June 1-10, 2000
Our Group Included: Ante Muzic, Fr. Jim McCarthy, Fr. Voitech, Michael Sacchitella, Eileen Weisslinger, Steve, Ana, Katie, and Stephen Shawl, Tom Hubbard, Michael Sepal, Marie Young, Fely Weidebush, Joe and Nita Kiibler, Margie and Gayle Ohrenberger, Thom Tomas, Amy and Janice Shliem, Josephine Daszkowski, Leonard Zandrow, Biana Bangert, Janet and Corinna Schey, James and Gloria Molinaro, Cynthia Schultz, Frank and Leokada Wronski, Mary Maddus, Charles Philyaw, Jane Woodward, Kenneth Hughey, Regis Ruffing, Patricia and Sharon Robertson, Marijo and Ann Sweeney, Nancy Cogan, Bonny Kenney, Patrick and Kathleen Meyers, Penny Gleason, Sillo Madan, Maryanne Condit, Patricia Mahoney, Stanley and Paula Chaloupka, Patricia Younger, Imal Collins, Patrick and Auji Cassidy, Linda Henry, Barbara Green, Judy Smith Green, and Peter and Diana Hirsch..
A Few Pictures From Our Trip (Special Thanks to Tom Hubbard for These Pictures!)..
Personal Testimonies From a Few of the Group
This pilgrimage to Medjugorje was very special. Of course all of our groups are special, but this trip was planned specifically to honor and celebrate the founding of the IIPG-Queen of Peace Prayer Group http://www.iipg-queenofpeace.org. The prayer group was started on June 4, 1999 by Nedjo Brecic, who is a member of Ivan's original prayer group in Medjugorje. While not everyone in our group knew about, or was a member of the IIPG prayer group, it had a profound effect on everyone.
I would like to share with you a very special story about Nedjo. As I previously mentioned, Nedjo has been a member of Ivans' prayer group from the day it was founded on July 4, 1982. Nedjo was a very good and holy man who truly tried to live Our Lady's messages. To illustrate this point, he came to a point in his life when he even quit a good paying job because it took too much away from his prayer time and time with his family. He accepted a simple lifestyle through the meager living he made by hosting pilgrims in his house. In 1999 he established a worldwide prayer group based on the same structure, and ideals that Ivan's original prayer group is based. My wife Ana met Nedjo in 1999 and they quickly became good friends. Ana is Croatian and speaks it fluently so she began to help Nedjo with the new prayer group since he had problems with the English language. I had the privilage to meet Nedjo in person during my June 1999 trip to Medjugorje, and I was so touched by his, and his entire families warmth and love that they extended to me. Nedjo's wifes name is Mirijana. They are a very special family, and are dear to our hearts. Upon my return from Medjugorje in 1999, the date of the 17 anniversary of Ivan's prayer group drew near. I came back with a special "mission" which was to register a domain name for Nedjo and host his web site. This was very important to Nedjo and I worked to get all the paperwork and setup done. Interestingly enough, everything came through on the day of the anniversary. We notified Nedjo and he was so happy, just like a little child. He was beaming with joy. Nedjo told us that he had to prepare for the apparition that evening and that he would talk to us afterwards. We later received the news that Nedjo had died. We were shocked, yet we knew that he was ok, and was with Our Lady.
On this trip, Mirijana was able to tell us a little about the story of his death. Nedjo was so happy the entire day of the anniversary. In fact at Mass he was crying like a baby. Mirjana elbowed him and told him to cut it out, and that people were looking. Nedjo said he was so happy he couldn't help it. He had told his daughter that he was going to die. The time of the anniversary apparition came, and instead of meeting at Blue Cross on Podbrdo, the apparition took place in Ivan's home. After Our Lady's apparition, Nedjo got into their car with Mirjana. His head tilted slightly and he slumped against the window. Mirjana told him to quit fooling around, but he did not move. His son Ante ran around to the drivers side and heard Nedjo say that this was the most beautiful moment of his life, and he died. Later Ivan told Mirjana that Our Lady told him that Nedjo was with her know, that he was praying for all of us, and told the children to mind their mother. What a wonderful consolation! During the funeral as most people were crying, Vicka was smiling and happy. How can one be sad when you know your loved one is in heaven? What a wonderful family!
