A Tribute to our Guardian Angels – Part I: Angels and the Eucharist

The following is my personal account of what my daughter (about 8 yrs old at the time) relayed to me at Mass one Sunday evening, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Guildford.

We frequently attended this church in approx 2002-03.  St Pat's Church GuildfordWe lived much closer to another church, but travelled the extra distance to this little old church on most Sundays, as the priest and congregation seemed to me, on a whole, fervent and reverent. The Parish priest was Fr. Lou Breslan; a lovely, old priest with thick white hair, an often reddish face and a slight Irish accent. He always chose traditional hymns and, although lacking a formal choir, there were plenty of people who sang them beautifully. Although they cannot be seen in the photo, there were also traditional statues and Stations of the Cross in the church and an old choir loft up some steep steps, where my daughter and I chose to sit. Both levels were crowded, although the choir loft was not uncomfortably so, and we had a good view of the altar and sanctuary from up there.

Just after Holy Communion, my daughter pulled my sleeve and wanted to tell me something but I motioned to her to remain quiet while I finished my prayers of Thanksgiving after Holy Communion. She was really patient and waited without further interruption until I sat down again. Then she whispered to me that she wanted to tell me something but I was not allowed to tell ‘anyone’! She said that during the Consecration on the altar, she had seen lots and lots of angels! I guess you could describe it as a ‘multitude of angels’! They were all around the priest and the Eucharist; on the altar, all around the altar and above it, seemingly intent on the Eucharist. I’m sure they were adoring Our Beloved Saviour, maybe assisting the priest at the Consecration.

I was  amazed and awe-struck, but we didn’t converse further in Church, waiting until we got into the car to go home. I had immediately known that she wasn’t making this up; at least partly by her quiet, serious and almost ‘dutiful’ attitude. Also she had never spoken of seeing anything ‘holy’, or like this, before and has also not experienced any visions like it, in the 15 yrs since.

I couldn’t contain my awe and soon shared this with my mum who also told her brother, my uncle. (They are both believers) My uncle, who was an acolyte, asked her a few theoretical questions, wanting to know what the angels looked like; in particular I recall him asking her whether they had wings or not. She answered that some did and some did not. Her description was somewhat difficult to imagine for someone who has not seen them; she couldn’t really describe the colour of their robes; she said that they appeared to be made of ‘light’.

Anyway, she was very upset with me, unfortunately, for ‘telling nanna and uncle’- although I really didn’t think she would mind me telling nanna and strictly speaking I didn’t actually tell uncle; my mum did! Because she was mad at me for betraying her confidence, I wasn’t supposed to bring it up and mainly just kept the account and pondered it in my heart. I was dismayed to find out that recently, when I brought it up, that she had completely forgotten the experience and can’t remember it at all! She certainly did remember it for a few years, as I did occasionally refer to it, especially when seeking to emphasize the importance of reverence at Mass, but sadly, she seems to have lost the memory sometime, in her teenage years.

Angels at our Grandmother’s House.

I admit that I faintly remember that, as a young child myself (under age 5), I also saw angels, as did my younger sister, at my grandmother’s house, on a regular basis. We took the fact for granted and never spoke of it: the silence was an unwritten rule. I think this was because we  knew, instinctively, that adults wouldn’t believe us anyway, that they couldn’t see them and that we’d probably get spanked for making up stories. We didn’t pay much attention to the angels; we just played in their presence. My grandmother did pray a lot, including the Holy Rosary, and I’m sure her simple but devout faith, and her constant prayers, are the reason that most of her family have Faith today.

Thank You, our Good Lord God for these wonderful creatures that were created to serve You and Your Will (as were we). Holy guardian angels, Holy Arch-angels and Holy Mary, Queen of the Angels, pray for us and for our children!

The Value of Holy Mass – the Greatest Prayer

I thought that the following may be a good resource to share with those who need some encouragement to go to Mass, or to go more often. Never underestimate the power of prayer of which the Holy Mass is the greatest. St Alphonsus’ writings taught me ‘don’t just go to Mass, pray Holy Mass!’

  • Through Holy Mass you are preserved from many dangers and misfortunes which would otherwise have befallen you.
  • Through Holy Mass you are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs
  • You shorten your purgatory by every Mass.
  • By piously hearing Holy Mass, you give the greatest possible relief to the souls in purgatory
  • Every Mass will go with you to Judgement and plead pardon for you
  • Every Mass can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins; more or less according to your fervour
  • Through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus Christ supplies for many of your negligences and omissions
  • The Lord Jesus also forgives all the venial sins which you are determined to avoid
  • He also forgives your unknown sins which you never confess
  • One Holy Mass heard during your life will be of more benefit to you than many said after your death
  • During Holy Mass you kneel amidst a multitude of holy angels who are present at the adorable sacrifice with reverential awe
  • When you hear Holy Mass devoutly, offering it to Almighty God in honour of any particular angel or Saint, you afford that Saint a new degree of honour, joy and happiness and draw his special love and protection on yourself.

