Bulletin
189
Medjugorje,
August 26, 2003
“Dear children! Also
today I call you to give thanks to God in your heart for all the graces which
He gives you, also through the signs and colors that are in nature. God wants
to draw you closer to Himself and moves you to give Him glory and thanks.
Therefore, little children, I call you anew to pray, pray, pray and do not
forget that I am with you. I intercede before God for each of you until your
joy in Him is complete. Thank
you for having responded to my call.”
August 25, 2003
TO JESUS IN OUR
LADY’S BOAT
Impressions from
the 14th International Youth Prayer Festival that took place at the
beginning of August in Medjugorje are still fresh in our memory. Neither the
heat nor the summer holiday season has impeded the youth to gather around Jesus,
through Mary. Through such a decision, they gave us a message that one can find
best respite and permanent shade near Jesus.
If we wanted to
describe in a single image these youth gathering in Medjugorje, we could say:
During these days, young people abandoned their frail boats and entered into a
common boat, Our Lady’s boat, in Medjugorje. The steersman - the guide in this
boat - was Mary. The goal of the voyage was to join the port - Jesus. The oars
were in the hands of Mary, and the power of the oars was prayer, adoration of
Jesus, Holy Mass, songs, and joyful and enthusiastic praise.
To get into such a
boat, which sails towards Jesus, means to be ready for all. In it, we do not
have the right to count on our own capacities, on our own security, or to think
only of our own destination. The boat of Jesus implies a total gift of oneself,
and it implies a risk. In the boat of Jesus, one should row always ahead,
through winds and storms, in time and through hitches. According to human logic,
this boat sails towards the unknown, towards an adventure of the spirit. It is
so because Jesus invites us to go to the open sea. It is precisely there, on the
open sea, in the unknown and the unexpected, that my God and my Saviour waits
for me.
Our whole Christian
life should, in fact, be similar to this boat. We are permanent travellers.
According to our call to follow Jesus, we should always go, run, and seek Jesus.
He invites us to come to Him. He is there for us. He wishes to be in our company.
He is my friend who waits always patiently until my boat arrives in his port.
With Jesus, it is always nice; with Him, it is always interesting. With Jesus,
one is never bored. Near Him, each moment is filled with meaning. Near Him,
nobody is disappointed, misunderstood, lost. With Jesus, all are welcome. Near
Him, you are personally loved. He has feelings for us. He breathes with our
lungs. His heart beats for our hearts, he thinks our thoughts. He is ready to do
everything for us. He is not a God-judge but a God-love and as such, he invites
us to the banquet. He wants to fill us and to nourish us with a food that never
perishes and that never loses force.
Nourished with such a food and quenched
with such a drink at Jesus’ harbour, young people set out again into the world
which - through them -receives a new door – a door of hope.
Fr.
Mario Knezovic
NEWS
NUMBER OF COMMUNIONS AND
NUMBER OF CONCELEBRANTS
During the month of July
2003, 90,000 communions were distributed and 3,935 priests from this country and
abroad concelebrated Holy Mass in Medjugorje.
Pilgrims were here from:
Italy, Germany, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Korea, Lebanon, Slovakia,
France, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
AN
AWARD FOR RADIO “MIR” MEDJUGORJE GIVEN BY MSGR. FRANJO KOMARICA, BISHOP OF
BANJA LUKA
On July 14, an official reception was held
in the diocesan house in Banja Luka, at the occasion of the conclusion of all
the work linked to Holy Father’s visit, which took place on June 22.
For this reception, which was initiated and
organized by Msgr. Franjo Komarica, Bishop of Banja Luka, the highest
representatives of Church, as well as Civil authorities that were involved in
the organization of the Holy Father’s visit, gathered. Awards and
acknowledgments were given to organisations and individuals who were involved in
this event.
Msgr. Komarica gave an award and an
acknowledgment to Radio “Mir” Medjugorje, whose broadcasting accompanied the
preparation for Holy Father’s visit, and the visit itself, to Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Msgr. Komarica gave the award and the acknowledgment to Fr. Mario
Knezovic, the Chief Editor of Radio “Mir” Medjugorje.
