Medjugorje:Video of ABC News Report late 1980s

Medjugorje: Miracle Healing of Irish singer David Parkes

David Parkes, professional soccer player and singer was miraculously healed of Crones disease in Medjugorje.

Ireland: 2010 Winter most severe since 1741 when 480,000 died

We haven’t seen weather this cold since the Great Irish Frost of 1740-1741 which killed about one fifth of the Irish population.Back then Ireland’s population was only 2.4 million. But as many as 480,000 people are thought to have died during the “Great Frost” which swept across Ireland between 1739 and 1741 during 21 months of bizarre weather.

Trinity College history professor David Dickson’s book “Arctic Ireland” explores the event. Mr Dickson says it “remains to this day the longest period of extreme cold in modern European history....

Continue reading at NEWSWHIP.ie

Medjugorje: Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and Convert Lola Falana

Brief description of the events of Medjugorje, its impact on the Church, the reaction of the Church worldwide, scans of actual letters from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and John Paul II concerning Medjugorje, and the mission of Mary TV. This video also deals with the conversion of actress Lola Falana amongst others.

Prayer to Our Lady of Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje

Queen of Heaven and of the Universe,

Mother of Jesus and of all Mankind,

We humbly apologise to you and to your dearly beloved Son,

For all the blasphemies uttered daily by ungrateful man.

Mary protect us from Satan,

And from all the evil spirits,

who rampage throughout the world,

Devouring souls,

Save the world from the tidal wave of sin

Which now engulfs it.

Plead with your Son for the conversion of unbelievers

And for the forgiveness of sinners.

Mary we beg you to intercede with Jesus to save the World

( Author: J. Barry)

Urbi Et Orbi December 25, 2010

Ireland: Ice on Frozen River Blackwater between Cappoquin and Lismore- Christmas Day 2010

Click on Images to Enlarge

Medjugorje Christmas Crib at St James Church (December 25, 2010)

Source:www.medjugorje.hr

Video: Ten Reasons to Come Back to The Catholic Church

Ireland: Pro-Life Group responds to judgement of European Court of Human Rights in the case of A, B, and C v Ireland

Family and Life Responds to ECHR Judgement : 21st Dec 10

The judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of A,B, and C v. Ireland has given rise to a good deal of confusion regarding its implications for Ireland’s law on abortion. A number of important points need to be borne in mind which have received scant attention in media reports.

Firstly, the Court did not find fault with Ireland’s law on abortion, in fact it recognised that “the protection in Ireland of the right to life of the unborn” is a “legitimate aim” of Irish law. It dismissed the claims of plaintiffs A and B that their rights were infringed by the fact that they could not lawfully obtain abortions in Ireland on grounds of health and wellbeing. The Court dismissed the Irish government’s worrying contention that A and B might have gained approval for abortions in the domestic courts. This is welcome. The Court also stated explicitly that “Article 8 cannot ... be interpreted as conferring a right to abortion”.

The case made by C was unsubstantiated and unsupported by any medical evidence for her claim that her pregnancy endangered her life. By the time that C underwent her abortion it had been confirmed that she did not have an ectopic pregnancy. She was, in fact, able to avail of medical care in Ireland subsequent to her abortion. The Court acknowledged the finding of the 1999 Green Paper on abortion that “there was no medical evidence to suggest that doctors in Ireland did not treat women with cancer or other illnesses on the grounds that the treatment would damage the unborn,” and the testimony of the Chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1999 that “where there is a direct physical threat to the life of the pregnant mother, we will intervene always.”

The legal action of the three women was backed by major Irish and international abortion advocates. In addition to the Irish Family Planning Association (an affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation), which funded the litigation, Doctors for Choice (Ireland), the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the Center for Reproductive Rights and the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Programme all submitted observations to the Court.

What the Court found was that C’s rights were infringed by the fact that there is no legislation providing a framework for the implementation of the Irish Supreme Court’s ruling in the X Case. The problem is fundamentally one relating to that judgement. The reason there is no such legislation is that it is widely recognised that it would be impossible to draft legislation within the parameters of the X Case judgement that would not widely permit abortion in circumstances that would be unacceptable to a substantial majority of the Irish people. The X Case provided no gestational time limit for abortion and, by recognising a threat of suicide as grounds for abortion, opened the possibility, in effect, of abortion on demand. In the absence of a revisiting of the X Case judgement by the Supreme Court, the only means whereby this problem can be resolved is a further amendment of the Irish Constitution that would allow for legislation clarifying the circumstances in which doctors can intervene to save the life of a pregnant woman. This is why Family & Life is in favour of such an amendment.