*These excerpts were taken from “The Hidden Treasure; the Holy Mass” by St. Leonard as published on a pamphlet by Mary’s Rosary Chain Inc.

MDM Messages- Jesus to Mankind CP Meeting Thursday, 16th July, 2015.

The following words from God were opened upon by different volunteers and read aloud at the conclusion of our prayer group meeting:

Tobias 6

By the angel’s advice young Tobias taketh hold on a fish that assaulteth him. Reserveth the heart, the gall, and the liver for medicines. They lodge at the house of Raguel, whose daughter Sara, Tobias is to marry; she had before been married to seven husbands, who were all slain by a devil.

[1] And Tobias went forward, and the dog followed him, and he lodged the first night by the river of Tigris. [2] And he went out to wash his feet, and behold a monstrous fish came up to devour him. [3] And Tobias being afraid of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying: Sir, he cometh upon me. [4] And the angel said to him: Take him by the gill, and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, he drew him out upon the land, and he began to pant before his feet. [5] Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of the fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines.

[6] And when he had done so, he roasted the flesh thereof, and they took it with them in the way: the rest they salted as much as might serve them, till they came to Rages the city of the Medes. [7] Then Tobias asked the angel, and said to him: I beseech thee, brother Azarias, tell me what remedies are these things good for, which thou hast bid me keep of the fish? [8] And the angel, answering, said to him: If thou put a little piece of its heart upon coals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of devils, either from man or from woman, so that they come no more to them. [9] And the gall is good for anointing the eyes, in which there is a white speck, and they shall be cured. [10] And Tobias said to him: Where wilt thou that we lodge?

[8] Its heart: The liver (ver. 19) God was pleased to give these things a virtue against those proud spirits, to make them, who affected to be like the Most High, subject to such mean corporeal creatures as instruments of his power.

[11] And the angel answering, said: Here is one whose name is Raguel, a near kinsman of thy tribe, and he hath a daughter named Sara, but he hath no son nor any other daughter beside her. [12] All his substance is due to thee, and thou must take her to wife. [13] Ask her therefore of her father, and he will give her thee to wife. [14] Then Tobias answered, and said: I hear that she hath been given to seven husbands, and they all died: moreover I have heard, that a devil killed them. [15] Now I am afraid, lest the same thing should happen to me also: and whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with sorrow to hell.

[15] Hell: That is, to the place where the souls of the good were kept before the coming of Christ.

[16] Then the angel Raphael said to him: Hear me, and I will shew thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail. [17] For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power. [18] But thou when thou shalt take her, go into the chamber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayers with her. [19] And on that night lay the liver of the fish on the fire, and the devil shall be driven away. [20] But the second night thou shalt be admitted into the society of the holy Patriarchs.

[21] And the third night thou shalt obtain a blessing that sound children may be born of you. [22] And when the third night is past, thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou mayst obtain a blessing in children.

(Taken from: http://www.drbo.org)

(*see Ed. note at bottom).

God the Father: I will wipe out their false churches, their wicked cults, their false idols, their cities and their nations

Sunday, 15 July 2012 @ 17:45
Message 488
(received during adoration of the Holy Eucharist)
My dearest daughter it is difficult for My children to remain free of sin because of the curse inflicted upon them by the hand of the serpent.
Never do I expect My children to be completely free of sin at all times for this is impossible.
It is important that anyone who knows the teachings of My Son’s Church on Earth to seek repentance for your sins as often as possible.
Through repentance it will be easier to remain in a state of grace and this will create a barrier to further temptation.
My children you are now about to witness great everlasting changes in the world.
They will happen after The Warning takes place.
While many will ignore these messages from Heaven, it is important for those who accept them as the word of God to prepare.
You are the link in my armour against the enemy and through your faith I will lift you up and protect you against the persecution.
It will be your love for My Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the universe, that I will be able to salvage those children who cannot abide the light of God.
Your consecration of love, suffering and prayers will be their saving grace from the fires of Hell.
Be not afraid for yourselves but for those who not only cannot see, but who refuse to see, the times in which you are living today.
The preparations are complete and the time is ripe for the changes to commence for I will not allow the beast to steal souls.
This intervention, promised to mankind for so long will take place very soon and then the battle will begin to save My children.
Do not fear my hand for, when it falls, it will be used to punish those who are trying to destroy My children.
I will stop them from deceiving souls.
I will stop them from their murderous intent and I will wipe out their false Churches, their wicked cults, their false idols, their cities and their nations if they continue to reject the hand that feeds them.
They have been warned.
You, my beloved children will help My Son to save them.
Never fear because those with the seal of the living God are not only protected but are given the graces to defend the word of God so that as many souls as possible will be given the gift of life.
Your beloved Father
God the Most High

