lucie and I remain grateful to Maria Cilic who opened her house to us and gladly served our group of San Diego pilgrims homemade meals in 1989.Through the years, we’ve stayed at homes, around St. James church. The last several years, we often stay at Ivan’s home or at his brother Dragan and his wife Juanita’s place. We enjoy staying with their family, as well as with Ivan’s mother, Zlata.
The village has changed through the years. Back then, it was tough to find souvenirs to bring home to family and friends. There was only the small Franciscan gift shop next to the church, where one could get a rosary. You could not even find a statue of the Blessed Mother. Now, the place is dotted with religious stores, much like
Lourdes or Fatima, and life size statues of the Blessed Mother are available for hardy pilgrims to bring back home.
In the old days, you were isolated from the rest of the world. A brief international call through a public phone in the post office was costly. Now, internet is available. And you can readily call or text with your cell phone. Back then, a cup of cappuccino, after evening mass, would cost you only 50 cents. And a taxi to any place in town was $4 flat. Now, it’s a euro or $1.50 for cappuccino and five euros or $7 for the taxi.
I often wonder why some people readily jump at the chance of a pilgrimage to Medjugorje -- who would not want to be in a place where the Mother of God appears each day? -- while others, sincerely intending to go, never come around to doing it. Still, others think that what’s happening there for 27 years is some kind of Catholic hocus-pocus, and do not want to be bothered. Why travel halfway around the world from the United States or the Philippines when you can pray in your local church, in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Blessed Sacrament if you wish?
What Fr. Jozo Zovko says about this may be true. Whether you believe it or not, he says, you find yourself in Medjugorje because, for one reason or another, you have been invited to come. In other words, you did not choose to come. The Blessed Mother herself invited you to come.
Fr. Jozo is not one person who speaks lightly. He was the parish priest of Medjugorje, when a few days after the apparitions began, he returned from a retreat to find his little parish turned upside down. Frantic parishioners told him that the Gospa was appearing to six children. The communist police was coming in full force to stop what to them was a religious uprising.
While the visionaries, accompanied by throngs of villagers, were on Podbrdo (the Hill of Apparitions), Fr. Jozo remained in church, skeptical, wondering what he should do. The Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared in Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and other places. But in his parish? That could not be true. Yet, falling down on his knees to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, he heard a voice that said: “Fr. Jozo, take care of the children!” Fr. Jozo got up and went out of St. James Church only to be met with the children, rushing to church, pursued by the communists.
Fr. Jozo protected and defended the visionaries, and for that he paid a heavy price. He was sentenced to prison, was tortured and scheduled for execution. In prison, the Blessed Mother appeared to him and comforted him.
Today, Fr. Jozo is a retired priest in nearby Siroki-Brieg, where he has built an impressive orphanage that takes care of from 5,000-7000 children.
Fr. Jozo welcomes pilgrims and assures them of Mary’s special invitation. For those who cannot come, he says that is fine. Mary has been here for 27 years, she will continue to wait for them.
Friday, November 2, 2007
THE WEEPING CHRIST at Medjugorje
Reprinted from the Asian Journal
November 2, 2007
By Dr. Edgar A. Gamboa
Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina -- In years past, it was, as in Fatima, the miracle of the “dancing sun”. Pilgrims from all over the world flocked to the tiny, quiet village of Medjugorje (formerly part of Tito’s Communist Yugoslavia but since 1993 of independent Bosnia-Hercegovina) to gaze at the spinning sun and to marvel at ordinary rosaries turning to gold. Multicolored lights burst forth like impromptu fireworks around the cross at the peak of Mt. Krizevac. And in the early days of the now famous Marian apparitions, the word “MIR” (meaning peace in Croatian) was prominently scrawled across the early evening sky.
Nowadays, it is the phenomenon of the weeping Christ.
Recently I stood in line awaiting my turn to witness this latest Medjugorje happening. Before the start of the 10 o’clock English Mass (in addition to the 6 PM Croatian Mass, liturgy is celebrated daily for Italian, French, Spanish and many other pilgrim groups), I walked to the miraculous site, which is located about a hundred yards behind St. James Church, towards the direction of Mt. Krizevac.
