Bulletin
171
Medjugorje,
February 26th, 2002
"Dear children!
In this time of grace, I call you to become friends of Jesus. Pray for
peace in your hearts and work for your personal conversion. Little children,
only in this way will you be able to become witnesses of peace and of the love
of Jesus in the world. Open yourselves to prayer so that prayer becomes a need
for you. Be converted, little children, and work so that as many souls as
possible may come to know Jesus and His love. I am close to you and I bless
you all. Thank you for having
responded to my call."
We stepped into
Lent – a time of grace, of prayer, of fasting, of penance and of conversion.
Lent consists precisely of the words that Our Lady repeated to us so many times
here in Medjugorje: prayer, fasting, penance, conversion. Lent is a time of
grace, because in forty days – through personal trial and purification - we
have the occasion to touch the bottom and the summit of a meaningful life. What
is asked from us during this time is also to renounce to the joys of this world
in order to become fully free, because only in freedom can our soul feel at home.
During lent, it is necessary to find a moment of peace, a moment of self-denial.
It is necessary to die to oneself in order to begin to live as a reflection of
the light of Christ, and to shine in others. In Lent, you simply have to choose,
you have to taste the bitterness of the suffering of Christ if you want to
rejoice in His glorification.
Lenten days are
moments when the rich and the poor must walk on the same roads; these are
moments when the learned and the illiterate find a common language and become
brothers united by the Cross of Christ. In Lent, we can freely shout out:
Blessed are the artisans of peace, blessed are those who suffer, blessed are
those who hunger and thirst, blessed are the poor! Similarly, we can stand in
line with them and wait for the grace for us and for those who, out of God’s
world, make a prison for individuals and for nations. Our duty in the time of
Lent is not the condemnation of the world but a rebirth through our renunciation,
fasting, prayer and penance. This is the only right we have. When we do this,
the world will itself will be its condemnation and will announce its own
collapse.
In his trials,
Jesus was praying, fasting and suffering. He knew that without the experience of
suffering and without a time of personal refinement, he would not be able to
transform humanity. He was utterly given to the service of men, he approached
men through suffering, by his drops of sweat, he watered the seed of friendship
between man and God, and by his blood sealed forever the covenant. This is a
clear example we also should follow. We have to seek Jesus in suffering and in
self-denial. So, whenever you enter into suffering, illness, fear, anguish -
know that this is the door to Christ. This is how your situation becomes a
meeting point with God. This is why those who suffer are a blessing for the
earth, the society and the nation. So let us follow Christ and put into practice
the appeals of the Queen of Peace from Medjugorje. And let us not forget:
Without Golgotha, Easter cannot shine!
Fr. Mario Knezovic
NEWS
NUMBER OF COMMUNIONS AND
NUMBER OF CONCELEBRANTS
During the month of January, 35,000
communions were distributed and 768 priests from this country and abroad
concelebrated Holy Mass in Medjugorje.
Pilgrims were here
from the USA, Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, and
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
BLESSING OF FAMILIES
In our parish, the
blessing of families and of houses is traditionally given during the Christmas
holidays. At this time, priests at service in the parish meet their parishioners,
exchange experiences and come to know each other better. During the holy time of
Christmas, which is the time of coming close to each other, the blessing of
families has an even stronger significance. The visit of a priest strengthens
the family and confirms the household in good intentions and decisions.
The blessing of the
family is particularly important there, where love is lacking for one reason or
another. The power of blessing was especially felt in “Mother’s Village”
when all the inhabitants of this community gathered for the annual blessing:
children and grandmothers, “aunties” and religious sisters who take care of
the village, and friends who came to embellish this occasion with their songs.
Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic and Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic
gave the blessing. Although everyone is missing Fr. Slavko
Barbaric, Mother's Village and its inhabitants continue to grow, relying on the
love of God and His Providence, which manifests itself so often and so
generously through friends and benefactors.
