WHY MEDJUGORJE ?

 "Why Medugorje" is a new film by Croation director Josip Loncar. It documents his own personal experience when he visited Medugorje for the first time in 1987. This film very much captures the Spirit of Medugorje from a pilgrim's perspective. As an added bonus narration is by renowned scripture scholar Tony Hickey. After watching this film, you will have many good reasons why you should consider visiting Medugorje.
Comment: Upon hearing of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary I felt a strong desire to go there. It was not a wish to get assurances of the authentcity there, not to experience something extraodinary, or even to be healed of some sort of illness, rather it was a need for peace within my soul. I received the Catholic faith from my parents as an inheritance as well as a solid formation in the christian life, but never the less as far as I was concerned there were many questions that were still  left unanswered.....
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Update on the ABC Special, "Miracles", which includes a segment about Medjugorje

This is an update on the ABC Special, "Miracles", which includes a segment
about Medjugorje.

The ABC special has been moved, now to July 13 This is due to ABC airing
something this past Wednesday on the Casey Anthony Trial.

Sorry about this change. I was told by the producer that this should be the last date change.

I'm praying, praying, praying that this special will touch hearts and honor
Our Lady. We all know that the secular media can put a whole different spin
on things. Medjugorje is just part of the special, but I have been told that
the time with the group in Medjugorje is 30 minutes of the program.
I imagine the time will remain at 9:00 p.m. (CST), 10:00 p.m. (EST).

Hope this helps!

Medjugorje: 30th anniversary breaks all previous records

100,000 pilgrims in Medjugorje
for 30th anniversary.
photo-medjugorje.hr

 30th anniversary breaks all previous records
Posted on Jun 25, 2011

An estimated 100,000 pilgrims from more than 100 countries attended Masses in more than 20 languages, bought a record number of books and restaurant meals before spending the night in a record number of local hotel and pansion beds, if not on lawns and parking lots. The 30th anniversary of the apparitions in Medjugorje set new records in almost every conceivable way.

Throngs of pilgrims in Medjugorje on Friday. Photo: medjugorje.hr The apparitions in Medjugorje can neither be limited by time, nor by space, the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija reports from the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions. Nor by any kind of number, one could almost add.

According to the newspaper Vecernji List, a record number of just about 100,000 pilgrims make sure a number of other records are also being broken these days: Number of countries the pilgrims have arrived from (more than 100 on all continents), and number of languages in which Masses are being celebrated (more than 20).

The great influx of pilgrims sets new secular records as well. This goes for the number of souvenirs, books and meals sold in restaurants and stores, and the number of rooms rented in local hotels and pansions.

“The days are busy not only for the hotel facilities and rooms in private houses, but also for lawns, streets and parking lots where pilgrims from all over the world and of all races and nations are resting and sleeping, tired but satisfied”, Slobodna Dalmacija also reports.
http://is.gd/6aQfiZ    http://www.medjugorjetoday.tv/

Ivan questions acceptance of Mary’s messages

Ivan Dragicevic

Ivan questions acceptance of Mary’s messages
Posted by Jakob Marschner on Jun 25, 2011

The Virgin Mary’s apparitions in Medjugorje are for all of mankind. But has mankind responded to the grace as it ought to? Visionary Ivan Dragicevic asks this and other questions, but leaves the answers open in a retrospective talk for the 30th anniversary of the apparitions.

Ivan Dragicevic during his retrospective talk about the first 30 years of apparitions - and the degree of acceptance of the Virgin Mary's messages. Photo: MaryTV

Visionary Ivan Dragicevic made his audience look inwards when he marked the 30th anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions in a lecture on Friday – by openly asking if the Virgin’s main message had been sufficiently accepted.

“These apparitions of Our Lady are a great crossroads for humanity, a new call, a new way, a new future for mankind. But how aware are we of the messages? Do they go to our heart? Do we live them? For thirty years we have had a message, you could say, each day from Our Lady. Can we live these messages in one life time?” Ivan said.

“For a few years we had a message every Thursday and then we had a message once a month. Why? Our Lady was giving us more time to understand each message. It is important to use our time well, to live the messages”.

Stressing that the following passage does not refer to the 10 prophetic secrets to be entrusted by the Virgin Mary to each visionary, Ivan continued his talk:

“Many pilgrims, even priests, don’t understand why Our Lady has been coming every day, what she could be saying to me every day and what I have to say to her every day. I have to tell you we talk a lot! One day when things are revealed, you will understand, your eyes will be opened. When we see the physical changes that will happen in the world, we will understand why she came every day.”

“The time before us is one of great responsibility. Each one is responsible. Each family is responsible. We must lead our families spiritually and base our lives on holy things of the Gospel. We must practice what the Gospel teaches. This is the message all these 30 years. It is nothing new; we know it from the Church. But we are not living it. Our Lady invites us to be responsible.”
http://is.gd/IMMciq    http://www.medjugorjetoday.tv/

Medjugorje: Are You Listening???

Apparition of Mother of God (Gospa) to Mirjana Sodo, March 18th 2011

A Little Reflection (by Sr. Isabel)

A Little Reflection (by Sr. Isabel)

Happy Anniversary! For 30 years, Our Lady has been giving us her messages, messages of peace and love. She calls us to live her messages so that we can be witnesses to a world in need of peace. Our example speaks volumes to those whose faith is weak and to those who have no faith. They wonder what is the cause of our peace, our joy and our love. They wonder what it is that makes us happy. True peace and true happiness rests in our relationship with Jesus, her Son. In the power of the Holy Spirit, she who is the spouse of the Holy Spirit, calls us to be faithful to her call. Her desire is that all her children be with her in eternity. The closer we draw to her Immaculate Heart, the closer we will also draw to the Merciful, Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a Mother, Our Lady desires our true happiness here and in eternity. With hearts full of gratitude, let us respond to her call. ______________

**ABC will broadcast a special on Medjugorje July 6 at 10:00 pm Eastern time. The ABC crew were in Medjugorje recently for the filming.

**On another note, several of the visionaries have gone to Rome recently to be interviewed by the Vatican Commission on Medjugorje. Let us pray for them all.

Daily Grace: The Ministry of Attraction

Daily Grace: The Ministry of Attraction: "“Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me….” taken from Malachi 3: 1 St. John the Baptist , the prophet of hope, was th..."

Father Robert Randall’s Homily of Father John F. Randall 1-12-31-1928 to 6-15-2011

Fr. Robert Randall
below Fr. John Randall

The Reverend John F. Randall, 82, Pastor Emeritus of St. Charles Borromeo Church, Providence, died on Wednesday June 15, 2011

Father Robert Randall's Homily of Father John F. Randall 1-2-1928 to 6-15-2011 

The bible readings were chosen by my Sister Mary and me to reflect Father John's three major concerns; first with the Old Testament prophets who call us to repentance and remind us of God's power and fidelity to his promises, secondly, the reading from Wednesday, the day of his death.

His concern with St. Paul's teaching on ecumenical unity, on the Body of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit; thirdly his concern with Jesus' prayer for priests and all of us, a prayer for intimacy through faith and love, a prayer from John's Gospel that Father John chose as the subject of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Louvain.