Already, clusters of devoted pilgrims – Croatians, Hungarians, Poles, Nigerians, Irish, Germans, and Americans – were lining up to see the weeping Christ at close range. Many were there to touch the bronze statue, to wipe (like St. Veronica) the miraculous tears, even to collect them in tiny vials.
My turn finally came and I stood in awe looking up at the approximately 30-foot bronze modernistic sculpture of the risen Christ. The statue was verdigris green except for the large shiny golden patch on the right leg. The distal thigh and the lateral side of the knee were remarkably smooth and shiny from pilgrims touching and wiping that accessible part of the statue for over a year. It reminded me of St. Peter’s “gold clubfoot” in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, reverently touched by pilgrims for hundreds of years.
Clearly I could see a droplet of fluid slowly forming, then oozing from the thigh and trickling down the knee and lower leg every second or two. Pilgrims would promptly catch the fluid before it reached the foot. Many would place their rosaries, medals, or other religious objects against the wet statue; others would blot the leg with tissue paper or wipe it with a handkerchief. Still others collected the trickling fluid in small containers.
Some pilgrims have claimed that the “tears” tasted salty while others are not too sure. Some say that at certain days the clear watery fluid feels thick and oily. In any event, the weeping Christ is today drawing even more crowds to Medjugorje.
I have heard and read of “crying statues”, of holy pictures or sacred images oozing oil, tears, even blood – but this was the very first time I had witnessed firsthand such an incredible phenomenon. Standing before what appeared to be miraculous, or at the very least unexplainable, I could not help but dab the statue with a handkerchief that was promptly soaked.
This bronze statue of the risen Christ, now the focus of so much attention, is a new addition to the religious attractions in Medjugorje, which traditionally include Podbrdo (or the Hill of Apparitions where the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the children on June 24, 1981), Mt. Krizevac (or the mountain where the 1933 cross was erected and where the popular Stations of the Cross are located), and St. James Church (where the visionaries hid when pursued by Communist authorities and where pilgrims now gather daily for liturgy).
The statue is a replica of a 277 cm. silver image of “The Resurrection”, sculpted by Andrej Ajdic and presented to Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his Papal Visit to Slovenia in 1996. The mystery of Christ’s resurrection is expressed by the image of an elongated, slender Christ, arms outstretched as if still nailed to the cross but at the same time globally embracing redeemed mankind, while triumphantly rising from a cross which is laid flat on the ground, overcast by the silhouette of Christ or God’s presence on earth. Another unique feature of the sculpture is that Christ is not wrapped by a loincloth but by a newspaper, signifying the ephemeral event of the crucifixion, in contrast to Christ’s everlasting and infinite nature.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the apparition of “Gospa, Kraljice Mira” (“Blessed Mother, Queen of Peace” in the native Croatian language), a 30-foot bronze replica of Ajdic’s “The Resurrection” was erected behind St. James Church. A day or two after the anniversary, around June 25-26, 2001, pilgrims started noticing that the statue was visibly oozing clear fluid.
The Franciscan community, guardians of St. James Church and Medjugorje, has not officially acknowledged the phenomenon of the “weeping Christ”. While not discouraging pilgrims from congregating and praying around the statue, the friars refrain from actively fostering devotion to it, in contrast to their efforts to promote the daily Rosary and Mass, and the weekly Stations of the Cross and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Blessed Mother has time and time again requested the latter devotions.
In her daily apparitions to the visionaries, spanning over the last 21 years, She has tirelessly requested -- kindly, gently, and lovingly, as the visionaries report, and never in a strict or authoritarian manner -- that the traditional Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be are recited seven times daily as well as the Apostles’ Creed for the cause of peace; that families gather together to pray the rosary, to “pray with the heart”, to pray for “unbelievers”, to read Scripture; that we all attend Mass, receive the Holy Eucharist, and go to monthly confession. She has also asked for fasting on bread and water, if possible, on Wednesdays and Fridays. And at the end of every apparition, which usually lasts from 2-8 minutes, She never fails to thank the visionaries. “If you knew how much I love you,” she has said, “ you would cry for joy!”
When pilgrims ask the visionaries how the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to them, they say: “She is the most beautiful person…we see her like we see you or any other person. She always appears with a cloud around and covering her feet, which never touches the ground. Sometimes, She is accompanied by angels…She wears a gray gown with a white veil; on Christmas and special feast days, She comes dressed in a golden gown. She has blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and long dark hair. She is incredibly beautiful beyond words and She has the loveliest smile”.
