The Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross was solemnly celebrated in Medjugorje on Sunday, September 15, 2013, and many pilgrims and parishioners gathered in Medjugorje on that day. Five Holy Masses in Croatian language were celebrated in the parish church, at 6, 7, 8 a.m. and 12 and 7 p.m. Solemn Holy Mass was celebrated on Cross Mountain at 11 a.m. and Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic was the main celebrant. All pilgrims prayed Rosary before the Holy Mass. Fr. Ljubo said in his homily: “This place in a special way is filled with God’s and Gospa’s presence, with Her vicinity and She invited us and still invites us to come to Her Son, invites us to pray before the cross for great graces are given from the cross. This hill is filled with efforts of all parishioners who made this cross nearly 80 years ago.”
This feast is also the time of the change of the evening prayer programme timetable and from Monday, September 16, 2013 Rosary will begin at 5 p.m. and Holy Mass at 6 .m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesdays and Saturdays will be held from 9 to 10 p.m. Rosary for parishioners on Apparition Hill will take place on Sundays at 2 p.m., and Way of the Cross on Fridays at the same time. (photos)
Objavljeno: 16.09.2013.
Change in time of the evening prayer programme takes place in Medjugorje on the first Monday after the celebration of the feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross. That change will start from September 16, 2013 and Rosary will be at 5 p.m., Holy Mass at 6 p.m., Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesdays and Saturdays will be from 9 to 10 .m. Rosary on Apparition Hill on Sundays will be at 2 p.m., and Way of the Cross on Fridays at the same time. Croatian Holy Mass at 1 p.m. will only be celebrated on Saturdays.
Objavljeno: 10.09.2013.
The Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross will be celebrated in Medjugorje on the first Sunday after the feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Solemn Holy Mass on Cross Mountain will be celebrated on September 15, 2013 at 11 a.m. All pilgrims who are not able to climb Cross Mountain can take part in one of the Holy Masses that will be celebrated in the church of St. James at 6, 7, 8 a.m. and 12 and 7 p.m. The cross was built in 1933, when the world celebrated 1900th Anniversary of Our Redeemer’s death on the cross. Parishioners prayed and gathered there once a year up to 1981, when after the apparitions it became the place of prayer for all of the pilgrims from the whole world.
Objavljeno: 09.09.2013.
Pilgrims from all over the world are in Medjugorje this September, from: France, Italy, England, the United States, Canada, Lebanon, Belgium, Spain, Panama, Slovakia, Malta, Albania, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Ireland and Poland. We met a group from Poland who wore special gowns and they participated in the evening prayer programme on Sunday, September 1, 2013. Christina Georgotas from New Jersey told us how Gospa completely changed her life from the moment when she heard about Medjugorje in 2008. “I have never heard about Medjugorje and I did not know anything about the apparitions because I did not believe. My mom played a YouTube video from Mirjana’s apparitions and something happened in me in that particular moment. I wanted to come here and I came in June 2010 for the first time. This is where I feel peace and love. It is impossible to come here and remain untouched with all those stories of conversion, love and Gospa’s invitations.”
Objavljeno: 04.09.2013.
Number of Holy Communions: 374 200
Number of priests that concelebrated at Holy Masses: 7492 (241 per day)
Objavljeno: 01.09.2013.
Fr. Charles Colazzi comes from New Jersey and this is his ninth time in Medjugorje. He spoke about his life, priesthood vocation and experience of Medjugorje. He came here with a group of young people when he was sixteen and it was the time when he truly experienced the beauty of this place. “As a young man, I went to the church but did not particularly like the faith. During my visit to Medjugorje I had strong experience of prayer that completely changed me. After I returned home, I started loving prayer, I spent time Adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and I prayed Rosary every single day.” Four years afterwards, he went to the seminary and became a priest during his next visit to Medjugorje. “That is all really beautiful experience. I would say that I fell in love with Our Lady, with Jesus. Everyone experiences something different, weather it is inner healing, feeling of love and intimacy, or perhaps miracles because we all feel something different. Confessions in Medjugorje are very significant; people are really different when they return home. Usually people who confess here feel something, very often their life changes completely and they feel strength of good confessions that happen after twenty or thirty years of wondering around. For me as a priest that is a highlight here in Medjugorje because that is so beautiful and useful”, said Fr. Charles.
