Bulletin
183
Medjugorje,
February 26th, 2003
“Dear children! Also
today I call you to pray and fast for peace. As I have already said and now
repeat to you, little children, only with prayer and fasting can wars also be
stopped. Peace is a precious gift from God. Seek, pray and you will receive it.
Speak about peace and carry peace in your hearts. Nurture it like a flower
which is in need of water, tenderness and light. Be those who carry peace to
others. I am with you and intercede for all of you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
February 25, 2003
Let us launch out into the
deep
Pope John Paul II,
aware of the situation in the Church, invited Christians in one of his talks to
“launch into the deep” (Duc in altum, Lk 5,4). It is the same invitation
that Jesus addressed to all of us through the apostles. The Pope feels that all
of us Christians started to live attached to human values. We often put our
hopes, more and more, into passing things of this world. We want to be ensured,
even to enter into compromises with a perverse logic of an immoral world. We
seem to become little by little part of the world in which we drown and thus
stop being a boat and the haven of peace for humanity.
What would it mean to launch into the deep in our circumstances?
Today, it would mean first and foremost to rely on the same Jesus upon whom the
forefathers of our faith relied. It would mean to recover trust in the One who
can lead us into the haven of life. A Christian today must put Jesus in the
first place, and place all his security into his hands. Our Lady calls us
precisely to this in Medjugorje. To launch into the deep should be understood as
an invitation to run away from mediocrity, indifference and lukewarmness for the
inspirations of God. God wants us to be passionate and burning for his word; he
looks for witnesses.
So, let us launch into the deep and let us free ourselves from the false security of this world. Today, maybe more than ever, the invitation of Jesus to launch into the deep can be understood as an answer to the drama of the humanity that became a victim of hatred. Today’s society expects to see in Christians a concrete reflection of Jesus’ way of doing, of His love for each person. From us, Christians, it is expected to be truly the salt of the earth and the light of the world. As Christians, we must again start to follow Jesus, and this means raising our voices against the culture of death, against abortion, against divorce, against the dead of marital love, against injustices, exploitation of the poor and the weak… Jesus invites all of us into his boat and wants us to sail with Him to those who expect us as ambassadors of Christian message of hope and of peace.
Fr.
Mario Knezovic
NEWS
NUMBER OF COMMUNIONS AND NUMBER OF CONCELEBRANTS
During the month of January, 50,000 communions were distributed and 743 priests from this
country and abroad concelebrated Holy Mass in Medjugorje.
Pilgrims
were here from Korea, Italy, India, France, Slovenia, the USA, Croatia, and
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Holy Mass for War Victims from the Parish of
Medjugorje
On February 10, the Evening Holy Mass was
celebrated in the parish church in Medjugorje in memory of the Franciscans and
the parishioners. On that day we remembered the martyrdom of Fr. Krizan Galic,
Fr. Jozo Bencun, Fr. Marko Dragicevic, Fr. Mariofil Sivric, Fr. Grgo Vasilj and
Fr. Jenko Vasilj, killed perfidiously in 1944 and 1945.
The faithful that assisted at Mass prayed
for the victims of World War I and II and of the most recent war in defence of
the Homeland. During these three wars, almost every family of the parish lost
someone. The feast of the Blessed Croatian Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac,
celebrated on February 10, is commemorated in our parish as a day of remembrance
and prayer for all the victims of the war. The Eucharistic celebration was
presided by the pastor Fr. Branko Rados.
The
3rd International Seminar for Married Couples Took Place
The 3rd International Seminar for
Married Couples took place in Medjugorje from February 13 to 16. The theme was
“Put God at the First Place in Your Families”. There were 120 couples from
11 countries speaking English, French, Croatian, German, Spanish and Italian.
The married couples participated in the
Evening Prayer Programme in the church and climbed Apparition Hill and Cross
Mountain together.
On the last day of the seminar, during the
final Holy Mass, the couples renewed their promises and confided their union to
the Lord.
The
10th International Meeting for Guides and Leaders of Peace Centres
and Medjugorje Prayer, Pilgrim and Charity groups Took Place
The 10th International Meeting
for Guides and Leaders of Peace Centres and Medjugorje Prayer, Pilgrim and
Charity groups took place in Medjugorje from February 23 to 27. There were 200
leaders and priests who lead Medjugorje associations all over the world. The
lecturers were Prof. Dr. Fr. Ljudevit Rupcic, Fr. Ivan Landeka, Fr. Petar
Ljubicic, Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic, Fr. Jozo Zovko and Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic. Fr.
Mario Knezovic, Director of the Information Centre “Mir” Medjugorje,
coordinated the meeting. Throughout five days, the participants prayed and
meditated on the essentials of the events of Medjugorje, they climbed Apparition
Hill and Cross Mountain, and spoke about practical things linked to the
pilgrimages to Medjugorje. There was also an informative and entertaining
evening with the sound of music by the group “Hrvoje”. The meeting ended by
Holy Mass presided by the Pastor of Medjugorje, Fr. Branko Rados.
At the end of the meeting, the participants
adopted a common declaration, which will be published in the next issue of the
Bulletin.
Seminars
in “Domus Pacis”
During the last period, there were two “Prayer
and Fasting” seminars for pilgrims from
Poland and from Austria. Franciscan sisters led also a seminar for young girls,
and a seminar of spiritual recollection for young people organised by the Girls’
Hostel from Split.
For
“Prayer
and
Fasting”
seminars,
contact
Fr.
Ljubo
Kurtovic,
Zupni
ured
Medjugorje,
Gospin
trg
1, 88266 Medjugorje,
Bosnia
and
Herzegovina.
(Fax:
00 387 36 651 444)
Soccer
Players (“Footballers”) in Medjugorje
During
the last two months, many soccer players from several clubs made their winter
trainings in Medjugorje. Except daily trainings, the soccer players were often
seen in recollected prayer in the church, on Apparition Hill and on Cross
Mountain. Medjugorje is a place of prayer and recollection for all those who
come here. The soccer players, who are from year to year more numerous on winter
trainings, have also recognized this.