Many pilgrims, who would visit Fatima or Lourdes or Guadalupe, established and ecclesiastically approved Marian sites, do not include Medjugorje in their itinerary because the Church has not yet officially approved it. But they forget or probably are unaware that the Catholic Church does not review, much less, approve of on going apparitions. The Church will officially review the authenticity of an apparition only after such has ceased.
Thus, at Lourdes where St. Bernadette encountered 18 apparitions from February 11th – July 16th, 1858, the event was not officially recognized by the Church, until four years later, on January 18, 1862, when Bishop Laurence, Bishop of Tarbes, officially declared the apparitions to be authentic and submitted his recommendation to the Holy Father.
In the case of Fatima, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared six times to the three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, between May 13th - October 13th, 1917, official ecclesiastical recognition that the Fatima message was “worthy of belief” did not happen until 1930.
Since at Medjugorje, the daily apparitions continue for three of the original six visionaries -- “Gospa” appears to Vicka, Marija, and Ivan daily but only on special occasions now to Ivanka, Mirjana, and Jacov -- official church recognition is not anticipated for some time to come. However, Medjugorje presents a special opportunity for many to visit a Marian apparition that is occurring to the present day.
______________________
Dr. Edgar A. Gamboa (pseudonym John Paul Noel) is the author of “From Mt. Krizevac to Mt. Carmel: A Medjugorje Pilgrim’s Conversion”, ISBN 0-9639536-0-5, Mir Communications, 1995, available at Pauline Books & Media & Amazon.com.
more . . . E-mails from the Desert - Dr. Ed Gamboa
November 2, 2007
By Dr. Edgar A. Gamboa
Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina -- In years past, it was, as in Fatima, the miracle of the “dancing sun”. Pilgrims from all over the world flocked to the tiny, quiet village of Medjugorje (formerly part of Tito’s Communist Yugoslavia but since 1993 of independent Bosnia-Hercegovina) to gaze at the spinning sun and to marvel at ordinary rosaries turning to gold. Multicolored lights burst forth like impromptu fireworks around the cross at the peak of Mt. Krizevac. And in the early days of the now famous Marian apparitions, the word “MIR” (meaning peace in Croatian) was prominently scrawled across the early evening sky.
Nowadays, it is the phenomenon of the weeping Christ.
Recently I stood in line awaiting my turn to witness this latest Medjugorje happening. Before the start of the 10 o’clock English Mass (in addition to the 6 PM Croatian Mass, liturgy is celebrated daily for Italian, French, Spanish and many other pilgrim groups), I walked to the miraculous site, which is located about a hundred yards behind St. James Church, towards the direction of Mt. Krizevac.
Already, clusters of devoted pilgrims – Croatians, Hungarians, Poles, Nigerians, Irish, Germans, and Americans – were lining up to see the weeping Christ at close range. Many were there to touch the bronze statue, to wipe (like St. Veronica) the miraculous tears, even to collect them in tiny vials.
My turn finally came and I stood in awe looking up at the approximately 30-foot bronze modernistic sculpture of the risen Christ. The statue was verdigris green except for the large shiny golden patch on the right leg. The distal thigh and the lateral side of the knee were remarkably smooth and shiny from pilgrims touching and wiping that accessible part of the statue for over a year. It reminded me of St. Peter’s “gold clubfoot” in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, reverently touched by pilgrims for hundreds of years.
Clearly I could see a droplet of fluid slowly forming, then oozing from the thigh and trickling down the knee and lower leg every second or two. Pilgrims would promptly catch the fluid before it reached the foot. Many would place their rosaries, medals, or other religious objects against the wet statue; others would blot the leg with tissue paper or wipe it with a handkerchief. Still others collected the trickling fluid in small containers.
Some pilgrims have claimed that the “tears” tasted salty while others are not too sure. Some say that at certain days the clear watery fluid feels thick and oily. In any event, the weeping Christ is today drawing even more crowds to Medjugorje.
I have heard and read of “crying statues”, of holy pictures or sacred images oozing oil, tears, even blood – but this was the very first time I had witnessed firsthand such an incredible phenomenon. Standing before what appeared to be miraculous, or at the very least unexplainable, I could not help but dab the statue with a handkerchief that was promptly soaked.