We arrived in Medjugorje after leaving from Chicago or New York. We flew on Luftansa airlines, and enjoyed a comfortable flight. We met up with almost everyone in our group in Frankfurt Germany. We knew that we were all brought together for this pilgrimage by Our Lady. Some sat up talking each night after dinner for hours, some all night sharing their lives, and experiences with each other or writing journals. It is always amazing to me how specific people are brought together to help each other with their concerns and problems. It is just one of the many graces of Medjugorje, and God's grace works and heals in so many ways. It is interesting that the reasons that many of us thought we were going to Medjugorje turned out not to be the reason Our Lady called us there.
We were met in Split by Ante Muzic, who would be our tour guide in Medjugorje for the week, and enjoyed the breathtaking 3 hour bus ride along the Adriatic Coast on our way to Medjugorje. We arrived in late afternoon to our houses. Since we had 58 people in our group we stayed in four houses, all of which were Vicka's relatives. We stayed in Nedjo's home(founder of the IIPG prayer group), Vicka's parents home, and her brothers homes Ante, and Stipe, all located in Bijacovici, which is where Our Lady first appeared on June 24, 1981. We enjoyed a nice hot dinner, and afterwards prepared to go to the Blue Cross on Podbrdo for Ivan's prayer group apparition. It was a wonderful way to begin our week in Medjugorje. Even though we were all exhausted from our trip we made our way to the Blue Cross and prayed the rosary in preparation for Our Lady's coming. As the time of the apparition came, a hush fell over the large crowd and we could feel Our Lady's presence. Ivan told us that she had no special message, but spent time blessing each one of us there. What an incredible gift! Afterwards we made our way down to our homes and a badly needed peaceful nights sleep.
The next days in Medjugorje were very busy! We did so many things. Just a few of the highlights include:
We heard talks by Fr. Slavko, Fr. Svet, the visionaries Vicka and Ivan, and Sister Emmanuel. We visited the drug rehab center named Cenacolo to hear touching testimonies of how God's grace healed them of their drug addictions. And of course no trip to Medjugorje is complete without taking a trip to see Father Jozo in Siroki Brijeg, which is located about 45 minutes from Medjugorje. We were fortunate to be in a relatively small group for Fr Jozo's talk and were able to gather in a small chapel. His talk was absolutely excellent. His zeal after almost 19 years of speaking to pilgrims is as strong as the day it began. It is no wonder that Our Lady has said to the visionaries that Fr. Jozo is a saint. He suffered terribly when the apparitions began, and Medjugorje was under communist rule. At that time, Fr. Jozo was ordered to close the church or he would be thrown in prison. He refused and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. He was brutally tortured to the brink of death on more than one occasion, and was not even permitted to have his rosary in his cell. After being released after 18 months from prison, he eventually recovered and has continued his mission for Our Lady. Not the least of which is caring for over 4000 orphan children as a result of the 1991 war in Bosnia. If you would ever consider sponsoring one of these poor children, you can find more information on our web site at: http://www.medjugorje.org/godparent2.htm Fr. Jozo is truly a very holy, and spiritual priest.
Of all the talks we hear in Medjugorje, Vicka is always one of the highlights. She is so simple, humble, joyous, and sincere. The tremendous love that she has in her heart exudes from her smile and in every word she speaks. It amazes me that after almost 19 years of speaking up to 4 times per day, she has not lost one ounce of enthusiasm. Vicka has been recovering from throat surgery, and was told to speak only 20 minutes per day. Instead she speaks to pilgrims for hours with the powerful message of conversion that Our Lady has brought to Medjugorje. It is plain to see that it is only through God's grace that she is able to maintain her zest and zeal for spreading Our Lady's message. We were very blessed to have her speak to our group in her brother Stipe's home where part of our group was staying.