Fr. Leonard Orec Passed
Away
Dr. Fr. Leonard Orec, a highly regarded
Herzegovinian Franciscan father, passed away on January 21st, 2002,
after a serious illness.
Fr. Leonard was born on January 20th,
1928, in Posuski Gradac. He finished primary school in his native place,
attended the secondary school in Siroki Brijeg from 1940 to 1945, then in
Varazdin from 1945 to 1946. He entered the Franciscan order in 1946 in Kraljeva
Sutjeska, and finished his secondary school in 1949 in Sarajevo. He studied
theology in Sarajevo from 1947 to 1952. He made his solemn vows in Split on June
29th, 1951. He was ordained priest the same year. From 1952 to 1956,
he served in Split and in Kraljeva Sutjeska as an educator.
His continued his studies - he received a
doctorate in Ljubljana in 1956, and then he pursued his formation in München (Munich)
in 1957 and 1958. He was a professor at the Franciscan Theology in Sarajevo from
1958 to 1961. Fr. Leonard was member of the Provincial Council from 1967 to
1973, and vice-provincial from 1973 to 1976. From 1961 to 1967, he was also in
charge of Franciscan vocations. From 1967 to 1977, he was Novice master in Humac.
In his fifties, he was sent to Germany, where he perfected his knowledge of
German language and passed his driver’s licence exam. He was Pastor in
Blankenau and in Hosenfeld from 1977 to 1988. During this period, he taught
during two school years at the High Theological School in Fulda.
He was in charge of Franciscan vocations for 25 years, and he spent
almost 25 years outside of his Province.
From 1988 to 1991, Fr. Leonard served in
Medjugorje, including more than one year as Pastor. During these three years, he
left an indelible imprint as an experienced and wise priest, fervently spreading
Our Lady’s messages of peace and reconciliation. Many ideas were born in his
heart and mind, which were also realised in the past years. In the difficult
times of communist repression and of pre-war tension in our regions, he did not
bend the knee, but resisted courageously and wisely to all attacks, sometimes
even to the treats of those who did not and who did understand his vision of the
development of the Shrine. Among other things, he instated the “Association of
Guides for Pilgrims in the Parish of Medjugorje,” and he managed to bring the
guides under the shield of the Church, encouraging them to live the spreading of
Our Lady’s messages first and foremost as a mission. Knowing many people all
over the world and the difficult situation of our people stricken by the war, he
started the humanitarian association “Medjugorje-Mir” in Split in 1992.
Thanks to the friends of Medjugorje, this association distributed dozens of
tonnes of humanitarian aid during the war, and continues today with its
humanitarian work. Fr. Leonard worked also on the spiritual renewal of people
wounded by the war and, according to Our Lady’s message of peace and
reconciliation, was a link between nations and religions.
Since 1997, Fr. Leonard was serving in the
Franciscan General Curia in Rome. At the age of 70, he learned to speak Italian
and to use a computer. He was in Rome until July 2001, when he became seriously
ill, at the time of the celebration of his 50 years of priestly ordination.
All those who knew Fr. Leonard Orec will
remember him as a great man, an intelligent man full of experience, which he
transmitted generously to all those he met on his way. He was happy to be a
Franciscan friar, and he transmitted this joy also.
At the light of his life and of his last
days, Fr. Leonard as a man and as a believer can be best described by the words
of St. Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)
Fr. Leonard Orec was
buried on January 23rd, 2002, in his native town of Posusje. The
ceremony began with Holy Mass in the Parish Church presided by Fr. Slavko Soldo,
Franciscan Provincial of Herzegovina, and concelebrated by more then 120 priests.
A great number of the faithful and many religious sisters from all over Bosnia,
Herzegovina and Croatia assisted at the burial, as well as Medjugorje friends
from abroad, Fr. Leonard’s old friends who helped him in his humanitarian work
through the Association “Medjugorje-Mir” from Split. (More about it)
The provincial, Fr. Slavko
Soldo, gave his farewell speech in the name of the Franciscan province of
Herzegovina during the Holy Mass. After Mass, many other speakers intervened:
- In the name of the
Superior General of the Franciscan order spoke the Definitor general of the
Order, Fr. Capistran Martzall;
- In the name of Msgr.