This bronze statue of the risen Christ, now the focus of so much attention, is a new addition to the religious attractions in Medjugorje, which traditionally include Podbrdo (or the Hill of Apparitions where the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the children on June 24, 1981), Mt. Krizevac (or the mountain where the 1933 cross was erected and where the popular Stations of the Cross are located), and St. James Church (where the visionaries hid when pursued by Communist authorities and where pilgrims now gather daily for liturgy).
The statue is a replica of a 277 cm. silver image of “The Resurrection”, sculpted by Andrej Ajdic and presented to Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his Papal Visit to Slovenia in 1996. The mystery of Christ’s resurrection is expressed by the image of an elongated, slender Christ, arms outstretched as if still nailed to the cross but at the same time globally embracing redeemed mankind, while triumphantly rising from a cross which is laid flat on the ground, overcast by the silhouette of Christ or God’s presence on earth. Another unique feature of the sculpture is that Christ is not wrapped by a loincloth but by a newspaper, signifying the ephemeral event of the crucifixion, in contrast to Christ’s everlasting and infinite nature.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the apparition of “Gospa, Kraljice Mira” (“Blessed Mother, Queen of Peace” in the native Croatian language), a 30-foot bronze replica of Ajdic’s “The Resurrection” was erected behind St. James Church. A day or two after the anniversary, around June 25-26, 2001, pilgrims started noticing that the statue was visibly oozing clear fluid.
The Franciscan community, guardians of St. James Church and Medjugorje, has not officially acknowledged the phenomenon of the “weeping Christ”. While not discouraging pilgrims from congregating and praying around the statue, the friars refrain from actively fostering devotion to it, in contrast to their efforts to promote the daily Rosary and Mass, and the weekly Stations of the Cross and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Blessed Mother has time and time again requested the latter devotions.
In her daily apparitions to the visionaries, spanning over the last 21 years, She has tirelessly requested -- kindly, gently, and lovingly, as the visionaries report, and never in a strict or authoritarian manner -- that the traditional Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be are recited seven times daily as well as the Apostles’ Creed for the cause of peace; that families gather together to pray the rosary, to “pray with the heart”, to pray for “unbelievers”, to read Scripture; that we all attend Mass, receive the Holy Eucharist, and go to monthly confession. She has also asked for fasting on bread and water, if possible, on Wednesdays and Fridays. And at the end of every apparition, which usually lasts from 2-8 minutes, She never fails to thank the visionaries. “If you knew how much I love you,” she has said, “ you would cry for joy!”
When pilgrims ask the visionaries how the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to them, they say: “She is the most beautiful person…we see her like we see you or any other person. She always appears with a cloud around and covering her feet, which never touches the ground. Sometimes, She is accompanied by angels…She wears a gray gown with a white veil; on Christmas and special feast days, She comes dressed in a golden gown. She has blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and long dark hair. She is incredibly beautiful beyond words and She has the loveliest smile”.
Many pilgrims, who would visit Fatima or Lourdes or Guadalupe, established and ecclesiastically approved Marian sites, do not include Medjugorje in their itinerary because the Church has not yet officially approved it. But they forget or probably are unaware that the Catholic Church does not review, much less, approve of on going apparitions. The Church will officially review the authenticity of an apparition only after such has ceased.
Thus, at Lourdes where St. Bernadette encountered 18 apparitions from February 11th – July 16th, 1858, the event was not officially recognized by the Church, until four years later, on January 18, 1862, when Bishop Laurence, Bishop of Tarbes, officially declared the apparitions to be authentic and submitted his recommendation to the Holy Father.
In the case of Fatima, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared six times to the three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, between May 13th - October 13th, 1917, official ecclesiastical recognition that the Fatima message was “worthy of belief” did not happen until 1930.
Since at Medjugorje, the daily apparitions continue for three of the original six visionaries -- “Gospa” appears to Vicka, Marija, and Ivan daily but only on special occasions now to Ivanka, Mirjana, and Jacov -- official church recognition is not anticipated for some time to come. However, Medjugorje presents a special opportunity for many to visit a Marian apparition that is occurring to the present day.