We come to church today as we always do to praise God in his work of creation and salvation, or as the Psalms sing, his work of loving kindness and endless fidelity. We come in this week of Pentecost to thank Him for sending his only Son to save us and for sending the Holy Spirit to build his church. We come to the altar in the presence of "myriads of angels," in the presence of the apostles and all the saints of heaven, to offer sacrifice for the salvation of all men and women. We come now in this sad but happy hour to pray for Father John Randall, former pastor and rebuilder of this Church of St. Charles, that he be totally purified for the enjoyment of divine life with his Master and Lord, the risen and glorified Jesus Christ. Father John's hero St. Paul wrote, "The Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the spirit."(II Cor3:l7-l8) May John know now the fullness of Christ's glory, face to face.

Those of us who really knew Father John have no doubt that King Jesus will give him a royal welcome. Those of us on earth can rejoice in having known a true man of God. Father McGovern summed up our feelings when he said to me Wednesday: "When I was with John I never had a single doubt that he was a man of the Spirit, pure gold." And I would add, he was not only a great priest of the Diocese of Providence but a great priest of the world. Jim Stapleton, our undertaker, told me that he had phone calls on Wednesday from Canada and seven states outside Rhode Island, all this before the announcement in the papers. Father John was God's gift to the world.

I'll order my remarks about Father John under three headings: John in the Randall family, John in his first 20 years of priesthood; John in his last 38 years.

John grew up in a family formed by the Word of God. Father Anthony Sarsfield Cotter, curate of St. Mary's, taught us the family rosary long before Father Paynton and consecrated our family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He spent much of his life training choir and altar boys into secret societies and teaching us the skills of baseball, football and camping. His ghost stories during our overnight camping trips to Lawton's Valley were spellbinding. Then when dad moved to St. Augustin's parish in 1938, Father Cotter would store his athletic equipment in our garage in preparation for practice sessions at Richmond Field. Many a young man owed his development in faith and in sports to Father Cotter. He was GOING MY WAY long before Bing Crosby.

At St. Augustin's we had a devoted pastor Father Joe Coleman who insured we knew our religion. Though we went to his parochial school, we still had to attend bible study for public school students on Sunday afternoons. Father Coleman actively pursued us to our priestly vocations, first to John, and then to me. Besides these saintly priests there was the Sisters of Mercy whom dad and mom knew well since they provided taxi service for them. And then there were the good Sisters of St. Joseph who educated my sisters at St. Catherine's Academy, all friends of the family.

If you ask the Randall family they will tell you they see Father John no different now than they did years ago. He is the same one who tells kookie jokes and puns, the same one who throws grapes up in the air to catch them one by one in his mouth and sometimes, to entertain his nieces and nephews, teaches them at table to throw tiny tomatoes in the air to catch in their mouth and then to talk sports with them.. John never missed a family celebration or an opportunity to give help and encouragement to cousins and neighbors. As a boy I fought strongly with him on the tennis court, basketball court, football field but never on the golf course, mainly because he worked as a teen at Bailey's Beach and I at Newport Country Club. In later life we would always meet for the big games or tournaments and celebrate with dinner. I planned last Monday to have dinner with him and Sister Mary in a restaurant when we could watch the final holes of the US Open golf tournament on this Sunday, tomorrow. He was always an ardent fan of our Boston teams; he had little use for the Pittsburgh Steelers or the NY Yankees.

Throughout our family history he was a great celebrator of mom and dad. One of his joys was escorting my mother around Ireland during the summer just before he finished his seminary studies in France. Perhaps his greatest joy was hosting Pop Randall at St. Charles' Rectory for the final seven years of dad's life. And he was not at all jealous that dad had more famous visitors than he had! John's last visits to Newport were just two weeks ago, one for my sister Joan's 70th birthday, my 60th anniversary, and my sister Theresa's 50th wedding anniversary; the other visit 5 days later was for his grand niece's graduation from St. George's Academy.

2nd, his first 20 years of priesthood... In 1953 John returned home from the Grande Seminary in Brittany, France, a frail and tough young man, after 5 years in an old cold stone building without heat. But he was joyful after being tutored along with Joe Heaney and Dan Reilly by the saintly and scholarly Father Herve. He loved his early priestly ministry with the nuns at Mount St. Rita's and with the students at St. Raphael's. To this day I hear from those he tutored and from those he served at St. Joseph's in Pawtucket. Bishop McVinney recognized his spiritual qualities and soon sent him to Louvain to prepare him as Spiritual Director at his Seminary in Warwick, where I happened to be teaching. Before I knew it, Bishop McVinney named me to be the College Seminary Rector. I don't think I had any difficulty there with my brother, though I had lots of difficulty with the senior seminarians and a few of the faculty. I do remember John taking some seminarians to NY to introduce them to the world of the CROSS AND THE SWITCHBLADE. Father John was a popular spiritual director who taught more by example than by words. And during those first 20 years he was a much loved priest in the parishes where he helped out and most beloved as a director in the Cursilio Movement, a movement he used to develop leaders in our parishes throughout the diocese. That Movement survives in different forms throughout the world. I was the priest leader in one at Boca Raton, Florida for five years.

3. The next 38 years for Father John were indeed more dramatic and colorful. He had heard of the explosive coming of the Holy Spirit on some eight priests at Duchaine University in 1968. Within a couple of years, the Holy Spirit visited John to give him a whole new experiential knowledge of the Risen Christ with the ambition to renew his church. First, he left the Seminary with Father Ray Kelly to form St. Patrick’s on Smith Street in 1971, an experiment in shared community life with households modeled on the early church. He led the Prayer Group on Thursday evenings with the conviction that whatever Jesus did in his ministry 2,000 years ago Christians with faith empowered by the Holy Spirit could do today, and could do even greater things, as the Lord promised. God responded to John’s faith and his life of prayer, fasting and penance in such a way that St. Patrick’s became a City of God set on a hill. To this day Father John never wavered in his faith conviction that God in the power of the Holy Spirit would do today what He did through Jesus in his day. He told me many times that he experienced everything that Jesus experienced in his ministry of healing and the giving of life.

After a few years, in his zeal for evangelization, he began his daily radio programs of bible study, a work that continued with a group of men for 30 years. With the guidance of his friend Bishop Gelineau he began fulltime in 1976 the Program for Renewal in the Spirit and two years later Bishop Gelineau allowed him to put that program into practice as Pastor of St. Charles. I remember John telling me of the advice Billy Graham gave him to form a parish: "Do what Jesus did. Choose twelve good men, meet with them every morning from 6 to 7 and form them into evangelists. Then work and pray with them, suffer and die with them, to build the Community of Christ on Dexter Street.” That's an outline of what Father John did at St. Charles, but instead of 12 men he ended up with 100 dedicated disciples that formed the core of St. Charles parish. The first ten years were difficult years of physical and spiritual warfare, even as his Prayer Meetings grew in intensity and number. He began all his works of Marian Devotion, of Eucharistic Adoration, Life in the Spirit Seminars, evangelization programs, developing leaders for the Right to Life, the work of feeding the hungry, healing the sick with the aid of Dr. Maglio and others, preaching the Full Gospel on radio, at conferences and at liturgies, giving retreats and giving leadership to the Charismatic Movement at Steubenville and throughout the country, in ecumenical work at the Community of Jesus down at Orleans, and the work of developing vocations to the religious life. But nothing did he do without an epiclesis, the invoking of the Holy Spirit for direction and strength. He was convinced that "unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain to build it.”

