Dear Children of Medjugorje

From the Desk of Sr. Emmanuel Maillard  July 17, 2015 Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary! 1. On July 2, 2015 Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross in the presence of a very large crowd. After the apparition, she conveyed the following message:   "Dear Children! I am calling you to spread the faith in my Son - your faith. You, my children illuminated by the Holy Spirit, my apostles, transmit it to others - to those who do not believe, who do not know, who do not want to know - but for that you must pray a lot for the gift of love, because love is the mark of true faith - and you will be apostles of my love. Love always, anew, revives the pain and the joy of the Eucharist, it revives the pain of the Passion of my Son, by which he showed you what it means to love immeasurably; it revives the joy for having left you his body and blood to feed you with himself - and in this way, to be one with you. Looking at you with tenderness, I feel immeasurable love which strengthens me in my desire to bring you to a firm faith. Firm faith will give you joy and happiness on earth and in the end the encounter with my Son. This is his desire. Therefore, live him, live love, live the light that always illuminates you in the Eucharist. I implore you to pray a lot for your shepherds, to pray so as to have all the more love for them because my Son gave them to you to feed you with his body and to teach you love. Therefore, also you are to love them. But, my children, remember, love means to endure and to give, and never, ever to judge. Thank you. Pray for your shepherds. They belong to my Son. He called them. Pray that they may always have the strength and the courage to shine with the light of my Son.  2. Pray before the cross, dear Children!   I just returned from a 10-day mission trip to the United States (see PS1).  Among the testimonies that were reported to me, here is one from one of our assistants who has lived with us for over a year in Medjugorje, and who participates, as a prayerful presence, in exorcisms which take place in her parish in California:   "When Father John was ordained, someone gave him the gift of a metal crucifix. A hidden compartment in the crucifix contained a small piece of wood reported to be a piece of the true Cross. He wasn't really sure of the authenticity of this relic, so he didn't pay much attention to this gift, but he kept the crucifix along with other religious articles in his possession.  Nine years later, he found himself involved, at the request of his bishop, in prayers of deliverance and even of exorcisms. One day, a man came to him and asked for help, specifically for prayers of deliverance. The man had become possessed by the devil while visiting prostitutes in South America. During the sessions of prayers of deliverance, Father John noticed that the man had a strong aversion to the standard wooden crucifix that he was using to bless him. The man would turn his head away from the cross and do everything he could to avoid having it contact his skin, and he would shout anytime Father made the sign of the cross over him with the crucifix.  "The same behavior continued for 3 meetings in a row.  Then Father John remembered the metal crucifix that he had received long ago.  For the following session, he brought that little cross with him, but he said nothing to the team or to the man about the difference between the two crucifixes. As soon as Father raised that crucifix to bless the man, the possessed one flung himself away from the cross so forcefully that his chair went over backwards and he landed up against the wall several feet away.  He continued shouting and tried desperately to get away from this cross.  Everyone else in the room was surprised at this extreme reaction, more violent than anything that had happened with him before. After the prayers were concluded and calm had returned, Father John opened up the hidden compartment of his cross to show everyone the small relic hidden inside.  No one had the slightest doubt as to the authenticity of what father held in his hands." It was by His cross that Jesus conquered Satan and delivered us from his hold! This type of testimony is not rare among exorcists.  But I am anxious to call attention to it here, because today, aren't we all on a truly cruel battlefield? It would be utopic to believe that we can conquer evil without Christ and without His Cross.  This testimony also demonstrates how precious these true relics are, and to despise these objects of piety would deprive us of many graces that God desires so much to give us. 3. The Medjugorje Case.     In the midst of all the waves crashing upon and against Medjugorje recently, let us underline the words of Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, who welcomed Pope Francis on June 6th.  During a clear and sober interview in the newspaper 7Dnevno, he declared, in substance, that the media has manipulated the statements of the Pope on his return flight, "interpreting them as inconclusive, which is unacceptable," he said. "Their interpretations have shaken the spirit of the faithful, the priests and the pilgrims who have links to that place of pilgrimage.  It is very regrettable that the media gave more -mistaken- attention to certain statements the Pope made on Medjugorje, rather than focusing on some of his more powerful messages about other problems Bosnia-Herzegovina is facing."  He added, "I believe Francis' decision on Medjugorje will be good and right." Note that Cardinal Puljic (see photo) is the president of the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina and a member of the Commission for Medjugorje named by Benedict XVI. See the link: http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/medjugorje-puljic-42059   4. Welcome to the young people!   We expect thousands of young people for the Festival from July 31st to August 6th.  In the prophetic vision of Sister Briege McKenna in 1984 (See PS2), there were rivers of living water flowing from the altar of the sanctuary (St. James church), and a few young people came there to avidly drink the water in order to quench their thirst.     Realizing that they were re-born into life, the true life, they left full of joy and back home called their friends over to drink eagerly of this living water, which is none other than the river of blessings flowing from the wounded Heart of Jesus.  Today there are thousands coming to drink from this source of living water, not to "go wild," but, on the contrary, to reconnect with the deepest part of their hearts, to unify themselves interiorly and find the true happiness that is so often hidden from them in their surroundings.  Let us pray for one great and beautiful harvest of souls again this year, along with the many priests coming too, so happy to do their work as shepherds in Medjugorje!  Last year, there were more than 500 priests assisting the young people, and there was no chance they'd suffer unemployment in the confessionals as they do so often in their own parishes!   5. Rosie's wedding.   Rosie and Her husband Matthew   During our mission to the USA, we had the joy of being at Rosie's side for her marriage to Matthew, in New Jersey on July 4th.  Many of you know her, because she spent 3 years with us in Medjugorje, in the school of Our Lady.  Her wedding was magnificent!  She taught theology in a Catholic high school for 2 years.  She is beloved by her students, who, for the most part, need a serious update on the true Catholic faith, even though they are baptized.  She engages in deep dialogue with them on themes essential to life, and her stay in Medjugorje greatly enables her to do that. A significant anecdote:  Since Matthew taught in the same high school, the students know him well. One day, the theme of engagement and marriage came up, and Rosie told the kids how important and beneficial it is to live in chastity before marriage, and that she and Matthew had made this choice.  The students burst out immediately, "What?  People like you still exist?" ... Apparently yes! 6. Good news!  It is now possible to get a new app for your smartphone and receive all the official messages of Our Lady since 1984.  This app is free and available in many languages.  This is found at the app store.  In the search menu, type Medjugorje Friends of Mary.  Share this super news with your friends!  What a beautiful means of evangelization! Sister Emmanuel + (Translated from French)