______________________
Dr. Edgar A. Gamboa (pseudonym John Paul Noel) is the author of “From Mt. Krizevac to Mt. Carmel: A Medjugorje Pilgrim’s Conversion”, ISBN 0-9639536-0-5, Mir Communications, 1995, available at Pauline Books & Media & Amazon.com.
more . . . E-mails from the Desert - Dr. Ed Gamboa
Friday, October 26, 2007
Kraljica Mira
Reprinted from the Asian Journal
October 26, 2007
Dobar Dan or “good day” as they like to greet each other here in Medjugorje.
Twenty-six years and thirty million pilgrims later, Medjugorje, situated in the heart of mountainous Bosnia-Hercegovina, is no longer the quiet, God-forsaken village that it was in Tito’s Communist Yugoslavia. It has, in fact, become one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Christendom.
The story is now well known. On June 24, 1981, the feast of St. John the Baptist, six children, walking by the hill of Podbrdo on their way home to Bijakovici, saw an incredibly beautiful lady. Dazzling like the sun, she wore a luminous white veil over her head and cradled a baby in her arms. The children claim that no words are adequate to describe her lovely face and smile.
Since that momentous afternoon in 1981, Kraljica Mira (translated to “Queen of Peace” in Croatian) has miraculously appeared to the six visionaries every day at around 5:40 PM. The daily apparition may last from two minutes to an hour, but usually occurs in five to ten minutes.
The children go into ecstasy when the apparition occurs and they report that they see Kraljica Mira or Gospa (“Our Lady”) just like they see you and me. They converse with her freely and she in turn gives them private and public messages. Through Marija, a public message is given to the parish (and the world) every 25th day of each month. In the early years, the message was promptly posted on the front door of St. James Church. With the advent of the Internet, such message is disseminated world wide by a click on the keyboard (log on to http://medjugorje.org).
Today, only three of the visionaries -- Marija, Vicka and Ivan -- continue to see Kraljica Mira each single day. The other three -- Ivanka, Mirjana, and Jacov -- no longer see Our Lady except on special occasions. Reminiscent of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, the last three children (now adults) have received ten secrets each, which are to be revealed to a priest of their choice, at the proper time.
The secrets of Medjugorje understandably scare people who link them to the Book of Revelations or an apocalyptic end of the world scenario. But the visionaries emphasize God’s love and say that people who strive to live the messages of Medjugorje have no reason to fear. Theologians who have analyzed the hundreds of messages through the years see them as consistent with lessons in the Gospel. Fr. Jozo Zovko, the parish priest of Medjugorje when the apparitions began, summarizes the messages into five main points or requests by Our Lady, namely:
1. To “pray with the heart” or to pray the Rosary each day (preferably to pray together with family).
2. To attend Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist regularly.
3. To read and reflect daily on Scripture.
4. To fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays (assuming one’s health allows; otherwise, to fast from other things, i.e., TV, movies, video games, internet, and other distractions).
5. To practice monthly confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation).
American pilgrims frequently ask if morning coffee is consistent with fasting to which Mirjana responds with an impish smile: “Sure, just drink it before Our Lady wakes up!” Italians typically ask if pasta can substitute for bread (rice for Filipinos?). The visionaries respond with good humor. The point, they say, is that Our Lady does not wish to give us a hard time. Far from it, she just wants us to advance spiritually, step by step.
Actually, none of the above Christian practices are radically new. Fasting may have been forgotten along with other ascetic traditions known since the time of the Apostles. The purpose of fasting is to develop the virtue of self-discipline, which is essential for spiritual maturity. Kraljica Mira frequently invites the visionaries (and the world through them) to make every effort to incorporate these virtuous practices in our daily life.
The Vatican has not officially approved the apparitions at Medjugorje. But that is not unusual; traditionally, the Church waits until apparitions or supernatural phenomena have ceased before embarking on a full theological investigation, as in the case of Fatima and Lourdes.
The visionaries, however, have been subjected to a battery of medical and scientific tests. A local physician, Dr. Ante Vujevic, conducted the first examination when communist police brought the children to the doctor four days after the first apparition took place. On June 29, the children were rushed to a clinic in Mostar and examined by Dr. Dzudza Mulija. The psychiatrist reportedly remarked that the frantic officers who brought the visionaries to the clinic were the ones who acted insane. The children were clearly psychologically normal.