If the government believes what it argued in this case, then it must act to ensure that current medical practice which ensures that essential medical treatment is provided to all women in Ireland continues. Medical interventions necessary to save a mother’s life, even if the life of her unborn child is unintentionally lost, are legal and available, but the deliberate killing of the unborn must remain a crime. Family & Life. December 17.
Source: Family and Life

Video: Former Protestant Bill Jarrell a Catholic convert

Marcus Grodi speaks with Deacon Bill Jarrell. Here Bill Jarrell who was formerly a Southern Baptist explains why he converted to Catholicism.

Christian Rock Band Leeland- Tears of the Saints (with lyrics)

Leeland is an American Christian rock band from Baytown, Texas. The band was formed in 2004. Leeland is composed of Leeland Mooring (lead vocals, guitar), Jack Mooring (backing vocals, keyboard), Matt Campbell (guitar), Jake Holtz (bass) and Mike Smith (drums).

Tears of the Saints-Lyrics

There are many prodigal sons
On our city streets they run
Searching for shelter
There are homes broken down
People's hopes have fallen to the ground
From failures

This is an emergency!

There are tears from the saints
For the lost and unsaved
We're crying for them come back home
We're crying for them come back home
And all your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home

There are schools full of hatred
Even churches have forsaken
Love and mercy
May we see this generation
In it's state of desperation
For Your glory

This is an emergency!

Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!

And all Your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home

Our Lady of Medjugorje messages to iPhone users via new application

Application brings Our Lady of Medjugorje messages to iPhone users-Croatian Times

Osijek programmers have developed an iPhone application that will allow the users to receive Our Lady of Medjugorje’s messages directly on their mobile devices.

In cooperation with their American partner Surgeworks, programmers from Osijek’s Inchoo d.o.o have made Lady of Medjugorje’s messages available to well-connected believers everywhere. In addition to reading them, the mobile device users will be able to forward the messages to friends or share them on Facebook.

Our Lady of Medjugorje is the name given to Virgin Mary who has said to have appeared to six Croat children in June 24, 1981 in Medjugorje (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Ivan Kalaica, the leader of the Osijek part of the team, says that the
development of the application continues the company’s Christian-themed specialization.

The "Medjugorje" application is one in the series which include "Divine Office" and "Prayer. The first performs daily downloads of services and enables users to see how many people are participating in prayer around the world at the same time, while the latter is a multilingual archive of more than 1,500 Christian prayers. According to Kalaica, "Prayer" is one of the 50 most sold applications in the Reference category both on Apple and iTunes online stores in the United States, Kalaica said.

The "Medjugorje" application is currently available in English and Italian, while a Croatian version is on its way, the daily Jutarnji List writes.
Source of Entire Article Above:Croatian Times ©

Videos: Full BBC TV Documentary on Medjugorje

This is the story of the thousands of Northern Irish pilgrims who flock to the shrine of Medjugorje. Every year around 25,000 people from Northern Ireland travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the small town of Medjugorje.
But sun, sand and silly souvenirs are not high on the list of priorities for these holiday makers, rather they are searching for spiritual enlightenment; for a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and for cures for everything from addiction and loneliness to cancer. Pilgrims looks into these issues of faith and spirituality as it follows a group of pilgrims from Northern Ireland as they make their way to the world-renowned shrine in the small town of Medjugorje.

Medjugorje: Our Lady is really appearing here-Bishop

Bishop Hilarius Datus Lega, bishop of Diocese Manokwari – Sorong from West Papua, Indonesia came to Medjugorje for the first time. He was ordained as Bishop in 2003 and he is normally very busy throughout the year, but he accepted the invitation of his friends who came to Europe.


He heard about Medjugorje in the very beginning, he thinks it might have been already in 1981. “Medjugorje is the world centre, place of prayer and peace”, says Bishop Hilarius and adds, “People are coming here because Our Lady is really appearing here, this is the place of renewal, conversion, new beginning. Medjugorje attracts many people; I can see personal relationship, this is all work of God, something that he does through His Blessed Mother and visionaries, I really like everything I see here. God is always at work, whether we see that or not, God’s message needs to be announced all over the place”, said Bishop Hilarius at the end, who will stay in Medjugorje for three days.[date: 17.09.2010]
(Source: © Medjugorje (http://medjugorje.hr)

Video: Medjugorje responsible for at least 500 Vocations

Senator Feargal Quinn out of touch on Dunphy Show, December 12, 2010

The Dunphy Show today was most entertaining and informative. The guests were Dr Elaine Byrne lecturer at TCD, Damien Kiberd of the Sunday Times and Senator Feargal Quinn. Both Kiberd and Byrne made excellent contributions on the IMF/EU package et al and pointed out the weaknesses. Sadly Senator Quinn is completely out of touch with the implications of the IMF/EU rescue. As far as he is concerned the opposition must just remain quiet and play ball. He is in no way concerned with the onerous interest rates imposed on Ireland and the frightening implications for taxpayers. As a millionaire of course Feargal will not suffer too severely. Sadly he appears to have no concern for middle income and lower income groups.