Millions of Souls will be saved through these messages

Thursday, 7 April 2011 @ 22:00
Message 59
My beloved daughter, the gift of the Holy Spirit was bestowed on you today, along with special Divine graces.
You, My daughter, having surrendered your free will, will now move on to do my most holy will.
You will now realise the importance of full obedience to me, in your thoughts, words, acts, behaviour and attitude.
You will now follow my guidance and seek it out before you take any action on my behalf.
Finally, you are ready to follow my instruction.
You now need to devote at least two hours to me in prayer every second day.
In addition, you must follow directions from the most Holy Spiritual director sent to you from Heaven.
He will speak to you as I instruct him to.
Do exactly what he says.
You must ensure that you communicate with me every day because I have much to tell you.
My daughter, hear only my voice from now on.
Only write what you receive from me.
Never take meanings about these most holy messages from others.
There is only one mouth with which I communicate to you and that’s mine.
Trust me, My daughter.
Trust in me completely.
Never question these messages, because it is me speaking with you.
Always remember that.
Now that you trust in me, you will be much stronger.
Let me assure you that you will now be able to deal more effectively with the attacks from the deceiver.
Feel at peace.
The love for you, My daughter, is surging through My Heart, while your devotion and love for me fills you and makes you weak.
This powerful love is pure in its entirety and cannot be compared to anything you have ever experienced before in this world.
Heaven rejoices at your final surrender.
But now you will have to prepare yourself to help save millions of souls.
My daughter, the task I ask of you is enormous in human terms.
You, My daughter, will be the messenger to the world of the largest volume of my holy word, for the world to prepare for my second coming.
They, my precious children whom I love with a deep passion beyond your knowing, must be drawn back to my most Sacred Heart before it is too late.
You, My daughter, will be expected to deliver my word to mankind.
This is no easy task.
You will suffer because of it, but you must understand that this now is your duty to me.
You are being called to ensure, that through the word from My Divine lips ,that millions of souls will be saved from the fires of Hell.
Communicate with me properly now.
I will guide you all the time.
Peace be yours, My daughter.
My most Holy Spirit is now flooding your soul.
You are now full of love and joy and ready for the next stage of this Divine mission.
Your Saviour
Jesus Christ

You are living in the time when many of God’s children have become pagans

Friday, 22 February 2013 @ 23:00
Message 712
My dearly beloved daughter, you are living in the time when many of God’s children have become pagans.
Even those born as Jews and Christians have now resorted to different kinds of idolatry, as foretold.
How it offends me to witness the respect, which God’s children hold in their hearts for self-gratification and a belief in false Gods, which exist only in their minds.
The surges of new age spiritualism and a passion for all things, which relate to the calming of the mind, amount to one thing.
These people are in darkness because they refuse to acknowledge me, Jesus Christ.
By blocking out the light of God, deliberately, they leave themselves open to the darkness of the spirit of evil.
Satan and his demons prey on such souls and cause, within them, a terrible stark emptiness, which no matter what new age spiritual remedies they seek, they will never find comfort, for this is not the natural habitat into which they were born.
The paganism which has gripped humanity at this time is at its highest since before the time I, Jesus Christ, was born on Earth.
Although the world was given the truth of the existence of God, and even though I, through My Death on the cross, saved them from damnation, they still turn their backs.
Self-obsession, adulation and a love of worldly excesses, is the scourge of mankind and it comes from a desperate sense of unease, disquiet and barrenness.
Idolatry – a love of famous people, false Gods and the display of pagan objects – bring a cloud of darkness upon all those who are passionate about such pursuits.
Christians suffer ridicule by the hands of such people, but through their suffering and prayers, they can help to save their fellow human beings from the fires of Hell.
When you flirt with these false idols, you play with the demons from Hell, sent to drag you into the abyss for eternity.
Never believe that such pagan practices are harmless, because they are not.
When you spend your time and your mind in such distractions you shut yourself away from God and eternal life.
Wake up to the truth.
I am the truth.
There is no other way to eternal happiness, only through I, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man.
I come now to reveal the truth, so that I can save you again and bring you eternal life by helping you to salvage your souls.
Your Jesus
(* Editor’s note: Emphasis is mine as relates to the following: The reading above was a timely confirmation, as was the Chapter of Tobit. A young woman we know had recently been to see a ‘bible-quoting’ medium/physic who involved her in New Age practices. A few weeks later, she came down with a debilitating mental illness with schizophrenia-like symptoms.  I believed it was a spiritual manifestation. We are praying for her delivery, healing and for her whole family to come to know God .)
(All readings from the Book of Truth are taken from: mdm.lastprophet.wordpress.com)

MDM Messages- CP Meeting Thursday, 9th July, 2015.