Other psychiatrists, including Croatian Dr. Nikola Bartulica who practices in Missouri, have evaluated the visionaries from October 1981 to 1989. In 1991, Dr. Bartulica published his conclusions in the book, “Are the visionaries telling the truth?” All the medical and scientific experts to date have uncovered nothing out of the ordinary or pathological with the visionaries. They have all been assessed to be physically and psychologically healthy and definitely not epileptic or hysterical.
The most exhaustive series of examinations, utilizing technically advanced monitoring devices, were performed from March to December 1984 by a team of French experts, led by Dr. Henri Joyeaux. Their findings were published in the book, “Etudes medicales et scientifiques sur les apparitions de Medjugorje”.
The following year, a scientific and theological commission composed of 17 French and Italian experts, including a vision and a hearing specialist, interviewed and tested the visionaries. The consensus was invariably the same -- the visionaries were physically and mentally fine.
In 1998, at the request of the Franciscans, a team headed by Dr. Andreas Resch, Professor of Theology at the Papal University Alfonsianum in Rome, expanded on the tests conducted by the French and Italian team.
The most recent scientific investigation was performed on the 24th anniversary of Medjugorje, at the behest of the Holy See. It was conducted by Professor Joyeaux, with the assistance of neurologist, Dr. Philippe Loron. When the visionaries went into ecstasy, their brain waves and vital signs were recorded in detail. Ivan resents being “treated like a guinea pig” but endures having a nest of electrodes and wires taped all over his body if only to persuade skeptics and unbelievers.
All the medical and scientific testing through the years have arrived at the same conclusion: the visionaries are undoubtedly normal, healthy individuals. They are not under the influence of drugs or any mind-altering substance. They are not pretending, imagining things, or hallucinating.
Needless to say, the daily appearance of Kraljica Mira cannot be proven scientifically. But, indirectly, scientific methods applied to the visionaries have not detected fraud, delusion, hallucination, or any other subjective irrationality. Granted, for the sake of argument that the visionaries are pretending to see things and making up stories, it is humanly impossible to go through such acts fraudulently every day for 26 years.
To believers of the supernatural events in Medjugorje, no further proof that the Mother of God is appearing daily is needed. To unbelievers, no amount of proof, scientific or otherwise, will suffice.
more . . . E-mails from the Desert - Dr. Ed Gamboa
October 26, 2007
Dobar Dan or “good day” as they like to greet each other here in Medjugorje.
Twenty-six years and thirty million pilgrims later, Medjugorje, situated in the heart of mountainous Bosnia-Hercegovina, is no longer the quiet, God-forsaken village that it was in Tito’s Communist Yugoslavia. It has, in fact, become one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Christendom.
The story is now well known. On June 24, 1981, the feast of St. John the Baptist, six children, walking by the hill of Podbrdo on their way home to Bijakovici, saw an incredibly beautiful lady. Dazzling like the sun, she wore a luminous white veil over her head and cradled a baby in her arms. The children claim that no words are adequate to describe her lovely face and smile.
Since that momentous afternoon in 1981, Kraljica Mira (translated to “Queen of Peace” in Croatian) has miraculously appeared to the six visionaries every day at around 5:40 PM. The daily apparition may last from two minutes to an hour, but usually occurs in five to ten minutes.
The children go into ecstasy when the apparition occurs and they report that they see Kraljica Mira or Gospa (“Our Lady”) just like they see you and me. They converse with her freely and she in turn gives them private and public messages. Through Marija, a public message is given to the parish (and the world) every 25th day of each month. In the early years, the message was promptly posted on the front door of St. James Church. With the advent of the Internet, such message is disseminated world wide by a click on the keyboard (log on to http://medjugorje.org).
Today, only three of the visionaries -- Marija, Vicka and Ivan -- continue to see Kraljica Mira each single day. The other three -- Ivanka, Mirjana, and Jacov -- no longer see Our Lady except on special occasions. Reminiscent of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, the last three children (now adults) have received ten secrets each, which are to be revealed to a priest of their choice, at the proper time.