In such a way did the Church of St. Charles come to expansive life and honor, to fruitfulness. The parish has evangelized 5.000 adults in its Life in the Spirit Seminars and has had 21 young men and women enter the seminary or religious life. The present Deacon Jose and Father Garcia are products of Father John’s ministry at St. Charles. As Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” John wrote that as Catholics we have the fullness of biblical revelation; we have it all. But we get very arrogant and don't put into practice what we have. "Often our Protestant and our Pentecostal brothers and sisters put us to shame by the way they use what they have." Such is Father John's challenge to us all: to use what we have in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Father John worked unsparingly for the work of Christ and his Holy Spirit. And though he suffered greatly these past four years from a fall in the parking lot of St. Charles and recently from cancer, even in retirement he worked with full time dedication. Though he never enjoyed writing, he produced in recent years four small books of unusual insights: THE BOOK OF REVELATION: What does it mean? WISDOM INSTRUCTS HER CHILDREN, The power of the Spirit and the Word; MARY, BARRIER OR BRIDGE; and NO SPIRIT, NO CHURCH, words taken from the Eastern Bishops of the Second Vatican Council as they read and rejected the Roman prepared Document on the Nature of the Church. I must say after reading these books the past few days that they contain some great theological insights and powerful reasons to change our style of ministry. His last book on the Church is now in its second edition and I'm sure will go into its third edition. If so, that will mean 10,000 copies without any public means of advertising. And if you want a copy,you must really search to find one!

Father John had lots of critical things to say, but like his hero St. Paul, he said them with meekness and gentleness, but like Paul he was not without his fiery boldness. Though he was disappointed in the church's neglect of the Holy Spirit and our diocese's exclusion of him in the work of evangelization and parish formation, the work of training catechists and deacons, he never ended with a word of anger or pessimism.

He wondered at the end of his career what his next work should be. He would quote to me the dilemma of St. Paul found in his Letter to the Phillipians: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet, what I should choose I cannot tell. My desire is to depart.

Our Lady's 30th anniversary Medjugorje Message to Marija of June 25, 2011

Dear children! Give thanks with me to the Most High for my presence with you. My heart is joyful watching the love and joy in the living of my messages. Many of you have responded, but I wait for, and seek, all the hearts that have fallen asleep to awaken from the sleep of unbelief. Little children, draw even closer to my Immaculate Heart so that I can lead all of you toward eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Medjugorje message, June 25, 2011

Ivan’s description of Our Lady’s apparition tonight: June 24, 2011

Following is Ivan’s description of Our Lady’s apparition tonight:

Also today, as every day, after every meeting with Our Lady, I desire to describe to you what is the most important from tonight’s meeting with Our Lady. This was truly an exceptional day for me. Today is 30 years since Our Lady has been with me and since I have been in Her school, the school of peace, of love, the school of prayer. Truly this meeting has a great significance for me and for my life, and it is exceptional for me. Our Lady came tonight to us in a gold dress with three angels. She came very, very joyful and happy. At the beginning as always, She greeted us all with Her Motherly greeting, “Praised be Jesus, my dear children.” Then She said:

* “Dear children, also today I rejoice together with you. Also today, in joy, I call you: accept my messages and live my messages. May my messages become life. Build them into your lives. May they be food on your life’s journey. Know, dear children, that I am with you when it is most difficult for you, that I encourage and console you, that I intercede before my Son for all of you. Therefore, dear children, persevere in prayer and do not be afraid. Follow me without fear. Thank you, dear children, also today, for having accepted me again and having accepted my messages, for living my messages.”

Our Lady then, for a longer while, with Her arms extended, prayed for all of us here. She blessed us all with Her Motherly blessing. She also blessed the religious articles brought for blessing. Then Our Lady prayed over the sick who were present with Her arms extended. I recommended all of your needs, your intentions, your families and especially the sick, and everything that you carry in your hearts. Our Lady certainly knows our hearts the best – what we want to tell Her. Then a conversation between us followed, which remains only between us. After that conversation, Our Lady continued to pray over all of us. She left in that prayer, in an illuminated Sign of the Cross with a greeting, “Go in peace, my dear children, my little children.”
source-Medjugorje Com

June 24, 2011: Our Lady Will Appear Tonight on Apparition Mountain

June 24, 2011: Our Lady Will Appear Tonight on Apparition Mountain

Our Lady will appear tonight during Ivan's Prayer Group, June 24, 2011 at 11:00 PM on Apparition Mountain in Medjugorje. This is different from the normal 10 pm time. Click to see the chart for your local time of Our Lady's apparition.
http://www.medjugorje.com/

JESUS LOVES ME

Somewhere over the Rainbow God Abides

Here I am Lord, Sent Me

PICK ON ME

Jesus said: "None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven." -Matthew 7:21

Why does the Lord "pick on" Spirit-filled people? Billions of people are not doing God's will, but the Lord focuses on those with spiritual gifts of prophecy, deliverance, and miracles (Mt 7:22). He even threatens to declare solemnly to charismatics: "I never knew you. Out of My sight, you evildoers!" (Mt 7:23)

The Lord also picks on Spirit-filled people in the famous passage about love. Many people in this world lack love. In some way, everyone is unloving, but the Lord once again focuses on those with spiritual gifts of tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, ministry to the poor, and martyrdom (1 Cor 13:1-3). People with these gifts are extremely blessed, but the Lord calls them "noisy gongs," "clanging cymbals," and even "nothing" unless they have love (see 1 Cor 13:1-3).

The Lord picks on Spirit-filled people because He has given them so much. He expects much from those who have been given much (Lk 12:48). The power of those who have accepted their spiritual gifts is so great that the Lord especially challenges them to repentance, obedience, and love. When the Lord picks on you, that's a sign you're extra special.

Prayer: Father, may I be worthy of being "picked on" by you.
Promise: "Anyone who hears My words and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on rock." -Mt 7:24

The Castle in Medjugorje

http://veronicaandra.sunphoto.ro/MEDUGORJE-CASTEL-Patrik_si_Nancy_Latta

In 1991, Patrick Latta, a successful businessman and car dealer in Canada, and his wife Nancy, a commercial lawyer, received a great grace of conversion through the messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje. Leaving behind everything they had created in their material world, they moved to Medjugorje in 1993, during the height of the war. With Fr. Slavko Barbaric, OFM as their spiritual guide and confessor until his death in Nov. of 2000.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Retreat House was born, with a specific desire to support, renew, and foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Now after 18 years of living in Medjugorje and 16 years construction, streams of pilgrims from around the world come to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Retreat House to honor her as the Queen of Peace.