We climbed Apparition Hill (Podbrdo), and prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary (it was too hot to continue on to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries) which are marked by beautiful bronze plaques created by an Italian artist. During our ascent, we stopped at the large wooden cross which marks the spot of the first message Our Lady gave to Marija. The message was: "Peace, Peace, Peace! Be reconciled! Only Peace. Make your peace with God among yourselves. For that, it is necessary to believe, to pray, to fast, and to go to confession." Further up the hill there is a silver aluminum Cross which marks the spot of Our Lady's first apparition in Medjugorje, and this is also the spot where Our Lady has said a permanent visible supernatural sign will be left when her apparitions cease in Medjugorje. There were many in the group who climbed apparition hill or Podbrdo many times. Before bed, some went to pray 5 decades of the rosary at the foot of the hill, it was so calm and peacefull.
Next was climbing Cross Mountain (Mt. Krizevac). It is a difficult climb for even an athletic person, and it is amazing that virtually everyone who starts the climb, no matter what their physical condition, makes it to the top. It is a welcome site to see the 33 foot high 15 ton cement Cross when you finally reach the summit. As we climbed, we said the Stations of the Cross, which are marked by the same beautiful bronze plaques as on Podbrdo (Apparition Hill). Since it was very hot in Medjugorje this trip (105F), we climbed in the early hours of the morning. Some of the group left at 2am, 3am, and 4am. There were several in our group that climbed Kirzevac barefoot for certain promises they made to God or in thanksgiving or for penance. It is always a powerful experience to climb Krizevac, and Our Lady has said that she prays at the foot of the Cross there each morning at 5am.
The English Mass is said every day at 10:00am, and the Croatian program starts at 6:00pm. The 6:00pm program begins with the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary until 6:40. At 6:40pm there is 2-3 minutes of silence in recognition of the exact moment of Our Lady's appearance to the visionaries each day. The rosary then resumes and at 7:00pm, there is Croatian Mass, followed by the Medjugorje Rosary (or Peace Rosary) which consists of the 7 Our Fathers, 7 Hail Mary's and 7 Glory Be's. Finally the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary are prayed, sometimes continuing on with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. One might think that all this praying would be "too much". Quite the contrary is true. While you are in Medjugorje, life is very different. For example, there are two Croatian masses every day and many of the local villiagers attend both!
Two special gifts which occurred for many in our group was their rosary turning gold, and seeing the "Miracle of the Sun". These are two special visible gifts from Our Lady to bring us to deeper conversion. Many times rosaries will turn gold instantly. I have heard of scientific tests being performed on these rosaries, and the results are facinating. The tests found that the gold is not real gold, but rather an alloy that is unknown. Here is a scan of my rosary in which the links turned from silver to gold almost instantly in 1995.
The "Miracle of the Sun" is another beautiful gift from heaven. It seems that most people share a common experience, yet it can be an individual experience as well. What I have personally seen is what appears to be a Eucharistic Host covering the bright circle of the sun. Sometimes I have seen a Cross or Dove inside this Host. The sun seems to spin and pulsate, and I can see brilliant colors of fusa, changing to blue and back again radiating from the edges. It is an incredible sight! BUT, I want to caution anyone going to Medjugorje that one must be VERY careful looking directly at the sun. If the sun hurts your eyes or appears too bright after looking at it for a split second then don't look at it!. Permanent eye damage can result. The sun is especially bright in Medjugorje because there is no industry or pollution.
It is also important for me to mention that miracles like "Rosaries turning Gold" or "The Miracle of the Sun" are not the reason we go to Medjugorje or believe in Medjugorje, but rather they are little signs or as Father Pavich in Medjugorje has said "little kisses" which help in our personal conversion experience. The real miracle of Medjugorje is the grace of conversion which creates an intense love and realization of God in our lives. This love helps us to recenter our thoughts, our lives, and our families back to God.
I want to share with you a few of the special stories that occurred on our trip. There were so many, and as usual, I had a difficult time choosing these, but I believe they are good examples of the grace present in Medjugorje.