He endeavoured to compare the current crisis with that of 1987. In this he is gravely mistaken. In 1987 Ireland had a fully functioning banking sector. Today we have a budget deficit problem and a banking crisis. In addition the cost of the banking crisis has been foisted on the taxpayer. The IMF/EU is calling the shots. The new government of whatever hue must renegotiate the IMF/EU deal. The conditions are much too severe.
Lower interest rates on the loans and a longer term to repay the loans will ensure that there is no default.
Feargal Quinn criticised ther number of teachers in the Dail. Here he has a point. However neither the Taoiseach, Minister for Finance, Minister for Justice or Minister for Social Welfare are teachers. Neither for that matter were Bertie Ahern or Charlie McCreevy. There are very few teachers on the FG front bench.

Medjugorje Video: Apparition to Mirjana December 2, 2010

Our Lady's Message to Mirjana at Medjugorje on December 2, 2010

“Dear children; Today I am praying here with you that you may gather the strength to open your hearts and thus to become aware of the mighty love of the suffering God. Through this His love, goodness and meekness, I am also with you. I invite you for this special time of preparation to be a time of prayer, penance and conversion. My children, you need God. You cannot go forward without my Son. When you comprehend and accept this, what was promised to you will be realized. Through the Holy Spirit the Kingdom of Heaven will be born in your hearts. I am leading you to this. Thank you. ”

Medjugorje Visionaries Mirjana and Marija condemn Abortion at Masnago (Italy)

A huge crowd of believers turned out on Sunday afternoon at Masnago in Italy  for the visit of Medjugorje visionaries Mirjana Dragicevic and Marija Pavlovic. They brought a simple message that: prayer and fasting are absolutely essential-the first daily, the second two days a week. This is what Our Lady wanted since the first apparition on June 24,1981.
Mirjana said that the pilgrimage to Medjugorje is a must for those seeking faith, in order to  look inside and look for hope. Even Protestants are visiting Medjugorje Mirjana said. She said that they had also seen people from Hollywood too, kneeling on the stones, even with tears in their eyes.
Mirjana recounted the early days of the apparitions during the rule of the Communist regime.

Mirjana said "Our Lady does not speak of "non-believers" but speaks of "those who have not yet found the love of God." They are his children, Our Lady's eyes are filled with tears at the thought of what awaits them. From the lack of faith there are many evils, warned Mirjana: Wars, suicide, abortion, separation. However we need to pray. When you lose respect for the priests, it is lost for the Church, and with time, for His Son.  She said that we need to pray for priests." Mirjana stressed that abortion was hated by Catholics as an absolute moral evil.

Marija stated that "Our Lady calls us all to holiness". She said that the earthly life is like a flower. Now here but gone tomorrow. We may reach up to a hundred years of age, but if we do not believe in the eternal, everything is in vain. Marija spoke about the culture of death. She said we are creating a worse world. Because of abortion many say no to life. Find me a politician who is pro-life and against abortion. Lets have the law of God. She spoke about the evil of euthanasia.  She said that even in our culture we have Hitler.
She said "In Medjugorje, the revolution has begun, not for the communists, but for God.

Medjugorje Miracle Photograph of Virgin Mary

In the first of the apparitions in Medjugorje, a woman snapped a whole roll of film at the point where she was watching the six visionaries during the ecstasy of the apparition. When the photographic film was developed all the pictures were burned except this beautiful image where one can see the face of the Madonna.
Source:MEDJUGORJE: FOTO PARTICOLARI

Economist Constantin Gurdgiev's Solution to Irish Banking Problem

The following is an extract from an article which appears in today's Sunday Independent. It is titled:

There is no safety in these numbers

....The first path requires abandoning the memorandum on the State's bank guarantee, signed with the troika, that commits the Irish State to ensure the continuation of bond repayments to Irish bank bondholders. This step is easy to take.