Divine Mercy weekend with Father John Randall

Update: Fr. John Randall died on Wednesday June 15, 2011 but you still may be able to obtain a copy of his DVD talk on Divine Mercy which was recorded on March 29, 2008.

Video of Divine Mercy Weekend, with Father John Randall at The National Shrine Of Our Lady of LaSalette

947 Park Street, Attelboro, MA 02703 -March 29-30, 2008.
Tel. 508-222-5410

To obtain a DVD copy of this event call (508) 236-9068
.

I highly recommend this beautiful video. An injured and suffering Fr. Randall gives a powerful talk on how we need Our Lord's Divine Mercy.

E.S.

30 Anniversary of Our Lady coming to Medjugorje

Uploaded by http://www.marytv.tv/ Medjugorje on Jun 16, 2011

The graces during the 30th Anniversary in Medjugorje will be incredible! YOU CAN BE THERE!
Spread this news to your friends -- to everyone in your email list!

Our Lady's apparitions to Ivan will be streamed live from Medjugorje on June 23rd and June 26, 2011, at 12:00 Noon (EST) at www.marytv.tv . We will begin streaming the rosary before the apparition, and afterwards Ivan will graciously answer questions.

We have been told that those connected through the internet are prayed over by Our Lady the same as those kneeling right next to the visionary...and the religious items they have with them that they would like Our Lady to bless are blessed the same as the religious items placed in front of her during the apparition!
Live Event English URL
http://marytv.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&...

Live Event Spanish URL
http://marytv.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=290&...
A schedule of daily events being streamed June 23 through June 26 will be announced at http://www.marytv.tv/ www.marytv.tv.

Our Lady Tells Us to Decide For Her Son

The sky turns to fire in a beautiful sunset while pilgrims waited for Our Lady to come to Her mountain tonight, June 17, 2011, during Ivan’s prayer group apparition. The flow of pilgrims coming to and going from Medjugorje follow a certain pattern. Many have just left, while it is still a few days early for those who will be attending the 30th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions. So, at this moment the village is not so crowded with pilgrims. However, every day from here, the buses will be coming in nonstop. There is no open hotel room in the village, nor in the surrounding area. It will be a very beautiful celebration with Our Lady who always is so happy to have such large numbers coming to Medjugorje. Every year many of the villagers, including the visionaries, begin a novena to Our Lady, in which they climb Apparition Hill sometime during the day, early morning, or late evening. It begins on June 15th and ends on June 23rd, the eve of the Feast of St. John the Baptist. Apparition Mountain is almost never empty during these special anniversary days. There seems to be always someone on the mountain at all hours of the day and night in an unbroken chain of prayer. Let us go there ourselves, in spirit, to be with Our Lady on Her mountain as we welcome these days of Her anniversary.

Our Lady Tells Us to Decide For Her Son

Friday June 17, 2011 A.D.

It was a beautiful evening in Medjugorje. Many pilgrims began gathering before 7:00 p.m. and a steady stream continued right up until the apparition. Those who arrived early, experienced the peacefulness of the evening and witnessed a beautiful sunset. As apparition time approached, the sky slowly began to fill up with stars. The singing began around 8:45 p.m. and after the singing a Rosary was prayed in preparation for Our Lady’s apparition. By the time Our Lady appeared to Ivan at around 10:00 p.m., there were thousands of pilgrims on the mountain, quietly praying and waiting for Our Lady. Our Lady appeared around 10:00 p.m. and the apparition lasted several minutes. The following is Ivan’s description of the apparition.


Today, as always, after every meeting with Our Lady, I desire to also describe to you what is the most important from tonight’s meeting. Our Lady came very joyful and happy and at the beginning, as always, She greeted us all with Her Motherly greeting, “Praised be Jesus, my dear children.” Our Lady then for a while, with Her arms extended, prayed over all of us here. She prayed over the sick present. Our Lady then said:

*“Dear children, also today the Mother calls you with love: decide for my Son, set out together with Him, follow my messages. Especially through these upcoming days, renew my messages in your families. Pray, dear children, for my Son to be born in your hearts and in your families. Know, dear children, that the Mother prays for you and loves you with a Motherly love. Therefore, persevere. Thank you, also today, dear children, for having responded to my call.”


Then Our Lady blessed us all with Her Motherly blessing and blessed the religious articles brought for blessing. I recommended all of you, your needs, your intentions, your families and especially all the sick present. Then a private conversation followed between us, which remains between us only. Our Lady then especially prayed for peace, for peace in our hearts and for peace in the families. She then left in that prayer, in an illuminated Sign of the Cross with a greeting, “Go in peace, my dear children.”

Rev. John Randall, 82, dies; known for renewal efforts on Providence’s Smith Hill

Fr. John Randall 1928-2011

Rev. John Randall, 82, dies; known for renewal efforts on Providence’s Smith Hill
01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, June 19, 2011
by Richard C. Dujardin
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — The Rev. John F. Randall, a pioneer in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement who in the 1980s stirred controversy with his criticism of the then-president of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island over her role in abortion, died Wednesday, June 15, at the age of 82.

Even before his appointment as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Providence in 1978, he and the Rev. Raymond Kelly, pastor of St. Patrick parish, drew national attention for their work at the Smith Hill parish. Taking the unusual step of inviting more affluent Catholics who had been inspired by the renewal movement to move into the relatively poor Smith Hill neighborhood, the two priests guided St. Patrick into doing something that until then had been rarely done — reopening a parish school that had been forced to close the year before.

Father Randall, who was ordained in 1953 and taught at St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket and then Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick, would later trace his involvement in the renewal movement to a time he went to Brooklyn to hear and meet David Wilkerson, a Pentecostal preacher and writer who was working with drug addicts and gang leaders. Returning from New York to celebrate Sunday morning Mass the next day at St. Catherine’s in Warwick, the priest said, he suddenly felt struck by the Holy Spirit “and it was like the first Mass I had ever been at. Everything was ringing and singing; it was all brand new.”

In the ensuing years, Father Randall, with the encouragement of then-bishop of Providence Louis E. Gelineau, expanded the “work of the Holy Spirit” in the diocese by encouraging prayer groups and Life in the Spirit seminars. In 1978, three years after speaking about the renewal movement to church leaders in Rome, he helped to organize the first of several New England Catholic Charismatic conferences that drew 14,000 people to the Providence Civic Center.

Working out of his rectory, Father Randall also launched Spirit and Word, a radio and cable TV ministry that would cause a furor and attract national attention when he declared on one show in 1986 that Planned Parenthood head Mary Ann Sorrentino could no longer be deemed a Catholic because by holding the hands of patients during an abortion, she had broken canon law and incurred a penalty of excommunication.

In his book, “No Spirit … No Church,” published in 2009, Father Randall wrote: “All kinds of anger arose in Rhode Island against us, against the bishop and against the Catholic Church. It was an incredible moment, and while I can’t say that we had great victories, we were preaching the Gospel, speaking the truth and exposing what was right and what was wrong.”