The following words from God were opened upon by different volunteers and read aloud at the conclusion of our prayer group meeting:

Proverbs 15:

2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright : but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
6 In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble .
7 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
10 Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die .
11 Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
12 A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
14 The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth * of fools feedeth on foolishness.
15 All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
19 The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain .
20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly .
22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed : but in the multitude of counsellors they are established .
23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
24 The way of life is above to the wise , that he may depart from hell beneath.
25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live .
28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer : but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
30 The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat .
31 The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Book of Truth: Volume 5: The new religion for all people will draw non-Christian faiths

Thursday, 11 December 2014 @ 21:50
Message 1287
December 11, 2014 @ 9:50pm
My dearly beloved daughter, I bring you news today that will lighten your hearts. You, My cherished disciples, loyal to My Holy Word, will be given special graces by Me. These graces, which will be poured over all those who suffer in My Holy Name, will bring you extraordinary comfort in the trials, which lie ahead.
I give you also the grace to save all those poor confused, misled and agitated souls who have cut Me out of their lives. Your prayers and your perseverance are all that I need when you offer these up to Me in atonement for such souls. This gift is an extraordinary one and I grant this because very soon a confusion of such magnitude will stir amongst all Christian faiths, that many will desert Me.
Like recruits joining an army, ready for war, people will sign up to a new religion, disguised as a Christian one, which they will refer to as the people’s religion – a religion to embrace the strong, the weak and all sinners, which they will say crosses all political divides. Many will believe that they are supporting their own but they will desert Me.  The way for this great deceit has now been forged and leaders in the new religion have already been appointed. Silent, diligent and determined, they planted the seeds in many nations some time ago and soon the results will be seen.
The new religion will be seen as compassionate. The new religion for all people will draw non-Christian faiths and every convincing lie will be put forward to defend this movement. God’s Laws will be ignored completely and every attempt to justify their new approach to global evangelism will be made.
Speeches presented by those in My Church, to defend the changes, which will be needed to introduce the first part of this new pseudo-doctrine, will have a distinctive falsity. Words used to describe My Teachings will not be familiar to Christians who truly know Me. The language used, when referring to Me, will be degrading and insulting to My Divinity.
I know My Own and they know Me. I know My enemies and they will say that they know Me, to anyone who will listen to them. When My enemies, who say that they are of Me, who speak disparagingly of Me, who show little respect for My Word or who try to re-define it, be alert. For even the most cunning enemy of Mine will trip himself up, because anything that comes from My adversary will always confuse.  Anything that comes from God and where the Holy Spirit is present, will never mock Me, Jesus Christ, in any way.
Once you witness confusion in My Church and witness a new doctrine, which honours man’s needs and desires, then nothing that it yields will feel right. You, My dear followers, will be unsettled, frightened and full of sorrow. It is because of these things to come that I give those of you who truly love Me, the graces to help Me to save God’s children from this great abomination, soon to rear its ugly head.
Accept My Gifts; My Promise to help you and to guide you, which I bring you now. My Word was given to humanity long ago. The Word is not new. The man who adds to it and changes it will suffer greatly. This has been foretold in the Holy Bible and now this is exactly what will happen. My Word will be tampered with by My adversary and the world will swallow the lies, which will come about as a result.
Your Jesus

Book of Truth Volume 3: The rise of hatred, murder and lack of charity is intense and sin has infested the earth like wildfire