Within the ECB/EU/IMF team, it was the EU that insisted on underwriting bank bondholders, against the advice of the IMF. Even a simple glance at the numbers above would imply that should the EU continue to adhere to the same position, by 2012-2013 it will have to deal with the worst possible scenario -- an insolvent member state with insolvent banking and household sectors. The fallout from this for the EU would be far worse than some €60-90bn in the debt writedowns required to repair the Irish economy.

The next step -- after shredding the Irish Government commitment to the bank bondholders -- will be to rebuild the banking sector through a structured recapitalisation of the Bank of Ireland and AIB, by a combination of debt-for-equity swap -- setting current bondholders to equity holders in the banks -- the state purchase of shares in the banks at a heavily discounted price, and a restructuring of Irish bank debts to the ECB. Alongside these financial measures, the banks must be cleansed of their top management and reformed in areas of their long-term strategy and operations.

The state guarantee must remain only for the depositors and even this should be limited, after the reforms take place, to deposits under €200,000. A voluntary insurance scheme should be set up for all deposits in excess of that amount. It can be underwritten, in part, by the State in exchange for premium payments out of deposits. Anyone suggesting that a debt-for-equity swap would result in the Irish banking system collapsing altogether should go back to May this year, when the Bank of Ireland carried an €852m conversion of subordinated debt for equity, netting a capital gain of €233m in the process.

Restructuring bank debt today is the only alternative to a disorderly default in a few years' time. The latter outcome would imply -- following Argentina's and other recent scenarios -- a total stop to all functional banking operations in the country and a full restructuring of the sovereign and bank debts, carried out while the markets panic.....

Read the full article at Sunday Independent

Ireland: FG’s Budget Plan for 2011 published on Friday December 3, 2010

Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny TD and Finance Spokesman Michael Noonan TD have published a far-reaching Pre-Budget Plan to create jobs, stabilise the Exchequer and get Ireland back on track over the next four years.

Deputy Kenny said Fine Gael aims to create 100,000 new jobs, achieve the 3% deficit target and the €15 billion worth of adjustments within the original four year timeframe. Job creation and fairness will be the over-riding principle, within the financial constraints.

The plan will be built around three pillars:


1. Limiting tax increases to one-quarter of the adjustment next year, and one-third of the adjustment over four years;
2. Radical public sector reform to end waste, inefficiency and duplication, starting with the political system;
3. And a jobs and stimulus plan.

Deputy Kenny said: ‘There is a better way, and a fairer way, than anything offered by the current failed Government. Fine Gael will make jobs and economic growth a precondition, not an aspiration’.

“International experience shows clearly that cuts in spending are more effective at fixing deficits and are better for growth and jobs than tax increases. Confronting waste, inefficiency, duplication and redundancy in public spending should be the focus of Ireland’s budgetary adjustment.”

Tackling the Deficit

Key proposals to tackle the deficit include:

• Protecting pensions, including contributory and non-contributory old age pensions, those for widows, the blind, people with disabilities, and carers’ allowances, while collecting some extra tax from those with generous occupational pensions;
• No income tax increases in 2011 before recovery takes hold, and limiting income tax increases to half the levels proposed by Fianna Fáil over the entire four years;
• A much greater emphasis on closing tax loopholes for the rich, including suspending property-based tax reliefs and tightening the rules for tax exiles;
• A fairer approach to Fianna Fáil's proposed annual recurring property tax on the family home;
• Cutting tax relief on schemes offering pensions greater than €60,000, while protecting pensions tax relief for middle income families;
• 18,000 more voluntary redundancies in the public sector than the Government proposes;
• Targeting the €3 billion worth of annual social welfare fraud through the establishment of a single Payments and Entitlements system.

Fine Gael recognises the need to raise more revenues from property. But a residential property tax would unfairly hit the young generation already burned by the housing bubble. So we will increase the second home tax, cut Capital Acquisitions Tax thresholds and introduce a low Capital Gains Tax on the site values of primary residences. Alongside this, we will cut stamp duty for families trading up and down, and provide greater relief for working families in mortgage distress.