At his parish of St. Charles, Father Randall had another dream as well — to reopen St. Charles School the same way that St. Patrick School had been reopened years earlier. His plan, inspired by a story he read on the religion page of The Providence Journal, was to ask parishioners to tithe 7 to 10 percent of their income and, in return, children would have the opportunity to attend Catholic school for free. “Unfortunately, the diocesan school office did not allow us to do so because they were afraid that we would hurt other schools.”

Father Randall continued his work until he retired as pastor in 2001. A Newport native, he had studied at the Grand Seminaire in St. Brieuc, France, and held degrees from the University of Louvain in Belgium for post-graduate studies in Sacred Scripture. After Saturday’s funeral Mass at St. Charles Borromeo, he was buried at St. Columba cemetery in Middletown.

About Fr. John Corapi, by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

About Fr. John Corapi with observations about our times
Posted on 18 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I haven’t written much about Fr. John Corapi, because I honestly don’t know much about what is going on. I don’t know the details. But I am sad to read that he is leaving active ministry. I am profoundly sad.

Fr. Corapi and I were ordained together, by John Paul II, in 1991. I didn’t know him at that time. After ordination I think I only ran into him twice, at conferences were we were both speakers. So, I don’t know him. I don’t know what is up with his life or situation and I won’t speculate. Nevertheless, by that tendril connection of our ordination, I have imagined a kind of bond with him and all the other men scattered across the world, even though I didn’t know most of them personally.
So, I don’t have much to say about Fr. Corapi. I do have a few things to say about the circumstances surrounding this sad announcement.

From the email I am receiving and a few blogs I have read reacting to Fr. Corapi’s video message, it strikes me that a lot of people are doing neither themselves nor Fr. Corapi any good. Charity requires us to consider the good of others. I can’t see how the way some people are talking about Fr. Corapi does anyone any good.

We are in difficult times right now concerning ecclesiastical relationships. The Church has sustained horrible wounds because of her own churchmen and, during this time of healing, there are bound to be painful moments. When you receive a blow upon a bruise, the pain can be great. I suggest that we avoid poking the bruises as much as we can.
Given what I have been seeing and experiencing, I believe the verse many priests pray every night during Compline in the older form of the Office (Tuesday in the Liturgy of the Hours) is being realized in a particularly intense way right now:

“Be sober and vigilant: because your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is roaming around seeking whom he might devour. Strong in faith, resist him knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. ” 1 Peter 5:8-9.

This is certainly the case in my life right now and I think it is also going on in the life of many priests and bishops who are on the more conservative side of things. The attack is on.
This is one reason why I have been earnestly asking the support of your prayers.

The enemy hates priests and bishops. Let me say that again. The enemy hates priests and bishops. When priests and bishops start making inroads, they will be attacked with intensity.

But priests and bishops remain men and remain sinners. We need the support of prayers especially regarding the primary goal of saving our souls. We must, for the love of God, help each other.

I will keep Fr. Corapi on my prayer list, and will remember him in a special way, hoping that through the help of the Holy Spirit, who bends the rigid and heals the broken and consoles those who are in pain, he will have some peace whether he is able to return to active ministry or not, whether he wants to or not. He is a priest forever and he is my brother in that indelible mark received from Christ the High priest. And because he is a priest forever, the devil will not relent in attacking him until he dies. Nor will the devil relent in attacking anyone who has authority over him.
It is what we signed up for, but sometimes it can be very hard.

Please remember, please, that all priests are human beings and subject to the afflictions of the world the flesh and the devil. If you look at them in some other way, you do them and yourselves a disservice.

In these difficult times, when we are seeing the lion and hearing the lion roaring around even more, I ask for your prayers for myself and for all the priests you know, whether they are in active ministry or they are for whatever reason not active, whether they have been exemplary according to how you think they ought to be, or whether they have made mistakes and are suffering the consequences.
They have immortal souls and they, like you dear lay people, are working out their eternal salvation with fear and trembling with the additional burden of knowing that they will be priests forever, in heaven or in hell. Ask St. John Vianney for help. And, since St. “Padre” Pio has been on my mind with increasing frequency lately, perhaps ask him as well.

Please don’t write to me anymore about Fr. Corapi. Please. Even though I didn’t know him, right now for me this is like a blow upon a bruise.

Please find it in your hearts to pray, daily and often, for priests.

Father John Randall's Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Fr. John Randall

Father of light, from whom every good gift

comes, send your Spirit into our lives with

the power of a might wind, and by the flame

of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds.

Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words

beyond the power of speech, for without your

Spirit man could never raise his voice in words

of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit

one God, for ever. Amen

*Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God.
St. Paul

Rest in Peace~ Father John Randall

Father John Randall Born 1929~ Received into Heaven June 15th 2011
Made with love~ Maria         Visit Guest Book for more comments on Fr. Randall

Hi Everyone~
I prayed about making this video and as Father Randall would say “I got a YES word” I miss him so much already!!!!!! I wanted to share. In this video his words at about 5 minutes 13 seconds made me feel better. I hope It will help you also. He was the BEST PRIEST and Person I have ever met!!
He sings with the Angels in heaven now!!!!!
Enjoy~
Love Maria

Father Randall was more than a priest in my book..... He was my friend...... He gave his all for the flock of the church. He was somebody i will always look up to and forever be thankful to. He has taught me so much. He lit the fire for the holy spirit and the holy mass in myself and my family I will never forget the good council you gave me Father Randall you saved me in more ways than you will ever know.. I will miss you immensely!!! my heart sobs today. It rejoices 2, U R in the glory now!
cletus143 2 days ago

Fr. John Randall, Crusader for the Holy Spirit Dies

Fr. John F. Randall

Rev. John Randall  Visit Guest Book

RANDALL, THE REVEREND JOHN F. 82, Pastor Emeritus of St. Charles Borromeo Church, Providence, died on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Born in Newport, a son of the late Robert A. and Marie (Niland) Randall, he attended St. Mary and St. Augustin Schools and De LaSalle Academy in Newport. In preparation for the priesthood, he studied at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick and at the Grand Seminaire in St. Brieuc, France. He was ordained a priest on May 30, 1953 at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence by the Most Reverend Russell J. McVinney. He began his ministry as a chaplain at Mt. St. Rita Novitiate in Cumberland and teacher at St. Raphael's Academy in Pawtucket. Two years later he became an assistant pastor at St. Joseph Church, Pawtucket and continued to teach at St. Raphael's Academy. In September 1958, he became a teacher at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick. After a summer assignment as assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Church in East Providence, he was sent to the University of Louvain in Belgium for post graduate studies in Sacred Scripture. After his return from Louvain in 1962, Father Randall was appointed professor at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick and later spiritual director in 1963. Then in 1971, he was transferred as assistant pastor to St. Patrick Church in Providence. In 1976, he became full time staff person in a Program for Renewal in the Spirit and in 1978, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Providence and continued his work for Renewal in the Spirit until his retirement in 2001 as Pastor Emeritus. In addition to his parish and teaching work, Father Randall served also as Diocesan Consultor (1966); Synodal Examiner (1967); member of the Commission on Project Clergy Renewal (1970); member of the Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States; directed the Spirit and the Word program on Radio and TV. Father Randall is survived by a brother, the Reverend Robert J. Randall, and three sisters: Sr. Mary Randall, SSJ, of Providence, Mrs. Theresa Zimmerly of Elyria, OH, and Mrs. Joan Soares of Newport; also a number of nieces and nephews. Calling hours will be held at the Stapleton-Barry-Holdredge Funeral Home, 684 Park Avenue, Cranston on Friday, from 3:00-6:00pm at which time his body will be transferred to St. Charles Church for viewing until 7:30pm when there will be a parish Mass in celebration of his life. A concelebrated Mass of Christian burial will be offered for the repose of his soul at St. Charles Church, Providence on Saturday, at 10:00am. Burial will be at St. Columba Cemetery, Middletown, RI. In lieu of flowers, donations, as an alternative to flowers, may be made to St. Charles Borromeo Church, 178 Dexter St. Providence, RI 02907.