Tuesday, 29 January 2013 @ 04:15
Message 689
My dearly beloved daughter, the rage of Satan pours over the Earth as the Holy Spirit increases his Divine presence within the souls of so many, through this and other missions, sanctioned by me.
The rise of hatred, murder and lack of charity is intense, and sin has infested the Earth like wildfire.
The time for the preparation for the great day of my return must now begin with great care.
As you, My beloved followers respond to My Call, I will increase your faith and you will multiply everywhere.
This mission is the culmination of all instructions given to humanity through My Father, to all those who came before you.
Don’t you realise that the prophets, from the beginning, when they described the day of the lord, that this refers to my time, the time in which I will fulfil the Final Covenant?
My plan is to come and give you the eternal life I promised when I released you from the chains of sin, by My Death on the cross.
To those of you who are wary of me, know that I could never deceive you in such a mission as this one.
I would not ask you to help me save souls, fight the evil one, or encourage you to pray, were it not I, Your Jesus, who calls to you now.
My poor little ones, you are living in a wilderness, not of your own making.
I am your only way out.
Unless you follow me, now, you will waste time wandering, getting lost and being distracted.
Your faith can only be kept strong through the holy sacraments.
Keep your faith and follow me.
That’s all I ask.
Then pray for the salvation of souls.
I will never condemn you for not accepting these, my holy messages.
But I will never forgive you if you blaspheme against the word of God, given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you do not believe in my messages, then walk away and continue with your devotion to me.
My dear disciples, you will move quickly to create a large army and a strong defence against the enemies of God.
As this increases in strength, please encourage as many of My sacred Servants, as possible, to help you.
It is important that, no matter how much resistance they encounter, that they must still provide the daily Mass and the sacrament of holy communion to those in need.
Your Jesus

Book of Truth, Volume 2: The Sacraments of the Holy Confession, Baptism, Marriage and the Holy Eucharist must be preserved.

Sunday, 1 July 2012 @ 15:45
Message 473
My dearly beloved daughter how sin crushes me at this moment and how I suffer the torment of rejection.
My head is being crushed like the thorns in my crown just as the head of My Church, my Holy Vicar on Earth, suffers the pain through the persecution he endures at the hand of his enemies.
My Church on Earth, My Body on Earth, is one.
The Crucifixion is being prepared.
The doctrines of My Church, just as My Teachings on Earth were torn asunder by those Pharisees and those who thought they knew the word of My Father more than I did, will soon be thrown asunder.
You must all pray for My Church on Earth.
You must always remember that no other doctrine exists other than that proclaimed by me during my time on Earth.
All that is the truth will never be changed for if it is you will be forced to swallow a lie.
My daughter never allow those who continued to reject my word at this time to discourage you, or my followers, from helping me to salvage My Church on Earth.
For once the enemy attacks My Church you must join together and ensure that the gospels are spread to the ends of the Earth.
The sacraments of the holy confession, baptism, marriage and the Holy Eucharist must be preserved.
Even these will be made difficult to access.
My sacred Servants who love me must begin preparation now.
Very soon you will be forbidden to offer such gifts to God’s children.
The time for preparation has begun.
Allow me to instruct you, lead you and help you bring my remnant Church to the gates of Paradise.
Your beloved Jesus
(All of the messages From the Books of Truth (Maria divine Mercy are taken from: http://mdmlastprophet.com)

Pilgrimage Part 8 cont. The Blue Cross

Prayer Group Pilgrimage-Medjugorie

The Blue CrossBlue Cross

We went back to the foot of Apparition Hill today specifically to visit the Blue Cross.

This is the place where Ivan once went with his prayer group. While they were here, Our Lady appeared with a Blue Cross behind her.

There is a story about a woman who went there to pray for her husband. While she was praying, her husband was at home watching TV. He saw the Blue Cross on his TV Screen.

We sat on a bench under a tree in the shade and we recited the Rosary, singing “Ave, Ave, ave Maria. Ave, ave, ave Maria.” after each decade and Our Lady

Our Lady's statue with Cross
Our Lady’s statue with Cross

Queen of Peace, pray for us. At the end we sang “Hail Queen of Heaven”. We offered up each decade for a different intention ( intentions of our prayer group, our own intention, for our priests, for people we had met on our journey and for our local church community.)

We noticed that another group of pilgrims had joined us at the end of the Rosary. We began to say the Chaplet of Mercy and they joined in and at the end we sang “God of Mercy and Compassion”.

We spoke afterwards. They were from Texas and Mexico and were a family group. They showed us a photo that one of them had taken while we were praying by just pointing the camera towards the sky. First, they gathered around the lady with the phone, then they came over to us to show us. (More later-after they email me the photo.)

(Editor’s note:  I did not receive the email with the photo. Perhaps they lost the bit of paper with my email address, or they misread the address. Perhaps the image was meant for them and not for us. What we all saw on the mobile phone was an image of the blue sky, but very faintly, there was an outline of our Blessed Mother. They did not say or suggest what was on the phone, they just showed us and we all saw  a faint – sort of vaporized-  image. Even though we did not receive the image, I think it was providential that they arrived just as we were praying. I think they were meant to show us the picture, so that we, too, knew that our dear Mother was there with us.

We touched our handkerchiefs to this sacred spot because Our Blessed Mother had stood there. Interestingly, they had been doing the same thing with their hankies.

Mother Elvira and Cenacolo.