The secrets of Medjugorje understandably scare people who link them to the Book of Revelations or an apocalyptic end of the world scenario. But the visionaries emphasize God’s love and say that people who strive to live the messages of Medjugorje have no reason to fear. Theologians who have analyzed the hundreds of messages through the years see them as consistent with lessons in the Gospel. Fr. Jozo Zovko, the parish priest of Medjugorje when the apparitions began, summarizes the messages into five main points or requests by Our Lady, namely:
1. To “pray with the heart” or to pray the Rosary each day (preferably to pray together with family).
2. To attend Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist regularly.
3. To read and reflect daily on Scripture.
4. To fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays (assuming one’s health allows; otherwise, to fast from other things, i.e., TV, movies, video games, internet, and other distractions).
5. To practice monthly confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation).
American pilgrims frequently ask if morning coffee is consistent with fasting to which Mirjana responds with an impish smile: “Sure, just drink it before Our Lady wakes up!” Italians typically ask if pasta can substitute for bread (rice for Filipinos?). The visionaries respond with good humor. The point, they say, is that Our Lady does not wish to give us a hard time. Far from it, she just wants us to advance spiritually, step by step.
Actually, none of the above Christian practices are radically new. Fasting may have been forgotten along with other ascetic traditions known since the time of the Apostles. The purpose of fasting is to develop the virtue of self-discipline, which is essential for spiritual maturity. Kraljica Mira frequently invites the visionaries (and the world through them) to make every effort to incorporate these virtuous practices in our daily life.
The Vatican has not officially approved the apparitions at Medjugorje. But that is not unusual; traditionally, the Church waits until apparitions or supernatural phenomena have ceased before embarking on a full theological investigation, as in the case of Fatima and Lourdes.
The visionaries, however, have been subjected to a battery of medical and scientific tests. A local physician, Dr. Ante Vujevic, conducted the first examination when communist police brought the children to the doctor four days after the first apparition took place. On June 29, the children were rushed to a clinic in Mostar and examined by Dr. Dzudza Mulija. The psychiatrist reportedly remarked that the frantic officers who brought the visionaries to the clinic were the ones who acted insane. The children were clearly psychologically normal.
Other psychiatrists, including Croatian Dr. Nikola Bartulica who practices in Missouri, have evaluated the visionaries from October 1981 to 1989. In 1991, Dr. Bartulica published his conclusions in the book, “Are the visionaries telling the truth?” All the medical and scientific experts to date have uncovered nothing out of the ordinary or pathological with the visionaries. They have all been assessed to be physically and psychologically healthy and definitely not epileptic or hysterical.
The most exhaustive series of examinations, utilizing technically advanced monitoring devices, were performed from March to December 1984 by a team of French experts, led by Dr. Henri Joyeaux. Their findings were published in the book, “Etudes medicales et scientifiques sur les apparitions de Medjugorje”.
The following year, a scientific and theological commission composed of 17 French and Italian experts, including a vision and a hearing specialist, interviewed and tested the visionaries. The consensus was invariably the same -- the visionaries were physically and mentally fine.
In 1998, at the request of the Franciscans, a team headed by Dr. Andreas Resch, Professor of Theology at the Papal University Alfonsianum in Rome, expanded on the tests conducted by the French and Italian team.
The most recent scientific investigation was performed on the 24th anniversary of Medjugorje, at the behest of the Holy See. It was conducted by Professor Joyeaux, with the assistance of neurologist, Dr. Philippe Loron. When the visionaries went into ecstasy, their brain waves and vital signs were recorded in detail. Ivan resents being “treated like a guinea pig” but endures having a nest of electrodes and wires taped all over his body if only to persuade skeptics and unbelievers.
All the medical and scientific testing through the years have arrived at the same conclusion: the visionaries are undoubtedly normal, healthy individuals. They are not under the influence of drugs or any mind-altering substance. They are not pretending, imagining things, or hallucinating.
Needless to say, the daily appearance of Kraljica Mira cannot be proven scientifically. But, indirectly, scientific methods applied to the visionaries have not detected fraud, delusion, hallucination, or any other subjective irrationality. Granted, for the sake of argument that the visionaries are pretending to see things and making up stories, it is humanly impossible to go through such acts fraudulently every day for 26 years.
To believers of the supernatural events in Medjugorje, no further proof that the Mother of God is appearing daily is needed. To unbelievers, no amount of proof, scientific or otherwise, will suffice.
more . . . E-mails from the Desert - Dr. Ed Gamboa
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