Our first story involves Peter and Diana. To start their story it is important to know that Diane is Catholic and Peter is Jewish. The story behind how Peter came to Medjugorje is a powerful one. Being Jewish, Jesus was not part of Peter's life, and certainly Our Lady did not have a place either. Peter explains that the only time he ever spoke the word Jesus was in vain or in jokes. Peter was a very sucessful motivational speaker who had written a book, and traveled all over the world giving talks to groups ranging from small corporate to huge autitorium size. As he stood holding his wifes hand on their deck overlooking the ocean and mountains on one of the islands of Hawaii, his wife Diana said that he should thank Jesus for their success and all the He has done for them. He dropped her hand and looked at her with amazement. He said "You should thank me for all we have not Jesus because I am the one who worked my butt off for all of this". From that moment on their lives went downhill. Peter became involved in a .com business and ended up being sued by the government. The legal fees wiped out their savings and assets. They lost their house and virtually everything but the clothes on their back. Peter was deeply depressed and had not slept for 2 weeks straight. His health had declined and he was emotionally, spiritually, and physically near death. One night He found himself speaking to Jesus, and placed himself in His hands. He still does not understand why he did this, but it was a life changing and saving event. Peter has found his life is now centered on Jesus, and he loves Our Lady. He is working on a new book dedicated to Jesus and told us that he will never speak in public again without mentioning why he is there, and his experience. Peter is still working through many issues in his life, and our prayers are with him! Keep praying the rosary Peter! I hope to stay in touch with them and see how they are doing from time to time.
Our next story was difficult for me to write because I found it hard to put into words. I will do my best but fear it will not capture the incredible grace that we experienced. I say "we" because this experience included Michael, Len, Chuck and myself. Regretably this story is written only through my eyes, and although I know that we shared a common experience, there were also things that were special and unique for each one of us.
I had had a very difficult morning that day, and found myself feeling very hurt and resentful because of something someone had said to me. I found a place by myself behind the Church and prayed the rosary trying to rid myself of the feelings I had. Thoughts of anger, resentment, forgiveness, mercy, sadness, and hurt raced through my mind. I wanted to keep this experience to myself because I did not want to say anything bad about this person. I really wanted to live by the rule that says if you do not have something nice to say about someone then do not say anything at all. Kinds words spread love, bad words spread hate, hurt, and sin. After praying the rosary I knew it was time for me to meet the rest of the group in Bijakovici for a group lunch. I relished the thought of walking alone through the fields, and I prayed so hard for help, and guidance. I prayed and walked alone through tears, and placed everything in God's hands and asked Him to please help me with this situation. I asked Him to take this hurt away, and to guide my thoughts and most importantly my actions and what I was to say to this person when I saw them again. I felt a certain comfort and peace in my heart about the situation, although it was not resolved within me yet. After careful thought I decided I would tell Ana, and my very good friend Michael about my experience. I spoke to them seperately and told them of my incident. Michael was upset for me, and I felt bad that I had said anything. My incident had brought up memories and issues in his own life. All these things aside, we had a great lunch, although I felt an uneasiness and hurt throughout.
After lunch everyone seemed to disappear and I found myself alone with Michael, Chuck, and Len. Without my really saying anything they knew some of what had happened. We walked down the road together and Michael suggested saying a prayer. It was a powerful moment, and I remember all of us holding hands in the middle of the street and praying. We continued walking and made our way toward Nedjo's house. The group was supposed to have climbed Krizevac after lunch, but it was so hot it was postponed until the early morning on the following day. I do not remember who it was, but one of us suggested we climb Krizevac together. It was one of those things that looking back I truly feel the Holy Spirit was guiding us to the mountain. We all agreed and could not wait to get to the mountain. We stopped by Nedjo's on the way for water, and Fr. Slavko's meditations on the Stations of the Cross. We then immediately took a taxi to the base of the mountain. Because it was so hot, we were alone in our climb. It is interesting to note that my comfort zone temperature is about 65F, not 105F. I do not do well in heat, yet as we made our way to the first station of the Cross, I did not feel the heat; I was comfortable.