COMMENTS:---Fr. Randall was a tireless worker for the Lord and crusader for the Holy Spirit, he held his Charismatic meeting every Thursday evening at St. Charles Borromeo Church, in Providence, R.I. He said after he experienced the Holy Spirit, every time he followed one of God's plans, it worked.

His powerful LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINARS were also available to anyone who wished to attend.

He ministered right up until the end and was renowned for his gentle, kind spirit and generosity towards all.

Father pray for us that we can be as good a servant of Christ as you were, and hear the same words from Christ:

"Well done my good and faithful servant"!!!

( We will miss you! )

Father Randall was a prolific writer and the author of:

In God's Providence - The Birth of a Catholic Charismatic Parish

The Book of Revelation: What Does It Really Say?

Wisdom Instructs Her Children: The Power of the Spirit and the Word

Mary, Barrier or Bridge?

Pope John Paul Scriptural Rosary (20 decades)

Spiritual Warfare, The Twenty-First Decade

His Lastest Book--No Spirit, No Church

+ + + + +

Pilgrimage To Medjugorje

Fr-Edward A. Sousa Jr.

My devotion to Our Lady and my first trip to Medjugorje as a seminarian led me to the priesthood!

Catholic Pilgrimage to Medjugorje with Fr. Edward Sousa, Jr. Arrangements by 206 Tours

http://www.pilgrimages.com/

Travel Europe. Catholic Pilgrimages, Secular and Independent Travel are invitations from God to visit spiritual locations and signposts left behind by God. Travel with Catholic Priests and celebrate Mass daily while visiting religious locations.

Happy Pentecost

Mary Immaculate Chuch, in Ivanhoe

Striking mobiles representing Tongues of Fire..

"All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit." —1 Corinthians 12:13

Today, on this Pentecost Sunday and birthday of the Church, the Lord invites us to take a drink of life-giving water, to drink of the Spirit..

On this last day of the ninety days of Lent and Easter, and after the nine days of the novena to the Holy Spirit, take the drink of the Spirit. Alleluia!
http://www.medjugorje.ws/en/videos/veni-sancte-spiritus-medjugorje/

Veni Sancte Spirtus

Go into the upper room with Mary and all the saints. Wait there for the fulfillment of our Father's promise, for  you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5).
COME, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Daily Grace: Breath of My Soul

Daily Grace: Breath of My Soul: "COME, O Creator Spirit blest, And in our souls take up Thy rest, Come with Thy grace and Heavenly aid, And fill the hearts which Thou hast..."

Dear Children, Prepare yourselfs for the coming of the Holy Spirit

"Dear children! Today I call you, through prayer and sacrifice, to prepare yourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Little children, this is a time of grace and so, again, I call you to decide for God the Creator. Allow Him to transform and change you. May your heart be prepared to listen to, and live, everything which the Holy Spirit has in His plan for each of you. Little children, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on the way of truth and salvation towards eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call." Our Lady's Medjugorje message of (May 25, 1998)

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Matthew 3:11

Father Jozo's Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Fr. Jozo

Fr. Jozo's Prayer to the Holy Spirit in Siroki Brijeg October 3, 2000

Come, O Most Holy Spirit, come to us today. We need your love, because we desire to go on the new way to return to the Father, to take the step to the Father. O Come, Holy Spirit, You who makes all things new. Today grant a miracle in us and through us. Change our hearts. Take from us our hearts of stone and give us a new heart, a heart that knows how to love, how to pray, how to forgive. A heart that knows how to embrace the cross and recognize the will of God and carry it to the end. Come, O Most Holy Spirit, You who are our peace, come fill us with peace. You who are love, fill us with love and blessing and salvation. We are not here accidentally. We have been called, that we may be able to recognize our call and our mission. We ask You to come O Most Holy Spirit, that our masks may melt away, that our true face may be revealed before You. Come, O Most Holy Spirit, may a miracle happen today: the beginning of our conversion, the beginning of our true devotion. Come, O Most Holy Spirit pour out Your grace and Your strength on Your Church and convert us. Sanctify us. Change us. Come, O Most Holy Spirit, we are the Church united together in prayer with the Mother. As the disciples at the very beginning, united together with Her in prayer for the gift of Your Spirit, for the gift of love, that we may be freed from selfishness and hatred, that we may be freed from every evil, and that we may start to love, that we may start to forgive and to pray, that we may start to fast. Come, O Most Holy Spirit. Come bless us. Come, change us. You who are prayer, come and anoint us with prayer that we may become the Church that believes in the power of prayer. Come, Most Holy Spirit, renew prayer in us, that we may become the renewers of family prayer. Come, O Most Holy Spirit, come heal us, come bless us, come convert us. O You who anoints with Your Peace, with Your Joy, with Your Love. Come anoint us.

In the last message O Blessed Mother, You say, that the one who prays, lives joy and peace and love. O Blessed Mother, here is the Church in prayer, here is the Church who desires to renew itself in prayer, firm in prayer, come to fall in love with prayer. O grant that these days may be the renewal of our prayer, of our faith through prayer, of our love through prayer, of a Christian life in prayer. Come, O Most Holy Spirit. Come, pour Yourself out upon us. The Church united together with the Mother is praying to you, You who make all things new. Grant that this Church may become new. It may become a Church of prayer, a holy Church, a sign amongst nations, your city on the hillside, your light on the way, Your Self. Come, O Most Holy Spirit. Come and pour Yourself out upon us. Our Father who art in Heaven....Hail Mary, full of grace...Mother and Queen of Peace - pray for us. Mother of the Church - pray for us. Mother and Queen of the family - pray for us. Consolation of the Sorrowful - pray for us, help of Christians - pray for us, help of the sick - pray for us, gate of heaven - pray for us. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Come Holy Spirit and Rest Upon Us

I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit

Medjugorje: Photo taken by my friend Barbara Goodier on October 2nd, 2010 at the time of Mirjana's apparition. A few of us were praying the Rosary at the Crucifix on Sr. Immanuel's property. We were looking towards the Blue Cross on Apparition Hill and saw the sun spinning. That's when I took the picture. May you receive a special blessing from the Lord today! Barbara G.

June 8, 2011
www.marytv.tv


Dear Family of Mary!

