Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Croatian Footballer Mate Bilić Visits Medjugorje-Interview
Mate Bilic has said "everything good in life happens to me because of Medjugorje". Mate Bilic,is a Croatian footballer who currently plays with Sporting Gijon in Spain. In early June he travelled to Medjugorje
In an interview for Radio "Mir" Medjugorje he spoke about his journey through life, family life and about Medjugorje. He stressed that he regularly visits Medjugorje. For him and his wife Emilia, who is from Herzegovina, and their children Mark and Carla Medjugorje is a second home. Even when he goes to Spain Medjugorje is not far from his thoughts : "It is always there, in my heart, and I gladly testify about it”. “Medjugorje is outwardly quite changed, though I feel that the spirit has remained the same”. Even before when I was a child I came with my family, and now I come every year with my wife and children. This is simply a place where people gather strength to go further and it strengthens families. Our values are built into us and we are trying to convey them to our children. It is important that children from an early age learn what is important for us Christians.
Medjugorje and Spain
“In games I regularly wear a shirt with the image of Our Lady of Medjugorje, because all good in my life happened because of Medjugorje. People have recognized this. Many Spaniards are very enthusiastic about this place. My wife was born near Medjugorje, in Hardomilije, Ljubuški . The proximity gives us much greater ability to come every day to Medjugorje when we are in Herzegovina. A few years ago in Spain I was asked to speak about Medjugorje and Marija Bistrica during Holy Week. This was my great honour because I'm a stranger in that country. ( Note: Marija Bistrica in Croatia has an old Marian shrine of the Black Madonna and is a place of pilgrimage visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year. On 3 October 1998, Pope John Paul II visited Marija Bistrica and beatified Croatian Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac in front of a crowd of 500,000 Croatians)
We have a priest with whom we regularly pray the Lord's Prayer before the game. He recently called me into one parish to speak to students who are preparing to come to Medjugorje in July. On that occasion I spoke about the apparitions of the Queen of Peace, and also of Herzegovina and Croatia, because they were interested in where you travel. I got the impression that the apparitions in Medjugorje are known to students and their teachers. He then spoke about pressures on footballers- big money and all sorts of stories circulating. I believe in God, and we all have moments of crisis in life. The real way out of this crisis is prayer in the family. We are all witnesses to how the family is now threatened, and therefore the Church. We see the threats especially to the family unit. The problem is how to connect the values that give faith to grow the family? We were all kids and we know what we can find on the street. Today young people are pressurized to think that the church, prayer and sacraments are not important and that they are outdated. In fact, those who practice religion in any way are often ridiculed. I try to educate my children in religious life and provide them with moral values. I believe that young people only with God’s help can grow into a moral persons. The difficulties are great and we devote much time to the family. We often call upon Our Lady of Medjugorje to help us.
How do you feel when you finish the pilgrimage?
Many of the faithful come here still. The prayerful atmosphere of peace, and peace that I feel in my heart amazes me. I come with many problems, and leave peaceful and blessed. If I do not come for a long time, I feel a longing and need to come. We use mostly every opportunity to come.Are your fellow players familiar with Medjugorje?
Gijon where I play has a place where Our Lady appeared and they compare it with Medjugorje. ( Note: He is referring to the shrine to the Virgin Mary of Covadonga and the mountain lakes (Los Lagos), near Cangas de Onís: Legend has it that in the 8th century, the Virgin blessed Asturian Christian forces with a well-timed signal to attack Spain's Moorish conquerors, thereby taking the invaders by surprise. The Reconquista and eventual unification of all Spain is therefore said to have started in this very location). Many people thank me because they find peace in Medjugorje and all say that they would return.
Italian Mother Chiara Petrillo 28 Dies To Save Her Unborn Baby
One day this woman will be a saint
Two weeks ago a young Italian mother gave up her life for her unborn child in a stunning act of saintliness, says Paul Williams
Chiara Petrillo was a 28-year-old Italian mother who apparently refused life-saving cancer treatment that would have damaged or destroyed her baby. Her baby, Francesco, was born perfectly well. Chiara died.