Objavljeno: 31.08.2013.
Andrea Cunningham, who came with her family, husband and five children from Northern Ireland, was one of many pilgrims that we met and had chance to interview. This is her fifth visit. She thinks that Medjugorje is indeed a special place and she keeps coming back here because this is where she feels at home. “This indeed is a special place. I heard about the apparitions in the beginning of 90’s and I arrived here for the first time in 1994, at the time I got married. How does Medjugorje help me? It keeps my relationship with God, strengthens and renews my faith, gives me strength. I think it is really easy to become part of hectic life, stress of everyday living, we are easily distracted by other things, and when you come to place like Medjugorje, that means return to the nature, return to the personal relationship with God”, said Andrea who thinks that young people always seek for something, and they actually seek for God. “It is wonderful to see so many young people here who walk around and pray Rosary and they all look so natural, since it is easier for them to do that here than back home. It is hard to be like this at home because there is general opinion that something is wrong with the people who pray and do not do some other things. I do not know what will happen in the future. I can only say that Medjugorje is a little piece of heaven on this earth, and that is what we are all longing for, whether we were aware of that or not. We are longing towards that, and here you get the feeling that it is possible to achieve that.”
Objavljeno: 30.08.2013.
The Second International Meeting of Persons with Disability will be held in Medjugorje from September 20 to September 22, 2013. Similar to the last year’s programme, most of the programme will be held again in the facilities of Mother’s Village, which together with the parish and Association “Susret/Encounter” from Citluk, is at the same time the main organiser of this event. All participants will be gathering in the afternoon on September 19, 2013 and accommodation and food are free for all participants. All who would like to take part in this Meeting can do that by sending the exact number of persons with disability, persons with wheelchairs and their parents or those who will come to accompany them, at the e-mail address: gospina.skola@gmail.com. The programme of this Meeting will be filled with workshops for children and parents as well as with the lectures and prayer meetings. Prayer on Apparition Hill will take place on Saturday morning, and this whole event will be concluded with Holy Mass on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the parish church of St. James.
Objavljeno: 29.08.2013.
The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Heaven was solemnly celebrated in Medjugorje in the presence of numerous pilgrims from our country and from abroad as well. Majority of pilgrims were youth, many of them arrived throughout the whole night, confessed and participated in the Holy Masses that were celebrated from 6 a.m. in the church of St. James’. Pilgrims from Germany, the United States, England, Ireland, Kanada, Italy, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia were in Medjugorje in those days. Holy Masses were celebrated in Croatian language and in many other languages, while the central Holy Mass in the evening at 7 p.m. was celebrated by Fr. Stanko Cosic with 66 priests who concelebrated at that Holy Mass. It was on August 10, 2013 that one married couple from Poland arrived to Medjugorje and they came after 82 days of walking and 1500 km of their journey: Andrzey, who is 69 and Kararzyna Sieminscy, who is 60. Karazyna told us: “I decided for this trip on February 28 when Holy Father Benedict XVI resigned and I felt strong desire to walk to Rome again, but I decided to come to Medjugorje first. We thank all people that we met on our journey who have expressed their love to us. Gospa blessed each of our steps.” (photos)
Objavljeno: 19.08.2013.
Stefano Rotondo is a doctor from Italy. He heard about Medjugorje at the beginning of the apparitions and made his first pilgrimage here in 1983. He told us that his life changed dramatically after that visit.
“It was then when I understood that it is very important to find God where I live and that I can discover joy of simple encounter with God. I came in 1983 for the first time and Medjugorje is today everywhere for me, everywhere I live. It helped me understand the Gospel and to live it in everyday life. I learned how to listen here, I learned what is silence, I learned how to accept myself – simply, I started opening my heart to God,” said Stefano whose family together with two another families formed a prayer group. This is his fourth year that he comes and brings pilgrims to Medjugorje. “In the depth of our heart we wanted to continue prayer in our place and that is why our three families began to pray the Rosary together and we do that on regular basis. We felt Gospa’s presence in our homes and how She wanted us to bring others to Medjugorje as well.”