Dear children! As I call you to prayer for those who have not come to know the love of God, if you were to look into your hearts you would comprehend that I am speaking about many of you. With an open heart, sincerely ask yourselves if you want the Living God or do you want to eliminate Him and live as you want. Look around you, my children, and see where the world is going, the world that thinks of doing everything without the Father, and which wanders in the darkness of temptation. I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit. According to God's plan I am with you to help you to have my Son, His Cross and Resurrection, triumph in your hearts. As a mother, I desire and pray for your unity with my Son and His works. I am with you; you decide. Thank you. (June 2, 2011)

"I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit." Mother Mary wants to give us the divine flashlight, the light of the Holy Spirit, the light of Truth. Without this light we cannot see things as they really are. We live in a world of darkness, of sin. We may be too used to the dark. We have to shake ourselves free of the darkness. We cannot see the loving actions of God unless they are illuminated by the Holy Spirit, because we are so blinded by darkness, even darkness within. We need light. And so Mother Mary offers us the divine flashlight, the gift of the Holy Spirit. We have only to receive it. And what better time than penecost?

St. Basil the Great, Bishop, wrote about the Holy Spirit in terms of light in the Office of Readings for Tuesday, the 7th week of Easter:

"The Spirit is the source of holiness, a spiritual light, and he offers his own light to every mind to help it in its search for truth...Like the sunshine, which permeates all the atmosphere, spreading over land and sea, and yet is enjoyed by each person as though it were for him alone, so the Spirit pours forth his grace in full measure, sufficient for all, and yet is present as though exclusively to everyone who can receive him. To all creatures that share in him he gives a delight limited only by their own nature, not by his ability to give."

*How beautifully put! The Spirit offers his light to us, to each mind, according to our ability to receive him. He wants to show us so many things. He wants to show us how much we are loved by the Father and the Son. He wants to show us how beautiful we are, how much the Father wanted to create us, how the Father designed us perfectly to answer the call He has for us, and how possible it is to become holy and happy. The Spirit wants to light up our hearts with party lights, full of joy and excitement and hope. He wants us to see the Father and the Son in all their glory, loving us! And this is just the beginning!

The Spirit truly does shine on each one of us as if He is meant for each one alone. Each individual is uttermost in the mind of the Spirit. He loves each one of us as if we were the only person alive! And it is this love that actually is the Light. Love lights up our minds like fireworks. Love makes sense out of everything. God is love and he loves us, infinitely. That is true light!

So, as we approach Pentecost, let's take up Our Lady's offer and ask for the light of Truth and of the Holy Spirit. I hope we can endure the joy!

In Jesus and Mary and the Holy Spirit and the Father!!!!

Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2011
Source of Article:  http://www.marytv.tv/

"I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit and not knowing what will happen to me there." -Acts 20:22

THE COST OF PENTECOST

"I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit and not knowing what will happen to me there." -Acts 20:22

Paul said the Holy Spirit may warn us that "chains and hardships" await us and then compel us to march right into these situations (Acts 20:23). No wonder it takes a nine-day novena to "get up enough nerve" or faith to sincerely want the Holy Spirit active in our lives. The Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Is 55:8-9). In fact, His ways and thoughts are not even close to ours. When the Holy Spirit comes, being God, He will not ask us what we want Him to do, but will tell us what to do. Being human, we may not even be able to understand many of His commands, so we must obey "by faith, not by sight" (see 2 Cor 5:7).

Therefore, life in the Spirit means a life of self-denial, obedience, and love. Life in the Spirit is not maintaining the status quo, but putting our life "under new management." Life in the Spirit is not comfortable, but it is challenging. After realizing the dynamics of having God the Holy Spirit run your life, do you really want a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit this Pentecost?

Prayer:- Father, may I want to receive more of the Holy Spirit no matter what. Remove any resistance within me.
Promise-: "Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him Whom You have sent, Jesus Christ." -Jn 17:3

Beautiful and Powerful Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Go into the upper room with Mary and all the saints. Wait there for the fulfillment of our Father's promise, for "within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5).

LIFT OFF

"Wait, rather, for the fulfillment of My Father's promise." -Acts 1:4

We have been in intense prayer for eighty days - forty days of Lent and forty days of Easter. Today we reach the feast of the Ascension, the beginning of the grand finale of the Easter season.

 Two days ago, we began a Holy Spirit novena, nine days of prayer for a new Pentecost in our day. Our prayer will be answered as the Spirit will be lavished on us (Ti 3:6) without ration (Jn 3:34). Then we will have the power to be Jesus' witnesses right where we are and even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In the power of the Holy Spirit, we will make disciples of all nations by baptizing them and teaching them to obey all Jesus commanded (Mt 28:19-20).

On this feast of the Ascension, we begin the countdown to a new Pentecost. Celebrate this feast with your whole heart. Don't just sandwich a quick Mass into the midst of a busy day. Make this a holy day - a day especially set apart for God. Plan for the Holy Spirit novena. Cancel or postpone whatever you can in this week before Pentecost. Give yourself more time to give God prime time.
 Go into the upper room with Mary and all the saints. Wait there for the fulfillment of our Father's promise, for "within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5).

 Father, may I thirst for the Spirit more than for anything else (see Jn 7:37).

Recieve the Power of the Holy Spirit

"What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church"

We invite our readers and viewers around the world to join in a period of prayer in preparation for Pentecost praying together, "Come, Holy Spirit, Come!" The Church was empowered by the Holy Spirit to live differently in the midst of a world awaiting the fullness of redemption; to lead the world back to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Can we live this kind of transformed Christian life in our own daily lives? Yes, by living them in the heart of the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.

CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - "When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim." (Acts of the Apostles, Chapter two)

On the day following the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord there is a custom among Catholics of praying for nine days (a "novena") for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost. In many respects, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, seems mysterious to many Christians. When I consider this I am reminded of one of the missionary stories recounted in the Acts of the Apostles.

Chapter 19 of Acts begins with these words, "While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came (down) to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They answered him, "We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." (Acts 19: 1, 2)
Too often we live our lives like those disciples in Ephesus. We act as though we did not realize there even is a Holy Spirit! Yet an examination of the teaching of Jesus and the New Testament reveals the vital role of the Holy Spirit in the life and mission of the Church - and in the life and mission of of every believer. A study of the Tradition, the magisterial teachings of the Church and the Catholic Catechism underscores this reality.

Pope Benedict XVI told a group of young men and women in July of 2008 at a Prayer Vigil in Australia, "The Holy Spirit has been in some ways the neglected person of the Blessed Trinity. A clear understanding of the Spirit almost seems beyond our reach..." He then gave them an admonition which we should take to heart as we begin a Novena to the Holy Spirit leading up to Pentecost.

"Let us invoke the Holy Spirit: He is the artisan of God's works...Let His gifts shape you! Just as the Church travels the same journey with all humanity, so too you are called to exercise the Spirit's gifts amidst the ups and downs of your daily life. . To be truly alive is to be transformed from within, open to the energy of God's love. In accepting the power of the Holy Spirit you too can transform your families, communities and nations. Set free the gifts!"

