Tag: Adoration

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.

 

Part 8 Medjugorie cont. -Special Blessings

10th July:

A Special Mass:

We started off by going to a Mass at 7am in a small chapel in an orphanage which was built by Fr. Slavko who died in 2000.

Chapel at orphanage
Chapel at orphanage

Our Austrian friend from World Youth Day was there and another German friend. The hymn at the end of Mass was in 2 languages. I didn’t understand the first but I recognized the word “Gospa” which refers to Our Lady at Medjugorje. The next was in German which I understood. The words were simple and I was concentrating on what I was hearing. I heard “Mary, my Mother, you are my Mother too.”

Well, the tears just started to roll down my face. It makes me teary just remembering it. I wasn’t expecting this. I often pray to Our Lady as “Mother of all mothers” when I have a motherly problem and ask for her intercession.

It was a special grace from Our Lady to start my time at Medjugorje.

More amazing impressions:

There are always large numbers of priests who want to say Mass. Sometimes there are 20 or more concelebrating. There is the main church which has a 10am English Mass each day and lots of other Masses during the day. There is also an Adoration Chapel which has adoration from 2pm to 6pm each day. The whole complex is run by Franciscans.

Two of our group went to Adoration in the afternoon because they were not able to do the climb on the Apparition Hill. Towards late evening they stayed for Mass even though they had been in the evening. One thing they noticed is that 90% of people receive Holy Communion kneeling, and on the tongue!

We arrived home from our 3 hour eventful climb (more later), came home for a quick clean-up and headed off to the church for the evening’s activities.

Being Friday, after the Rosary, it was Adoration of the Cross. There is an altar which is exposed to the

Outdoor Altar as part of St James Church
Outdoor Altar as part of St James Church

outside as the church inside is not big enough. There were about 2 thousand people there today. There are also about 50 confessionals built on the outside, with bench seats for people to line up. As well as these, there are priests simply sitting on chairs hearing confessions.

BUT the most amazing thing wasn’t any of the above. We joined the people on the outside facing the platform with a huge Cross and a statue of Our Lady near the altar.  There was beautiful music that helped you meditate and various meditations were read – each one in about 4 or 5 different languages. They were simple ones like “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” and a short application of each to our personal lives. There were short breaks in between each one. It went for about an hour.

The amazing thing was that not one person whispered, or spoke or moved around. Not even children could be heard. Not even in a church does this happen! It was really unbelievable.  And afterwards they left just as silently and there were thousands of people.

The presence of Our Lady is evident:

There were people from all different countries – Italian, Mexican, Irish, the locals, German and of course, us Aussies. These were ones we spoke to. There was a holy and reverent atmosphere that was unmistakable. This place has blessings flowing from heaven– from Our Lady “the Queen of Peace”. (She first appeared in 1981 – 10 years before the Bosnian war. Her message was “Peace, peace, peace”)

The Seal of the Living God

O my God, my Loving Father,

I accept with love and gratitude Your Divine Seal of Protection.

Your Divinity encompasses my body and soul for eternity.

I bow in humble thanksgiving and offer You my deep love and loyalty to You, my beloved Father.

I beg you to protect me and my loved ones with this special Seal and I pledge my life to Your service forever and ever.

I love you, dear Father. I console You in these times, dear Father.

I offer You the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son in atonement for the sins of the world and for the salvation of all Your children.

AMEN.

Seal of The Living God

Feast of the Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart

Heart of Jesus, Burning with love for me, Inflame my heart with love for you.

“Behold this Heart, which has so loved men, But is so little loved in return.”  (Jesus to St Margaret Mary Alacoque)

“My greatest happiness is to be before the Blessed Sacrament, where my heart is, as it were, in Its centre.” – St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

“Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has His hands full of graces, and He is ready to bestow them on anyone who asks for them.” – St. Peter of Alcantara

“The Birth of Jesus at Bethlehem is not an event which can be consigned to the past. The whole of human history in fact stands in reference to Him: our own time and the future of the world are illumined by His Presence. He is ‘the living one’ (Rev 1:18) ‘Who is, Who was and Who is to come’ (Rev 1:4).” St John Paul II