Just 5 minutes down the road was this wonderful place founded by this nun who had a vocation to helping troubled youth and getting them off their addictions by hard work, prayer and adoration. We listened to their testimonies. They have houses all over the world. When they came to Medjugorje, Fr Slavko supported them in whatever way he could.

Cenacolo
Cenacolo

They rely completely on Providence. They can stay for 3 to 5 years until they are secure. They have an amazing success rate.

We were able here to write all our intentions down on a piece of paper and put it into a special sealed container made from one of the large rocks on Apparition Hill. Two Masses will be said for our intentions, after which they are burnt with the smoke going up (as incense) to God. This thought pleased us.

Pilgrimage Part 8 cont- Cross Mountain

Cross Mtn

Yesterday, 12th July, we set off for Cross Mountain. This hill is in the opposite direction to Apparition Hill but is much higher. The path up the hill is covered with the same rocky terrain as Apparition Hill. We caught a taxi there because we didn’t want to tire ourselves out before we even started. Five of us are between the ages of 65 and 75. Apparition Hill was difficult, but Cross Mountain was to prove much more difficult. Instead of 5 decades of the Rosary, there were 15 Stations of the Cross,but we made it.

This was a different story and a much bigger challenge. Other people joined our little group (including “Moses” ) and we ended up with 12!! To make it worse, 2 of us had badly swollen legs (probably a result of our hectic schedule over past few weeks) but they desperately wanted to try to do it for our dear Lord – to offer it all up Him and to pray for our Prayer Group intentions. So off we went in fear and trepidation.

We used the prayers and the readings from the little booklet written by Fr Slavko for the Stations of the Cross. The stations were distanced further apart than the Rosary Mysteries on Apparition Hill.

I thought we would never get there. The young just leaped over the rocks and stones while we hobbled and tried to keep our balance.

Between the 13th and 14th Stations, there was a rock memorial for Fr Slavko, marking the spot where he died. (See post on. 12 July).

At the top was a huge, white Cross erected in 1933. The inscription on it was:  33-1933. Back of cross with backgroundApparently it was a Jubilee year and it was erected to celebrate 1900 years since Jesus’ death on the Cross.

It is interesting that it is so big. Also the old church was rebuilt in the 1930’s – the present St James Church. It was a tiny village and the church seemed way too big for what was needed. Was it Providence that was preparing for the time when it would be needed?

While we were up there the bells of the church down below chimed for the evening Mass. It was so loud and clear and seemed to be magnified by the hills. Medjugorje seemed to be nestled in the hills, as at Garabandal; even the amphitheatre effect was there.

View from Cross Mountain
View from Cross Mountain

We stayed a while for photos, a rest and to pray for all our intentions.

We headed back. Some found going down more difficult than going up – especially on the knees. We finally made it down. It took much longer than we expected – nearly 4 hours. We were told 2.5 hours. Needless to say our youngsters were down a good half hour before us.

We thanked God for getting us down safe. We thought that it was quite miraculous that the person in our group with the swollen feet had made it! She could not walk the day before and was in a bad way, but she so wanted to try… She thought that if she got stuck she would just sit down and wait for us to come back.

Fr Slavko and Miracle Stories

Fr SlavkoOn 10th July, our first day in Medjugorje, we met up with our WYD friend (Moses) and we went for a walk to see the layout of the Church,  the Franciscan Piety Stall, the outdoor altar and the huge area of seating that is capable of holding thousands of people, ( see post on Adoration), Fr Slavko’s grave, the outdoor statue of Our Lady at the front of the Church, the shrines made with a tile mosaic of the  Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and more.

Fr Slavko Barbaric

This priest is famous for his work here.
He died at the age of 53. He worked tirelessly for the Lord. He built an orphanage (called ‘The Mother’s village’) to accommodate the orphans after the Bosnian war.(below is one of the chapels at the orphanage.)

Chapel at orphanage
Chapel at orphanage

Fr Slavko would get only 3 hours sleep per night. He died after he climbed the hill with the Cross. The climb has the Stations of the Cross. It is stony and rocky just like the Apparition Hill, only longer. When he got to the top he sat down and said he didn’t feel well. This was between the 13th and 14th Station. Then he died.

A stone memorial marks this spot. (See picture below left. ) His grave (on the right) is found in the area behind St James Church.)

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There is a case where an American pilgrim had climbed this hill who had been away from the church for a long, long time. She met a priest on the way and he explained to her about Confession and the commandments.

She was so enthused she went straight to the church for Confession. Later, she noticed a picture of this priest hanging on the wall of the piety shop and pointed him out and said that she had just been speaking to this priest out on the hill. The only thing was that he had already been dead and buried.