The Second Vatican Council in the Catholic Church began with a prayer for a "New Pentecost." Since that Council, there has been a growth in what are called the "ecclesial movements" in the Church. Though they each have differing charisms and distinctive missions, they were all inspired and led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost and continues to be poured out on, in and through the Church, for the sake of her mission in the world.

The early followers of Jesus gathered as the Lord commanded them, expecting the fulfillment of the promise. The promise was fulfilled. We traditionally refer to Pentecost as the "birthday" of the missionary church. Their encounter with the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room changed them. It was a call to carry forward in time His ongoing redemptive mission until he comes again.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is an invitation to all of us, in this age, to live lives of sacrificial love, holiness and service in a world that God still loves - a world into which He sends His Son through the Body of Christ, the Church, of which we are members.

The purpose of Pentecost was - and still is - the empowering of the Church with the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead! The Holy Spirit draws us into communion with the Lord and participation in His Divine Life and mission. That communion is lived in the Church. The Catholic Catechism, quoting St Augustine, affirms "What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church." (CCC # 797)

One manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit in our age is what are called the "ecclesial movements" which both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have affirmed. We often feature the ecclesial movements on Catholic Online. We will once again do so as we progress toward the feast of Pentecost. Pope Benedict XVI recounted his first encounters with the ecclesial movements in these words " ...at a moment of weariness in the Church, at a time when we were hearing about "the winter of the Church", the Holy Spirit was creating a new springtime."

Though each have their unique charisms and missions, they have many commonalities. They invite Christians to have a "personal" relationship, an encounter, ...with the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been raised from the dead and is alive in our midst in the Church. They call their members to to live in the Heart of the Church, for the sake of that world. The Church is meant to become the home of the whole human race and those who participate in these ecclesial movements understand the implications of that fact. They live as leaven and seed in the loaf of human culture, in order to lead the world into the "new world", which is the Church.

They live a unity of life, where Christian faith is not compartmentalized but rather informs and permeates daily life. They deeply love the Church, recognizing that she is "Some - One" not something - the Body of Christ continuing His redemptive mission on the earth until He returns. They know the missionary calling extends to every state in life and every Christian vocation. They demonstrate that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are real and still available for all Christians.

The purpose of Pentecost is the birth - and continued rebirth - of the Church. The Church is "Plan A" and there is no "Plan B". The notion of a Christian group being "para" Church is far from the purpose of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was not poured out on the disciples so that they could form movements outside of the Church, or compete with one another in movements within her. Rather, so that they could become full members of Christ's Church living His life within her bosom for the sake of the world.

Jesus told the disciples that He must ascend, to "my Father and your father, my God and your God" (John 20:17) because, in His own words "If I do not go I cannot send the comforter. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned."

And in the same Gospel "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming." (John 16: 7-15)

The Church was empowered by the Holy Spirit to live differently in the midst of a world awaiting the fullness of redemption; to lead the world back to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Can we live this kind of transformed Christian life in the stuff of our own daily lives? Yes, by living them in the heart of the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We invite our readers and viewers around the world to join together in a protracted period of prayer in preparation for Pentecost praying together, "Come, Holy Spirit, Come!" We will feature articles over these days of prayer which encourage devotion to - and life in - the Holy Spirit.

There is a lot of "bad news" in our contemporary culture. However, this culture is not all that different than the cultures into which the early Christians were sent on mission; cultures such as the one which the Christians in Ephesus confronted. They needed the Holy Spirit to do their work and so do we.

The answer for the malady of this age is the same as the answer of those early disciples,the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like them we are called to present the new culture revealed in the heart of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a new missionary age and we are called into the whole world. Come, Holy Spirit!

Come Holy Spirit, come into our hearts and set us free.

Come Holy Spirit, Come in my heart, Sweet Holy Spirit fill me with your love.
"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Matthew 3:11

Ask for the Holy Spirit to decend upon You.

TODAY Friday, June 3rd begins the Pentecost Novena, the nine days of prayer to prepare to receive the Holy Spirit more deeply at Pentecost. As you prepare for the Holy Spirit, be aware that God is surely preparing as well. Let Him prepare your heart for it.
Holy Spirit Novena:  http://www.sfspirit.com/holy-spirit-novena.html

ASK FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

Heavenly Father, through your Son Jesus fill me completely with your Holy Spirit that I may overflow with your abundant love. Seal me with this same Spirit and anoint me so that, guided with His power, I may aspire today to that which you have purposed for me. I pray that this day I will walk with you as your child in making decisions after your Heart. I pray for uprightness in my relationships with you and others. Father grant me the grace to work with you in bringing into right order my emotions and passions. And give me strength to follow through with firm purpose the plans you lay before me, even in the face of difficulty and trial. Finally, Father, fill me with gifts from on high – holy fear of offending you, true piety, in my relationships godly fortitude, docility to godly counsel, knowledge to conduct my life aright, understanding and perspective of the way things fit together and wisdom to guide my thoughts, words and conduct. I pray that you bring me more into the likeness of your Son, Christ Jesus in all things through the power of the Holy Spirit. All this I ask in the Name of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2j5Ve0_rTg

Our Lady's Medjugorje message to Mirjana of June 2, 2011

Our Lady Queen of Peace

Dear children! As I call you to prayer for those who have not come to know the love of God, if you were to look into your hearts you would comprehend that I am speaking about many of you. With an open heart, sincerely ask yourselves if you want the living God or do you want to eliminate him and live as you want. Look around you, my children, and see where the world is going, the world that thinks of doing everything without the Father, and which wanders in the darkness of temptation.
I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit. According to God’s plan I am with you to help you to have my Son, his cross and resurrection triumph, in your hearts. As a mother, I desire and pray for your unity with my Son and his works. I am with you; you decide. Thank you.
Message June 2, 2011

*According to Mirjana, Our Lady looked sad during the apparition. When Our Lady spoke about "the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit,” a unique light was visible behind her. Before the apparition was over, Our Lady blessed everyone present and their religious articles, and She especially blessed the priests.
La canzone di Medjugorje  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N9GQ4-qg2o&feature=related

Being the Spirit of truth He will guide you to all truth.

TRUE BLUE

"When He comes, however, being the Spirit of truth He will guide you to all truth." -John 16:13

Jesus calls Himself "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6). He promises that the truth will set us free (Jn 8:32). He prays for us to be consecrated in truth (Jn 17:19). Jesus asks the Father to send the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:16-17).

The Lord is clearly preoccupied with the truth. When Jesus speaks of truth, He does not refer to information but relation. He is speaking of true love, a true friend, a spouse who is true. He speaks of faithfulness and commitment.

When Jesus promises the Spirit of truth, He promises that we will be guided into true relationships. The Spirit will guide us into friendships which will not break our hearts but be our lifelong strength and encouragement. The Spirit can do this because He knows our hearts and our futures (1 Cor 2:10-11; Jn 16:13). Receive the Spirit of true relationships and true love.

Prayer:- Father, "what a friend we have in Jesus!" May we be true to You and true to others.
Promise:- "He has set the day on which He is going to 'judge the world with justice' through a Man He has appointed - One Whom He has endorsed in the sight of all by raising Him from the dead." -Acts 17:31