Children of Medjugorje Newsletter

November 12, 2013

Dear children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!

1 - On November 2, Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross, surrounded by a big crowd. After the apparition, Mirjana conveyed the following message:

"Dear children! Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor. This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father. Converse with Him! Have a personal relationship with the Father, which will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children - of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father. My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you!" 

2. Fatherhood on Earth Reflects the Image of Our Father in Heaven. In her message of November 2nd, Mary tells us about the Heavenly Father, Marta Robin, a great French mystic who is now accepted for beatification, also had a deep knowledge of the HeavenlyFather. When speaking to fathers who are the head of the family, she would often relate these two fatherhoods. (See PS1)

One such conversation comes to us from a French pilgrim who came for All Saints Day, FatherYannik Bonnet, 80, from the diocese of Le Puy, in France. A former chemical engineer,after he was widowed he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1999. His testimonyrekindled hope to many hearts!

In April 1973, a year before president Pompidou died (he had blocked the law authorizing abortion, before Giscard d'Estaing ended up passing it), Yannik went to see Marta Robin. At the time, Yannick was a family man, and he was worried about the future of his 7 children.  (His 7th child had just been born.)  He was able to speak with Marta for 55 minutes.

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation they had, which speaks more than ever to our time. 

"Marta," he asked her, "do you think it useful for Christians to become involved in politics?" (Pope John Paul II hadn't said it clearly yet.)

Marta answered him, "Of course!  But for you, not before 10 years! "

"Why? " Yannik asked,

"Because you just had a baby girl, and she needs her father to structure her for 10 years. "

As an aside, Yannik then added, "Marta spoke to me a great deal about raising children and a

father's role, since that was why I had come to her.  She was crystal clear about the importance of

the father's role, because he prepares the child to be self-sufficient and ordered inside.  A mother,

on the other hand, gives the child all the love he needs to love life.  Children who have not been

loved by their mothers often have strong suicidal temptations."

"Young people today have no inner structure, they are not standing strong.  Among my buddies

at the Seminary in Rome, several have already left the ministry, they couldn't take it.  These are

very emotional people, but with no structure. In our seminaries, there is a lack of fathers giving the essence of fatherhood. We have good teachers, but fathers in the sense of fatherhood are lacking."

Here, Mary gives us this healing message:"My children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.  Converse with Him!  Have a personal relationship with the Father, which will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children - of my apostles.  As a mother I desire that, through the love for the Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father."

Yannik also told us about Marta's prophesies for France:

"Marta, the reason I came to see you today, I said, is because 6 months ago I had my 7th child, and I am extremely worried about the world in which I will have to raise my children.  I see a coming fall, and am filled with anguish at having to raise 7 children in that kind of world! "  

"Marta immediately said to me, with her tiny voice that sounded like a bell: 'Oh but that is nothing compared to what it will be like!  You cannot imagine how low we will fall!'

"And indeed, I just couldn't imagine it. Then, immediately she added, 'But you will see, the renewal will be extraordinary!  It will be like a ball that bounces back up!'  Then she corrected herself:  'No!  It will bounce back up much higher and faster than a ball!'  Then she told me about this renewal, when there would be conversions, vocations.  She described our country, France, in the full swing of a spiritual revival.  We went on to talk about the world.  What amazed me to no end is that she could talk about geopolitics as if she were the President of the United States!  Oh it was extraordinary!"

"I am marveling at the advice she gave me, that was useful to me as a layman, but even more so as a priest.  I think she knew that one day, I would become a priest.  For instance, she said, 'Do not overcomplicate life!  Wherever you are, whenever you are called, just do what you are able to do, don't complicate simple things!  There are things for which you are talented, and others for which you are not. Do the things for which you are talented, that way you won't get it wrong.'  She only gave me that kind of advice, full of common sense.  We had an extraordinary dialogue, as if we had known each other for years, even though we had only just met."

Thank you father Yannik!  May these words comfort us all, not only French people, but everyone

in this time of crisis so distressing for the world!  May they encourage us to hasten by our prayers the day the ball bounces back, when the destroyers of Christian values are either enlightened or made harmless!

3. Father Kevin Scallon, Congregation of Priests of the Mission, who is often accompanied by Sr Briege MacKenna, leads wonderful retreats for priests in Ireland and in the whole world (See PS2).  When he stayed with us in September, he told us this sorrowful story:  A former priest confided to him that at a time when he was overloaded with work, he had had a personal crisis and as a result left the priesthood.  "I went to see the Provincial Superior", he said, "in order to complain about my impossibly heavy workload, as I was burnt out.  I told him that I was thinking of leaving the priesthood.  At that point, without any attempt to speak to me, counsel me or even listen, my Superior said that he would try to arrange my departure as quickly as possible.  But if my Superior had taken just a little time to speak to me and listen to my situation, I am sure I would still be a priest today. I know I would!"

This story hurts! And it is not rare! Oh Lord! Please give us good fathers of family, good priests and good bishops, give us fathers who reflect the image of our dear Father in Heaven!

Dearest Gospa, thank you for having hired us to hasten and live the renewal of the Church. In the midst of contradictions, trials and dangers, how happy we are to hold on to your Mother's hand and walk with you in security!

Sister Emmanuel + 

(Translated from French)