The Outdoor Crucifix.

This crucifix is rather modern in its form and not to everyone’s liking.  It is made of bronze (or brass). It shows the cloth wrapped around Jesus’ hips and which has one corner hanging down at the back and which is tied in a “b20150710_113937ow” at the side.  It all looks rather odd.

This sculpture has some cracks and seems to weep water, even if it is dry and hasn’t rained. People are seen mopping up the moisture with cloths.
It is asserted that a person who was blind received one of these cloths and put it on his eyes and was cured.

More on Apparition Hill

More on Apparition Hill: (See post dated 10th July)

This information has been contributed by a fellow JTM Crusader.

*About every 200 ft (65 m) there was a brass depiction of each of the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary.

*The whole walkable path on Apparition Hill is in the shape of a giant Rosary when viewed from above.

*The Cross between the 2nd and 3rd Mystery

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This was the place of one of Our Lady’s apparitions. That cross is there because on the 3rd day of the apparitions, the following occurred:

The THIRD Day
On the 26th of June 1981,
On the same day, coming down Podbrdo,Our Lady appeared one more time,
this time however only to Maria saying,
“Peace, peace, peace and only peace.”
Behind her, Maria could see a cross.
After which Our Lady repeated, in tears, the following words,
“Peace must reign between man and God, and between all people!”

*The Permanent Sign on Apparition Hill: (same as Garabandal).

When the visible sign comes, for many it will already be too late:

Vicka, during an interview by Fr. Janko Bubalo:

Janko: “Tell me where the Virgin will give that sign.
Vicka: “On Podbrdo. At the sight of the first apparitions.

Janko: “Will the sign be in the Heavens or on earth?
Vicka: “On earth.

Janko: “Will it appear spontaneously, or will it gradually appear?
Vicka: “Spontaneously.

Janko: “Will everyone be able to see it?
Vicka: “Whoever comes here will.

Janko: “Will the sign be temporary, or will it be permanent?
Vicka: “Permanent.

Janko: “Will the sign be able to be destroyed by anyone?
Vicka: “By no one.

Janko: “You think that or…
Vicka: “The Virgin said so.

Janko: “Do you know exactly what the sign will be?
Vicka: “Exactly!

Janko: “Do you know when the Virgin will make it evident to the rest of us?
Vicka: “I know that also.

Janko: “And why is the Virgin leaving the sign here?
Vicka: “Why to show the people that She is here among us…I’ll just say this: whoever does not believe without a sign will not believe with a sign.

Question: “Do you know when the permanent sign is going to come?
Ivan: “Yes.

Question: “Is it going to be in your lifetime?
Ivan: “Yes.

Question: “When the permanent sign comes, will everybody in the whole world believe because of the sign?
Ivan: “I don’t know.

Question: “What happens to those people who don’t really believe enough right now to convert and want to wait until the permanent sign comes?
Ivan: “For those people, it will be too late. The Blessed Mother says that is why God is giving so much time for these apparitions, so that all may come to conversion.
She wants to make certain that all people have this opportunity.
She can’t help anybody who doesn’t want to change, who doesn’t come back to God, who doesn’t put God first.
If you don’t do this now, it will be too late.”

PADRE LIVIO – So, in essence, the discourse is this: the Madonna urges us to convert, she tells us not to wait for the sign on the mountain in order to convert, and in any event,  «…all the secrets that I have confided will be realized and also the visible sign will be made manifest. When the visible sign comes, for many it will already be too late», (December 23, 1982). What does that mean?
VICKA – The Madonna did not explain why it will be too late and I did not ask, she only said that we are now living in a time of grace.

Pilgrimage Part 8 cont.- Eucharistic Adoration and other activities

12th July

Eucharistic Adoration and other Activities

Yesterday, after Mass in the morning, we went back to hotel and ‘veged out’ because we were exhausted from the previous day.

We found out at short notice that Ivan would broadcast his recent message.
We had radios that translated it into various languages – we just had to tune in. What stands out from his message is “Before you can pray really well, you have to pray more often.” After his talk, the parish priest gave a sermon – also with translations. He is also a very humble and holy man. He enlarged on Ivan’s topic from Our Blessed Mother.

In the evening, we went down to the church and went to Confession to one of the many priests there. We went inside the church just as a wedding was ending so we said a Hail Mary for the new couple. We took a picture of the beautiful statue of Our Lady outside.

20150711_212932(0)We went outside because we heard beautiful singing. Around the statue of Our Lady was a crowd of people – maybe a few hundred – singing hymns. There was a man with a trumpet, and a man with a guitar and 2 nuns and 2 priests leading the singing.