Ratko Peric, Bishop of Mostar, spoke Fr. Luka Pavlovic, Vicar General of the
Diocese;
- In the name of the
Franciscan Province of Bosnia spoke Fr. Stjepan Radic, who reported the words
spoken by Fr. Leonard’s friend, Dr. Fr. Vitomir Slugic: “Your ship went
to the open sea, and we wave greeting you from Bosnia…”
in his Franciscan service, Fr. Leonard Orec was tightly linked with
the suffering population and his Franciscan brothers from Bosnia.
- In the name of the
Franciscan Province of St. Jerome (Zadar, Croatia) spoke Dr. Fr. Jozo Sopta;
- In the name of the
Humanitarian Association and its friends and collaborators from all over the
world spoke Drago Cutuk;
- In the name of the
Professors of Theology spoke Dr. Fr. Ljudevit Rupcic who expressed what all of
Fr. Leonard’s friends think: “Many will have to make enormous efforts to
see the ideals you have put into practice…”
Helping the needy, Fr.
Leonard was a bond between nations and religions, and so he supported the
Macedonian people in the time of war in their country.
- In the name of
Macedonian people, who felt Fr. Leonard’s efficient help and love, spoke the
President of the community of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Split, Ivona
Music Medelkovska.
Fr. Leonard spent the last
months of his life at the Franciscan convent in Zagreb, where he was medically
treated.
- In the name of his
Franciscan brothers from Zagreb spoke Dr. Fr. Ivan Dugandzic, Superior of the
Zagreb Convent, who described Fr. Leonard’s Franciscan dimension: “He was
known as a joyful friar who shared tirelessly his Franciscan enthusiasm to
others, and during his last days ‘joyfully expected his Sister Death’….”
- In the name of the
Parish of Medjugorje and all of you who came to Medjugorje and met Fr. Leonard
spoke Fr. Branko Rados, Pastor of Medjugorje. He described the broadness of
spirit of this great man, which was confirmed at his burial through the presence
of so many different people, nations and religions. This is what he said:
“Brothers and sisters!
One of the specificities that distinguishes we humans from all of God’s other
creatures is the power to speak. With words we are able to express, to make
present, to explain, to make understood and even to embellish so many things.
And still there are moments when we feel all the powerlessness and weakness of
our power to speak. Each time we face an important event, we remain speechless.
When we have to console someone, words seem too poor. We feel all the poverty of
our speech especially when we face death, when we observe the greatness of a
life that is gone. This is such a moment. We face greatness, a priest, a
Franciscan, a theologian, a pedagogue, a benefactor…
There are no words to
describe Fr. Leonard’s life. This is why I wish to underline only one of his
qualities, which were so numerous, and this is the broadness of spirit. Dear Fr.
Leonard, thank you, because so many pilgrims who came to Medjugorje found in you
a true host, a caring man, a friar who rejoices to see them with all the
broadness of his Franciscan soul, who waits for them with an open heart and open
arms. Thank you for all the wisdom and visionary spirit you have shown in
guiding the parish and the Shrine. Thank you for all the ideas, prayers,
projects you have given to the Parish of Medjugorje. You spent the last 20 years
of your life living with Medjugorje and for Medjugorje. You took Medjugorje with
you to Split and to Rome and everywhere you went during these years. It was your
inspiration and a motivation: When tired, you did not think about tiredness,
when ill, you did not thing of your illness. Your desire was to glorify Christ
as much as you could, through Mary, the Queen of Peace.
“It is good to do
good” – was the name of one of the humanitarian actions during the war in
Croatia. It is good to give people the possibility to do good! Working
tirelessly, you gave the possibility to many pilgrims and friends of Medjugorje
to do good. May God reward you for all the good done through you! May the Queen
of Peace, whom you venerated above all, obtain for you the Peace of her Son!