Supporting jobs and growth

Deputy Noonan said: ‘We will strengthen significantly the reforms needed to cut business costs, to improve productivity, and to incentivise and facilitate people to acquire the skills needed to re-enter the workplace’:

• Replacing the minimum wage cut proposed by Government with a cut in the jobs' tax to encourage people off welfare and into work;
• Accelerating capital allowances on business software investments to support a local high-tech industry;
• A €10 million one-off marketing budget for State agencies to restore Ireland's battered business reputation across the globe;
• No change in either the standard or top rates of income tax, or the 12.5% rate of corporation tax;
• Abolish the travel tax subject to deals on re-opening routes with Ryanair and Aer Lingus;
• Abolish the lower 8.5% rate of employers’ PRSI on staff earning below €356 per week for at least three years to reduce employment costs;
• A 1.5% cut in the lower 13.5% VAT rate to re-direct consumer spending away from imports, and into labour-intensive services such as trades, restaurants, hotels and newspapers;
• Increase DIRT to 30% to encourage higher levels of household consumption;
• A pre-announcement that home insulation and other residential and commercial energy saving subsidies will terminate in 2013, leading to a bringing forward of demand in the intervening two years.

Deputy Noonan added: ‘Fine Gael’s job stimulus plan, NewERA, will use streamlined and restructured semi-State companies to invest an additional €6-7 billion, over and above current plans, in investments in “next generation” energy, broadband, forestry and water infrastructure. In discussions with the IMF, Fine Gael has confirmed that funds from the National Pension Reserve Fund and proceeds from the sale of State assets remain available, under conditions to be agreed, to finance the NewERA stimulus plan.

Achieving greater public sector savings and  reform

Deputy Kenny said: ‘The split between spending reductions and tax increases in the Government’s four year plan moves in the right direction but there is room for additional spending savings from public sector pay of at least €900 million by 2014. This will make room for targeted initiatives to support employment and economic activity’:

• Cutting the number of national politicians by 35%;
• Cutting the threshold for application of minimum 30% effective tax rate to €250,000 from €400,000 at present (with marginal relief from €125,000);
• Reducing the size of the public sector by 10% - just over 30,000;
• Reducing the size of the core civil service working in Government Departments by a third through the establishment of shared service operations;
• Implementing at least half of the McCarthy report recommendations, and 80% of the savings recommended by the Local Government Efficiency Review;
• Close FÁS and the HSE and abolish 145 quangos.

Deputy Noonan concluded by saying: ‘Extending the period of the adjustment will only force Ireland to borrow more money and pay more back in interest, so we will aim to reach the targets within four years’.

Perspectives on Budget 2011 and the 4-Year Plan is available at:

www.finegael.ie/upload/BudgetPerspective2011.pdf

The spending spreadsheet is available at:

www.finegael.ie/upload/BudgetTargets2011.pdf

Videos of Visionary Maria's talk in Medjugorje August 2009 (English Translation)

Marias talk in Medjugorje August 2009 Part 1

Marias talk in Medjugorje August 2009 Part 2

Marias talk in Medjugorje August 2009 Part 3

Marias talk in Medjugorje August 2009 Part 4

Marias talk in Medjugorje August 2009 Part 5

2010 Medjugorje Youth Festival-short video

Italian Actress Claudia Koll on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje

Famous Italian actress and convert, Claudia Koll, came to Medjugorje in the beginning of November on a pilgrimage. She gave interview to radio station “Mir” Medjugorje and she openly spoke about her life and her conversion. It felt as we had listened to the unwritten story of Mary Magdalene of our days. She told us about all of the troubles and difficulties she had while she was growing up, all beacuse her mom had died during her birth. She was raised by her granny and had many identity crises while she was educated and at the end got completely lost in the world of movie production.

After a number of obscene roles in movies, Claudia walked through the Holy door on Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, in Jubilee Year of 2000 and instantly felt that the life she had up to that moment was broken and disappeared. And then, she said: “One day there was this dramatic situation that needed to be resolved and I did not know how to handle that at all. I remember being desperate, I walked the room up and down, and just simply in one moment I started to speak to God. I prayed Our Father and I was squeezing in the palms of my hands a little crucifix that one of my friends gave to me few days prior to that. In those moments, my whole being was turned towards the God, I felt as I was tied close to the Cross and I was able to feel complete liberation. I felt as I was immersed in something like a deep peace. And I rested in that feeling. No longer was I worried, nor afraid; it felt as there was only one feeling of deep silence, something unknown to me prior to that particular moment. It was that silence that spoke to me about God, I did not see Him, but I was able to feel Him. I asked Him, ´Why did You do that, why did you console me, I do not deserve that?’ Then I said: ‘You are my Father, I prayed to you in the prayer of Our Father and I told You that I would like to meet You!’ That was my prayer!”