We all swayed and waved our arms or held hands. We couldn’t understand the words but we could feel the meaning. Some were to Our Lady and some to Jesus. This was at 9 o’clock at night.

You could feel the love. When it finished, we went over to the large outside area as Adoration was to start shortly. It seemed like just a few hundred people Outside seating empty before Adorationinitially but, within 10 minutes, the place was packed with people. Every seat was full – 2 or 3 times as many as for the Adoration the night before.  There were maybe 4000 people or more.

As before, there was a respectful atmosphere.  Blessings from heaven just pour out onto this place. No-one spoke or moved.  Adoration was from 10pm to 11pm. The format was as the night before: short paragraphs of spoken text in 6 different languages; a short silence; then a chant – also in 6 different languages. This lasted for an hour.

This place is so holy and the people who come here so full of faith.

The monstrance was huge and the Host
as big as a bread and butter plate. A light behind the host illuminated it.

I would not have missed any of this for the world. What a blessing to be here! And to see so much Faith and love.

 

Pilgrimage Part 8 cont- Apparition Hill

Apparition Hill

Moses climbing the apparition hill

Yesterday in the late afternoon, (10th July) we decided to climb Apparition Hill. We donned our hats and took a bottle of water and off we set.   It was about a 20 min brisk walk to the bottom of the hill. The first 200 metres were paved cobblestones, but quite steep. Our dear 78 year old friend  “Moses” came along with us. I said I was worried about the steepness. He said to just take one step after the other, and before you know it, you’d be at the top. Wise advice.

The road was very rocky- not just gravel. The rocks were all shapes and sizes – smooth and jagged. You had to be very careful. To think that when Our Lady appeared to the then children, they ran up this hill trying to get to the beautiful lady and they were not harmed In any way. There is no way you could  run up this hill. Unlike now, when the path is well worn, there would have been thorny vegetation as well.

About every 200 ft (65 m) there was a brass depiction of each of the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary. We would stop at each Mystery and say a decade. This gave us a chance to rest. In this way we reached the top. Between the 2nd and 3rd Mystery there was a Cross.

The Cross placed at an apparition site
The Cross placed at an apparition site

This was the place of one of Our Lady’s apparitions. We took the opportunity to touch our special handkerchiefs to this sacred spot.

At the top, there was a statue of Our Lady surrounded by a star shaped base (Star of David) and also a star shaped fence. People had hung rosaries on the fence and had dropped little notes in the garden around the base. There was a priest at the top and I wanted to touch our handkerchiefs to the Statue of Our Lady but we couldn’t reach through the fence. This wonderful priest decided to climb over the fence! While he was there some pilgrims handed him their rosaries and medals around their neck. One Irish lady had a big bag of Rosaries. When he climbed out he gave the items a proper blessing with holy water.

A Fall!

While we were up top, there was a Crucifix (a Tyrolian Cross, such as are found in Germany and Ausria.) I wanted to go over to it. There were some bigger rocks, and I rushed to get there before we all started our descent. I was probably a little too keen and not being careful, and before I knew it , I was on my posterior, wedged between some rather large rocks. I had my camera in my hand, and accidentally took a photo of myself. My left arm  and left leg were grazed and bleeding. The strange thing is, is that I didn’t call out as I fell or even make any noise. I tried to get up but I was stuck. It seemed to take a minute or so, then the others turned and saw me and rushed over to help. Someone said I was bleeding. Big drops of blood were falling from my arm onto the rock beneath it. I couldn’t feel a thing. It was not sore at all. My brother had a clean handkerchief and I had some water to clean my arm. I think my guardian angel must have cushioned my fall .

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Left: The Cross before which I fell.

(Right) My skirt and the rock with my blood on it taken accidentally while I had my camera in  my hand.

Our good friend Moses had some herbal ointment to put on. The strange thing is that I didn’t really feel anything. I offered it all up, however.

We started back. After descending carefully back down the stony path, we decided to return a different way back to town through some fields. Along this dirt path, there was an old lady and her grandson selling beautiful, hand crocheted doilies and table runners.

One of our group wanted to buy one and the young boy said 10 Euros but the grandmother chipped in and said 15 Euros. The lady pointed out the beautiful handiwork. We decided that it was worth it and that they were probably very poor. Then she started to point out others. So our prayer group friend gave her 20 Euros for 2 items. Then she gave us each crocheted Rosary beads. We had never seen this. She was so grateful.

We walked off and Moses stayed behind at the lady’s stall. A bit later he caught up waving in his arms 3 crocheted Rosary beads in different colours of white, brown and red  saying joyfully  ” Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” He had bought 3 Rosary beads out of compassion for the lady.

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