I remember all standing together around the first station as we read the first meditation. The words went straight to our hearts and addressed and answered all the feelings, difficulties, and experiences of the day. I felt this incredible peace and grace come over me, and tears of joy welled up in my eyes. I looked at Michael, Chuck and Len and we were all near tears. We all felt this incredible grace, peace, and calm come over us. I remember mentioning that the whole experience of earlier in the day meant absolutely nothing at that moment, and it seemed so trivial compared to the incredible love that God was pouring down upon us. It felt like wave after wave of pure love. As we ascended the mountain, we alternated reading the meditations and it seemed that each one was written just for the person reading it. Our minds raced from past memories and issues, to current issues, today's issues, memories of failures, and of successes. It was simply incredible. Each station unfolded the deepest recesses of our lives in front of us. It is all very difficult to put into words, but I know that our thoughts, and experience was truly guided by the Holy Spirit. I remember at one station hearing "Immaculate Mary" echoing in the distance from the Church as evening Mass was taking place, and thinking how perfect everything was. As we finally reached the summit we all stood at the foot of the Cross and experienced the miracle of the sun. It was the perfect climax to our experience. We spent time praying at the Cross and gazing out over the beautiful mountains and down upon Medjugorje. We were all alone on the mountain except for one very cute Croatian man who spoke no English. I remember he had no teeth, and was so genuine, so loving, and so kind. We were so enraptured on the mountain that we lost track of time and realized it was almost dark. None of us had flashlights, and we decided we better hurry up if we were going to get down the mountain. We literally ran down the mountain without so much as even a slip. It was almost as though we were being gently carried down. I have bad knees, and have made this descent many times at a slower speed and have had some knee pain afterwards. I realized at the bottom that I had no pain at all! Our climb was one of the most incredible spiritual experiences I have ever had and one which I will remember and treasure forever. I want to thank Chuck, Len, and especially Michael for sharing this incredible experience with me. I know that God wanted us together in that moment on that mountain, and with great reluctance, we made our way back down the mountain. It was a moment and time we never wanted to end.!
There are so many stories to tell. Everyone in our group was touched in a special way. That is one of the graces of Medjugorje. Your heart and your life are changed forever. It is amazing to see 58 people from all areas and walks of life come together, and leave with a very special and unique bond of friendship, and love. Their spiritual lives renewed, refreshed, re kindled. The fire of the Holy Spirit burning brightly inside them. Our Lady invites each person who goes to Medjugorje individually, and for a reason. Going to Medjugorje is a special calling, and a special gift. The graces of Medjugorje are brought back home with each person so that they are a light to others around them, and it's amazing to see already, after being home for such a short time, the wonderful things happening in the lives of those who were in our group. How they are touching those around them and how petitions of prayer have already been answered. Our Lady says, "Be not afraid". Those who have made the trip are strengthened in their faith and now have the grace and courage to live and spread the message of Medjugorje. One of my favorite "to the point" descriptions of Medjugorje came from Michael Sacchitella. He sums up the Medjugorje experience by saying that going to Medjugorje is a life changing experience....your life will never be the same.
As the time for our departure neared, everyone had a sense of sadness, as we realized the blessed days we spent together were coming to an end. It is always difficult to leave Medjugorje for so many reasons. When in Medjugorje, you are able to leave the world and all of its ugliness, sin, and distractions behind, and to draw so close to God. Medjugorje is truly holy ground, and the presence of God and Our Lady is so strong there. It is something that you don't want to give up. It's like being on the edge of Heaven. But we all knew that we were called to return to our lives and live Our Lady's messages, and share the graces and experiences we had received. There is a special and unique bond that forms through experiencing the graces of Medjugorje together. It seems as though we have all known each other for years.
Thanks to all the wonderful people who were part of this trip to Medjugorje. We will never forget any of you, and we feel privileged to have spent such a special time together.
Steve and Ana Shawl