Objavljeno: 12.08.2013.
Agnes Nick lives in Canada for the last twenty years and finally her great wish to come to Medjugorje was realised in these days. “Every day of my life I feel Gospa’s and Jesus’ grace. I am a member of prayer group in Saint Tomas in Toronto that is called ‘Mary moves priesthood’. We gather every Wednesday evening and we pray Rosary to the Blessed Virgin Mary and read Her messages from Medjugorje. Ever since I do that, I feel that I can carry all life difficulties in easy way: you simply surrender to God and His Mother, and they know the best all of our needs. They always come to help in our aids”, said Agnes.
Objavljeno: 11.08.2013.
Many people of various vocations and professions from all over the world came to give a testimony at the Youth Festival. Among them we found two young men from the United States, from New York and their names are Cliffored Azize and Charles Kinnane. It was couple of years ago that two of them established production company “Grasfids Films” that films documentaries and one of the most famous works of their production is movie Child 31. This moving documentary speaks about the great project of organisation “Mary’s Meals” that helps more than 700.000 children in sixteen countries throughout the world. Thanks to donations and huge help of numerous volunteers who are trying to resolve one of the greatest problems in these times – hunger, but in the way that meal is provided at the schools and in that way children are encouraged to education.
Objavljeno: 07.08.2013.
The 24th International Youth Festival that began on Thursday, August 1, 2013 finished on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 with Holy Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated at 5 a.m. on the top of Cross Mountain by Fr. Danko Perutina, coordinator of this meeting.
Dozens of thousands of young people gathered in Medjugorje this year and they came from 60 different countries. The programme of the Youth Festival would start at 9 a.m. with the Morning Prayer and would continue with lectures, testimonies and lessons from Christian life throughout the rest of the day. The evening prayer programme would begin at 6 p.m. with Rosary and the central event of every day was Holy Mass at 7 p.m. The opening Holy Mass was celebrated by the Provincial of Herzegovina Franciscan Province, Dr. Fr. Miljenko Steko. Every other night, four newly ordained priests were the main celebrants: Fr. Stanko Cosic, Fr. Mario Ostojic, Fr. Josip Serdjo Cavar and Fr. Mijo Sarcevic, while the homilies were given by their older brothers: Fr. Slaven Brekalo, Fr. Petar Ljubicic, Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic and Fr. Danko Perutina. The largest number of priests who have concelebrated at those Holy Masses was on Thursday, when 515 of them were present. (foto) ; (video)
Objavljeno: 06.08.2013.
Marijo Jerković, Petra Grancarić and Antonija Rebrina walked from Zagreb to Medjugore and it took them sixteen days for the journey of more than 500 km. It was Marijo who initiated this trip after he read some of the testimonies from Medjugorje, among those one about lady who walked from Poland and about pilgrim who converted in Medjugorje and became a priest. Our young pilgrims began their pilgrimage on July 11, 2013 and were very impressed by goodness of the people they met on their way and who have helped them in many ways. “We received one beautiful experience; Gospa followed us on every step we took. We always carry beautiful impressions from Medjugorje”, they said and thanked all from Zagreb to Medjugorje.
Objavljeno: 06.08.2013.
The community “Merciful Father” introduced their work and activities to young people at the 24th International Youth Festival on Monday, August 5, 2013. This community is based in Bijakovici and it is led by Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic who said: “Today I would like to congratulate boys - some of them have been with us for more than three years. It is huge when one young man comes from the street into the prayer, serious work, into love, care, affection where he learns how to say: I am sorry…thank you…can I help you…where rosary beads become every day decoration of soul, heart, mind and body. People in the community discover gifts that God gave them at the birth, they discover beauty, kind words, mercy, compassion, something they never knew of. Therefore, I would like to congratulate these boys once again and I am rejoicing because of the extreme happiness of their families.
Objavljeno: 05.08.2013.