Together with parishioners
of Medjugorje and numerous pilgrims from all over the world, I pray today:
Eternal rest give to him, O Lord!”
After the ceremony
in the parish church, the procession went to the Franciscans’ Alee on local
cemetery Martica Kriz in Posusje, where Fr Leonard was buried. At the cemetery,
Fr. Marinko Leko, Pastor of Posusje, delivered the last farewell.
Vicka Ivankovic,
one of the six Medjugorje visionaries, and Mario Mijatovic were married on
January 26th, 2002, in St. James’ parish church of Medjugorje.
The Solemn Holy
Mass, during which the sacrament of marriage was celebrated, was presided by Fr.
Branko Rados, pastor, in concelebration with two former pastors – Fr. Jozo
Zovko and Fr. Ivan Landeka – and twenty foreign priests.
The church of
Medjugorje was not big enough to receive all those who wanted to express their
joy, their good wishes to the newlyweds, and the desire to see them continue on
the way they were going for so many years now.
This was precisely the theme of Fr. Branko’s homily, in which he invited them to continue to be “salt of the earth and light of the world”, as they have been for the
uncountable pilgrims they have already met.
In our times, when the world is in a deep
spiritual and moral crisis precisely because of the crisis of the family, we
rejoice because of the choice of Vicka and Mario to continue to witness the love
of God through the family life: Vicka, at the service of Our Lady’s message of
peace and reconciliation, and Mario - for many years a collaborator with Fr.
Slavko Barbaric - at the service of Mother’s Village.
After the ceremony, Vicka and Mario
entrusted their marriage in prayer to Our Lady, the Queen of Peace. Boys and
girls from the Cenacolo Community sung and played at the wedding. Sister Elvira
came to Medjugorje for this solemn occasion, and the newlyweds joined them in
singing after Holy Mass.
We express our good wishes to Vicka and
Mario, entrusting them to your prayers, that God may give them the grace and
strength to continue to love and to serve together, as they already do.
On Sunday, January
27th, 2002, a new parish banner for St. James Parish in Medjugorje
was inaugurated and blessed during the Sunday Parish Mass. What is the actual
meaning of a parish flag?
One of the images
describing the Church is the image of an army, which, following Christ,
spiritually struggles against evil. In this struggle, the soldiers of Christ
stand under a standard and follow Christ in his victorious mission of Salvation.
All catholic
parishes have a patron saint, a special intercessor before God. The patron saint
of Medjugorje’ Parish is St. James, a pilgrim. So, let us follow Christ under
a standard on which we see on one side a pilgrim, a man of prayer and of
penance, a man of God, and on the other the parish church of Medjugorje, which
has become a symbol of prayer and of peace for the whole world…
The new standard of
the parish of Medjugorje was carried on the feast of St. Blaise, patron saint of
Dubrovnik, on Sunday, February 3rd, in the traditional procession
where many pilgrims from the city and the region gather in Dubrovnik.
About 100 pilgrims from the parish of
Medjugorje marched this year under the new parish flag on this traditional
pilgrimage to St. Blase.
The Ninth International
Meeting for Guides and Leaders of Peace Centres and Medjugorje Prayer, Pilgrim
and Charity Groups
The Ninth International Meeting for Guides
and Leaders of Peace Centres and Medjugorje Prayer, Pilgrim and Charity Groups
under the theme “Pray, Pray, Pray…” took place in Medjugorje from February
17th to 21st, 2002.
During five days,
the participants meditated on the conferences given by Dr. Fr. Ivan Dugandzic
and Fr. Ivan Landeka, they exchanged their experiences and prayed together.
These meetings are
very important for those who come to Medjugorje as well as for those who work in
Medjugorje at the service of pilgrims. Through the diversity of our work with
the pilgrims we enrich one another, we understand better the importance of the
apostolate and receive councils for our work.
About 170
participants from 15 countries took part in this meeting. They adopted a common
Declaration, which will be published in the next issue of the Bulletin.