CATHOLIC DAY OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
The Catholic Day organized on the level of
the Conference of the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina was held on July 19 in
Kupres. The Church of the four dioceses of Bosnia-Herzegovina gathered at this
meeting initiated by the bishops of Central European countries. The Eucharistic
celebration was presided by the cardinal Vunko Puljic, Archbishop of Vrhbosna
(Sarajevo) and was concelebrated by the other bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina and
the bishops of Central European countries, as well as by Franciscan provincials.
Also the faithful of the parish of
Medjugorje, guided by father Branko Rados, parish priest, went to this meeting
of revival of faith and the fidelity to the Church. The choir of the parish
Medjugorje "Kraljica Mira" under the direction of Sister Slavica Kozul
sang together with other choirs. Radio "Mir" Medjugorje, in
collaboration with Radio Kupres, transmitted this event live, and its program
was transmitted by other radios in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Feast
of St. James, Patron Saint of the Parish
On
July 25, feast of St. James the Apostle, the parish of Medjugorje celebrated its
patron saint. In the morning, according to the custom, the Eucharistic
celebration began and ended by the singing the litany of All the Saints and a
procession with the statue of the Patron Saint, which was carried by the
parishioners. Holy Mass was celebrated in the little park near the church. Along
with numerous local and some foreign priests, the Mass was presided by Fr. Mate
Cilic, a Herzegovinian Franciscan on mission in Germany, and concelebrated by 30
priests, among whom the Herzegovinian provincial Fr. Slavko Soldo,
a native from Medjugorje, and the pastor of Medjugorje Fr. Branko Rados.
The
parishioners and their friends, who come for this special occasion to celebrate
the patron saint of the parish of Medjugorje, were joined by a large number of
foreign pilgrims, who also venerate St. James, who is also patron saint of
pilgrims. As a reminder, let us note that the parish of Medjugorje was founded
in 1892, and St. James has been as its patron saint since then.
A BISHOP FROM THE UKRAINE
ON PILGRIMAGE TO MEDJUGORJE
Msgr.
Irynei Bilyk, a Bishop from the Ukraine, came on private pilgrimage to
Medjugorje from July 24 to 26, 2003. Msgr. Bilyk is the bishop of the diocese of
Buchach/Ukraine, in which there are 180 priests. He came on his fifth pilgrimage
to Medjugorje with two priests and a doctor.
He
told us:
“I
had a strong experience of this place in 1989, when I prayed in Medjugorje for
the breakdown of the communism in my country. Because of communist repression, I
was ordained a bishop secretly, because public ordinations were not possible.
For
my personal life, as a bishop and as a believer, Medjugorje is a power and a
grace. On each step, it is visible that Our Lady is present in a very special
way here. People pray here and feel God’s presence. In my country, people know
about these events and they always ask for rosaries from Medjugorje. In
Medjugorje, I see many young people praying and seeking God through Our Lady,
which is a sign of a new opening for God’s message. I will surely come again
to this place of prayer, because here, we are all closer to Jesus through Our
Lady. And where there is Jesus, there is also Our Lady.”
14th
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH PRAYER FESTIVAL
The
International Youth Prayer Meeting took place, again this year, from July 31st
to August 6th in Medjugorje. About 17,000 young people from all over
the world gathered together. There were also about 350 priests, who accompanied
their young parishioners to this meeting. The theme of the meeting was,
“Through the Rosary, Open Your Heart to Me”. During the evening prayer
programme, numerous other pilgrims joined young people, and about 20,000
faithful participated in the programme each evening.
Lecturers
and witnesses invited young people to come to know Jesus Christ through the
prayer of the rosary; Jesus Christ, who is a brother for each one of us and the
Saviour of humanity, and whom young people need so much today.
This
meeting was another exceptional spiritual experience for all young people who
participated. This is why we invite them to come next year again to Medjugorje
and to renew their fidelity to God, to the Holy Father and to the Church.
The
meeting was simultaneously translated into nineteen languages.
SOLEMNITY OF THE
ASSUMPTION
Several thousands of local and foreign
pilgrims came to Medjugorje for the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. During the morning, Masses were celebrated in about ten languages.
The solemn evening Mass was presided by Fr. Slavko Soldo, Provincial of the
Herzegovinian Franciscans, and concelebrated by 45 priests. Also this year,
numerous Croatian pilgrims came on bare feet. They were arriving already during
the night, after having walked many kilometres.