“Lord did not take away my suffering, but He walked with me, slowly, and helped me to resolve that pain. Even more, that suffering was my journey towards Him, I started to feel desire to go back to the church. In the beginning I would just spend time in a church and enjoy silence and peace of God and that had brought me to the sacrament of Holy Eucharist. God started to heal me through the sacraments. It was a long process, with its ups and downs, but every time I would fall down, I would be getting up again.” She realised that she needs to follow Jesus and it needs to be on both of her feet, one of love and the other of truth. She would turn down all of the movie roles that were not in accordance with the spirit of Gospel. She told us interesting detail from those days: “One day I signed the contract that offered me lots of money. The role itself was not negative but I knew I shouldn’t have had signed that contract, since I was to meet those same people that I had promised to the Lord I would not meet ever again. The second I signed the contract I knew I made mistake. I was not able to say no, because I was still weak in my decisions. But, when I got the money for that project, I started to give it to the poor people in the church. I felt that money did not belong to me, it was the money of betrayal.”

The following chapter of her life was how she went to do mission work, in Ethiopia where she had witnessed so much poverty, famine, little children dying all over the place. She said: “I remember one little boy whose eyes were closed not because he was blind but because he did not have any water to wash his eyes. His eyes were inflamed because of all of the dirt that was in his eyes. I used moisture tissues to clean and wash out his eyes and while his eyes were being opened, the Lord was opening mine. I realised I lived in a luxurious home, I had expensive carpets, silver cutlery and none of that was able to save my life. I started to see everything in a different way and I realised I needed to give part of my wealth to those who were poor. “

After she came back, she visited the shrine of Divine Mercy and she was able to discover the message of Divine Mercy. “I realised that the Lord was saying to me ‘Claudia, if you fell down, that was because you trusted too much in your own abilities, trust me!’ For me, that was what ‘Jesus, I trust in you’ meant. I needed to realise that my conversion was going to happen together with Jesus and I should have trusted in my Lord more, from the beginning. I think that genuine faith is the one Abraham had, he hoped and believed beyond and against every hope and belief”, says Claudia.
Claudia also spoke about her relationship and devotion towards Our Lady. “Our Lady was always present in my life, ever since I was born. I remember watching a movie about Our Lady from Fatima, it was when I was 8, 10 years old, I do not remember exactly. And I remember saying how Our Lady was not just a statue, she was a woman. I was really impressed that Our Lady gave such important tasks to the visionaries. I remember, as I was going back home after seeing that movie, I was reciting a little prayer in my heart to Our Lady and I told her ‘I want to live with you and come to you, bring me closer to You as You brought Jacinta.’ I was asking from Our Lady to die, and Lord did not answer that prayer, but I think He wants me now to witness for Him, and all of the experiences I had are just evident proofs of Divine Mercy. “

Claudia mentioned how Our Lady was with her all along her conversion, and she feels strongly about Medjugorje and apparitions to the visionaries. In the moments of apparitions, she feels powerful presence of Our Lady. Describing one such event she said: “I could see that it was raining, but I did not feel rain drops on my umbrella at all. I think it is such a wonderful experience to feel Our Lady with heart. It never occurred to me to look for the signs, to look in the sky. I think that this encounter takes place in the depths of our hearts. I do not even want to look into the face of the visionary, I am only interested in my own prayer and encounter with Our Lady. “

Claudia emphasises especially the love she feels now through Our Lady’s presence. The love in a completely new way. The journey to that new experience had several stages. This is just one of them. “When my conversion began, first people that Lord would place in front of me were those who had AIDS. And it was through one of such young man, through his suffering that I got to know Christ’s love. I started to think about Jesus in a Garden of Gethsemane, and his sweat of blood, how he must have feared death. On the other hand, this young man was lying in a bed and he was in a very bad state. He was unable to speak because illness affected speech centre in his brain. But his eyes spoke about his fears. And when I took his hand, I felt great love in my heart. The love I never felt before, strong and gentle. It was that love that converted me. When I look into my past now, I think about how many times Jesus entered such areas of my life. But my eyes were blind, closed and I was not able to recognise Him. When my conversion started, I realised that Jesus was present in all those who were suffering.”

Claudia Koll is the founder of Association “The Works of the Father” that is dedicated to missionary work in Africa. She is building a house for disabled people called Little Lourdes. In the world of Arts, she is the Head of the Academy of Arts that was founded on the principles from the Letter to the Artists of late Holy Father John Paul II. Through this Academy, she wants to help young people to enter into the world of fame and spectacle in a healthy, Christian way. It is interesting that music from Medjugorje regularly plays inside this Academy.
Source: © Information Centre Mir Medjugorje