Children of Medjugorje

May 17, 2014 Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary! 1 - On May 2, 2014, Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross, surrounded by a large crowd. After the apparition, she gave the following message: "Dear children, I, your Mother, am with you for the sake of your well-being, for the sake of your needs and for the sake of your personal cognition. The Heavenly Father gave you the freedom to decide on your own and to become cognizant on your own. I desire to help you. I desire to be a mother to you, a teacher of the truth - so that in the simplicity of an open heart, you may become cognizant of the immesurable purity and of the light which comes from it and shatters darkness, the light which brings hope. I, my children, understand your pain and suffering. Who could understand you better than a mother? And you, my children? Small is the number of those who understand and follow me. Great is the number of those who are lost - of those who have not yet become cognizant of the truth in my Son. Therefore, my apostles, pray and act. Bring the light and do not loose hope. I am with you. In a special way I am with your shepherds. With a motherly heart I love and protect them, because they lead you to Heaven that was promised to you by my Son. Thank you."     2 - How can one be well prepared for a pilgrimage? The season of great pilgrimages is at its height since Easter and I wish to share with you some suggestions to help you get the most out of your pilgrimage. It is so easy to miss the grace! My 25 years spent in Medjugore have taught me that the essentials can be summarized in 2 points: open up your heart, and expect the unexpected. In this way we are able to pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to be ready to live the messages to their fullest. Of course this can be applied to any pilgrimage, not only the one in Medjugorje! Jesus, Mary and Joseph went on pilgrimage 3 times a year in order to celebrate the Living God of Israel. It was a major event for the Jewish people and a mitzva (commandment). From Nazareth, they had to walk about 100 miles to reach Jerusalem. They had to give up their habits, their rhythm of prayer, their work, and their acquaintanceship and accept to be uprooted for several days. They never knew in advance what awaited them on the road but they faced with joy the lack of comfort (facilities?) and the tiredness. They were stimulated by an exalting goal: to go pray in the Temple, be "seen" by God and respond to His call! Each pilgrimage allowed them to reach a new height (level?) in their spiritual life.   What should be done before leaving home? 1) Tell the Blessed Mother how grateful you are for being invited by her and thank her in advance for all the gifts that await you.  Since you are her guest, these gifts are plenty! 2) Start reading some of the messages and testimonies in order to prepare your spirit; learn about the apparitions in order to discover the main facts of the shrine. 3) Make the firm decision to be happy with everything, not to complain and to take up whatever happens with a positive attitude. This will attract upon you, and upon all those you carry in your heart, tremendous graces! Your bed isn't as comfortable as the one at home? Remember that in 1981 the villagers didn't even imagine having a bed!  The food is different? At that time, the villagers didn't have enough to eat and the men had to work in Germany to feed their families! The pansion doesn't have air conditioning? Remember that Jesus never had any during those torrid summers in Israel.  Your guide is like this or like that? Your roommate is this or that? Perfect! Try to love that person divinely and to master your emotions! Ask him to tell you about his childhood and welcome the child that is hidden within him! A pilgrimage allows us to take some distance from our usual habits, and it offers so many reasons to give thanks to God when we are tempted to grumble. Then, when we don't grumble, a shower of graces falls down on us. Our Lady gathers up all these little sacrifices and obtains countless graces for us! 4) Always keep in mind the true goal of your pilgrimage and what Our Lady desires: to change your heart and the direction of your life. She loves you so much and she wants your total conversion! Prepare yourself for making a good confession; it's the most important step of your time in Medjugorje, for it cleans up all that prevents you from being open to God. 5) Be sober when you fill up your suitcase. Some pilgrims arrive in Medjugorje so laden down with material things that they are also heavy in their hearts. A pilgrimage is the opportunity to live detachment and embrace a bit of poverty so beneficial to the soul! Detachment helps the soul to be fully open to God's grace. Think of the Holy Family going by foot to Jerusalem! They were content with little and thus enjoyed a great interior freedom. 6) "Open you hearts!" is the message that Mary always gives to the pilgrims. Be generous toward God! Let Him change what he has to change in you without restrictions because a pilgrimage is a privileged time, an opportunity to let Him work in your soul. But He will do it according to the openness that you offer Him in your freedom.  7) Avoid absolutely seeking for wonders. Those who search for them are going the wrong way. They run the risk of being disappointed because in Medjugorje miracles occur in the hearts of people! Those who seek outward signs run the risk of missing the grace that Our Lady has in store for them and then leave with an empty heart. 8) Enjoy making new friends among your group, new brothers and sisters in the Lord! These new relationships that the Lord creates during a pilgrimage are often important in the future. When you return home, your new friends will help you live the messages and you will have a new spiritual support! Many small prayer groups and charities are formed as a result of a pilgrimage. And some marriages too!   9) Avoid shopping, keep only one day for your purchase, lest you fall into distraction and then your prayer will suffer from that. "Satan wants to change the pilgrims into bystanders", Our Lady tells us. And yet these traps are more and more numerous in the shrines! Don't focus too much on taking photos and don't take any during mass and adoration in order not to "loose the graces that Jesus and myself want to give you" tells Our Lady. There it is. Living these simple suggestions while you are on pilgrimage, you will show God your sincere good will, and then He will fulfill your heart beyond your expectations! 3 - A piece of good news! I finished writing my new book and, God willing, it will be published in France this July. Translations have already started. I will give the details in my June 15th report. I thank all those who prayed for the fruit of that book, and those who sent me their witness. It is not too late to send more. Considering the requests, I continue writing! 4 - On May 16th, during the apparition with Ivan on Podbrdo, Our Lady called us to pray for her intentions and for the plans she desires to realize for the world. "Pray, dear children," she said. "And persevere in prayer. The Mother prays with you and always intercedes for all of you before her Son." Never forget that she counts on our prayers to fulfill her beautiful plans!  Dearest Gospa, Who could understand us better than you, our Mother?  In this month of Mary, we do not want to do less than John the Apostle! More than ever, we welcome you in our home and in our hearts!                 Sister Emmanuel +

PS 1. The youth festival will take place August 1 - 6. Why not help a teenager to come and allow him to change his life?  Doing so, you may save a soul!  PS 2. Why not write a letter to Our Lady? She loves letters and she'll bless you for it!Send it to:"Queen of Peace", BP 2157, F- 06103 Nice cedex, France. We will give it to a visionary.