Chiara’s funeral took place a few days ago in Rome. But Francesco was not her first baby. Her first, Maria, was found in the womb to be terribly disabled. Chiara and her husband Enrico refused repeated advice to abort Maria. The baby lived for 30 minutes, and was baptised, loved and mourned. Chiara and Enrico’s next baby, David, was found in the womb to have no legs. Further complications followed and once more he died soon after birth, cherished, loved and celebrated to the end. Then Chiara became pregnant with Francesco. Chiara was found in the fifth month to have cancer, but she would not accept any treatment that would harm her baby. Sometimes love is like that.
But in terms of Catholic moral theory Chiara was not obliged to refuse life-saving treatment. Continue reading at Catholic Herald
Friday, July 6, 2012
UK Visit: Cardinal Schönborn discusses decision to go to Medjugorje
I think that the Church’s teaching on Medjugorje is very clear. The bishops of the countries of the former Yugoslavia took a clear position in 1991. This is still valid and has been confirmed by the Vatican twice. There are three important points in this statement. First, that it is not confirmed that the events are of supernatural origin. That means it is neither confirmed nor denied. The Church left it open.
The second point is that as the so-called apparition question and message question has not been decided it is not permissible to make official pilgrimages to Medjugorje. So, for example, I cannot organize a formal diocesan pilgrimage to Medjugorje as we can to Rome or Fatima or Lourdes.
The third point, however, is that the people who choose to go to Medjugorje on their own are entitled to spiritual care. So, we priests or bishops are invited to provide spiritual company to pilgrims. That’s what my predecessors in Vienna did from the very beginning regarding Medjugorje, and that’s what I continue to do. I think these three points are sufficient for a good understanding of how to approach Medjugorje. The most important for me are the overwhelming good spiritual fruits of Medjugorje (Read FULL interview at OSV)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Italian Goalkeeper Buffon visits Medjugorje
Goalkeeper and captain of the Italian football team, Gianluigi Buffon, has arrived in the holy village of Medjugorje, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, just days after his teams heavy defeat to Spain in the European Championship final in the Ukraine, reports website politka plus. Buffon arrived in Mostar on Tuesday by private jet before making his way to Medjugorje, the place where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to six schoolchildren in 1981 (Croatian Times)
Buffon has two sons with his wife Czech model Alena Šeredová: Louis Thomas and David Lee.Buffon started in each of Italy's matches at Euro 2012, saving a penalty kick from Ashley Cole in the Azzurri's quarter-final penalty shoot-out victory.(Image © Wikipedia)
It was the first time that Buffon set foot in Medjugorje but, he "wanted to come for many years". He prayed to the Virgin as any pilgrim, without any fanfare. This was meant to be a private visit. But his presence did not go unnoticed and he was soon surrounded by photographers. He met the visionaries Ivanka, Mirjana and Ivan.
At the root of the spiritual journey of faith is Buffon's friendship with Paolo Brosio, Retequattro journalist, who has been going to Medjugorje for years and has written three books on the subject. He visited a local orphanage run by nuns. The Mother Superior is Sister Cornelija Kordic
Video: Apparition to Mirjana at Medjugorje July 2, 2012
July 2 Medjugorje Message to Mirjana
On July 02, 2012, Our Lady appeared to the visionary Mirjana and delivered the following message:
"My children; "Again, in a motherly way, I implore you to stop for a moment and to reflect on yourselves and on the transience of this your earthly life. Then reflect on eternity and the eternal beatitude. What do you want? Which way do you want to set out on? The Father`s love sends me to be a mediatrix for you, to show you with motherly love the way which leads to the purity of soul; a soul unburdened by sin; a soul that will come to know eternity. I am praying that the light of the love of my Son may illuminate you, so that you may triumph over weaknesses and come out of misery. You are my children and I desire for all of you to be on the way of salvation. Therefore, my children, gather around me that I may have you come to know the love of my Son and thus open the door of eternal beatitude. Pray as I do for your shepherds. Again I caution you: do not judge them, because my Son chose them. Thank you."