JMJ
September 30, 2016
St. Jerome
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children! Today, I am calling you to prayer. May prayer be
life to you. Only in this way will your heart be filled with peace and joy. God
will be near you and you will feel Him in your heart as a friend. You will speak
with Him as with someone whom you know and, little children, you will have a
need to witness, because Jesus will be in your heart and you, united in Him. I
am with you and love all of you with my motherly love. Thank you for having
responded to my call." (September 25, 2016)
This week on Fruit of Medjugorje,
we have a powerful witness from Bishop Victor Phalana, about Medjugorje and how
it impacted his priesthood. He shares from his heart and it is a wonderful
example of how Our Lady has created Medjugorje as a place of prayer and
conversion. Here is an excerpt from his testimony in the Fruit show, Episode
233. You may want to watch for yourself at this link:
http://marytv.tv/?page_id=167
Rosie Zubac interviewed Bishop Phalana. She asked him several
questions:
Rosie:Is there something
different about Medjugorje, that encourages conversions?
Bishop Phalana
: Yes the environment is quite different and that is what makes it
different. I keep on asking myself, "But why?" "But why?" "But why?" The people
who come here (Medjugorje) - you can sense - they are seeking. We realize we are
all pilgrims. And we are searching for something. And when you come here, if you
are searching you will become a bit more focused and you will give yourself to
the experience. And what makes it different is that people come here, and maybe
they have had a little bit of preparation. Many of them understand that they are
not here so much as tourists but as pilgrims. Many feel that this is a holy
place.
And whatever one can say about the apparitions,
we all are listening together with the Church, and we are discerning with the
Church about the apparitions. But all the popes, from St. John Paul to Pope
Benedict XVI to Pope Francis acknowledge that it is a holy place. This is where
people come to meet God and encounter God. And this encounter leads to so many
conversions. So while there is no conclusion, no conclusive statement concerning
the apparitions, the Popes have not discouraged pilgrims from coming because
they know that it is a place where there are so many fruits!
Rosie:
Do you also witness this with the people you have accompanied from South
Africa, that the fruits are unique?
Bishop Phalana:
The fruits are quite unique. I brought an old priest, who is 87 years old,
to Medjugorje two years ago. Just before we left [for Medjugorje] he fell sick.
But he wanted to come. So we came. We started in Poland with a pilgrimage, and
he was admitted there to the hospital. And he came out of the hospital before he
was well enough. But he said "I have to go to Medjugorje." Then he came here,
and we took him to Mass, and for just a few spiritual exercises because he
wanted to rest.
Then we also took him to the clinic run by the
Maltese. And there he met a very young doctor who said to him, "You know I think
you are taking too many antibiotics. Then she went down and brought some
probiotics, and she said "Please take these." And then for Mass and the
encounter we had to push him in a wheel chair. He was so weak. But when he
returned home, he was strong! As I speak, he is celebrating his 89th birthday
next month. He is walking straight. He attributes his health to Medjugorje. He
says that Medjugorje helped him. He narrates an encounter with Vicka where she
held him for 2 or 3 minutes, she prayed with him. And he was sobbing just like a
child. And he said that is why God wanted me to go to Medjugorje. And now he is
strong. He says he is going ahead with his life.
So for me personally, on my first visit, like any
other priest, you go through your own moments of personal crisis where you are
wondering, "Am I really called? Is this vocation for me?" You may be 20 years in
the priesthood, but the questions still come at certain moments. And when I came
here those questions were really going on in me.
So I went to confession, and it was a beautiful
experience. You know, for us who are confessors, we also need that moment of
confession. After that, we were walking around here and I saw the priest who was
my confessor. I greeted him and I thanked him, and I said, "Look, that was a
beautiful experience!" And he said to me, "Go to any of the shops here and buy
yourself a ring, and bring it and let me bless it for you." That was about
2005.
I went and bought the ring, and then he blessed
it, and in his prayer...I think he was a priest from the United States... he
said, "Lord, I pray that your priest may rediscover your love, that it is a
covenantal love, that it is a spousal love." He went on, but I can't remember it
all. But those words I remember from the prayer. I wondered why he wanted me to
buy a ring!! (Laughter) Then he said, "This ring reminds you that as a priest
you are married to God."
I said that this was providence. I came here and
I didn't know what to expect. And here I am, and I meet somebody, and he said
something that was medicine for my soul. Something that I just needed to know.
And when I did confessions here many people kept coming back to me after
confession, and they wanted to meet me and they wanted to talk to me. "This
confession was different. Your prayer before absolution was clearly saying so
much about what was going on in my life. How did you know?" And I would say,
"No, no, no...it was just the grace of the Sacrament." It is the grace of the
moment. And so when I was praying for you, I was cooperating with the Holy
Spirit in guiding you."
When you sit there you have to give a little
spiritual direction. You cannot just listen and then give absolution. And I am
so grateful for the generosity of the priests who come here. There was a time
when I had been in the confessional for about 5 hours. People didn't stop. It
went on and on. And I was wishing that somebody could come and rescue me! But
this is a ministry that is needed. And I had to go on and do it. It is a moment
of grace.
So when I was made a bishop, I had to look at my
ring, my Medjugorje ring. And I said to myself, do I have to take it off now,
because I will have my episcopal ring! But I said no I can't, because for me
this is not a ring I just bought. This is a ring that connects me to this place
in a special way. This is the ring that reminds me of my call, of my vocation.
How precious it is.
Even though you may go through a crisis as a
priest, go and ask for help. You may ask family and friends for help. But it is
not better than Confession. Yes, ask for advice and spiritual direction, but you
can't run away from Confession. And Medjugorje reminds us of that.
That is why I say, this is a blessed place. It is
a beautiful place. When I was appointed bishop, I had just come from a
pilgrimage here. And I said to Our Lady, "Why? Why me?" And up until now I still
don't know, but it is God's choice and I have to accept it. I was taken to a
diocese that had been without a bishop for 2 years and there were some painful
things there. And so I asked Our Lady again, "Why me, why now? If you really
wanted me to be a bishop, in the heart of your Son, according to the will of
God, then why bring me here where I have to pick up the pieces and start from
scratch." And I received positivity, I received peace. You don't have to worry;
you don't have to be anxious!
Bishop Phalana then shared about the help he got for his diocese from
Medjugorje. They now share Mass stipends with his diocese. And we can support
Bishop Phalana by going to this website.
Bishop Phalana also was happy to know about Mary TV. He will share about it
in his diocese! And he blessed our work!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2016
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