Dear Children of Medjugorje, Praised be Jesus and Mary!
1. On February 2, 2017, Mirjana received her monthly apparition in the presence of a small number of people gathered in the living room of her guest house. After the apparition, Mirjana conveyed the following message:
“Dear children, you who are striving to offer every day of your life to my Son, you who are trying to live with Him, you who are praying and sacrificing – you are hope in this peaceless world. You are rays of the light of my Son, a living gospel, and you are my beloved apostles of love. My Son is with you. He is with those who think of Him – those who pray. But in the same way, He is patiently waiting for those who do not know Him. Therefore, you, apostles of my love, pray with the heart and with your works show the love of my Son. This is the only hope for you, and this is also the only way to eternal life. I, as a mother, I am here with you. Your prayers directed to me are the most beautiful roses of love for me. I cannot but be where I sense the scent of roses. There is hope! Thank you.”
On February 11, 2017, on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Holy Father entrusted Archbishop Henryk Hoser, S.A.C., bishop of Warsaw-Prague (Poland), to come to Medjugorje as a Special Envoy of the Holy See.
The mission has the aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation in Medjugorje, and above all to assess the needs of the faithful who travel here on pilgrimage. Mr. Greg Burke, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, noted that Archbishop Hoser’s mission is a matter of the “people’s needs.” He further explained that studying the “pastoral needs” of the people means the “pastoral life, liturgy, catechesis, sacraments and the experience of devotion they have there,” but not the management of local parishes. He said: “This is more ‘for’ than ‘against’. It’s for the life of the pilgrims who go there.”
This study will certainly lead to suggestions for possible pastoral initiatives in the future. The mission will therefore have an exclusively pastoral character. Archbishop Hoser, who will continue to exercise his role as bishop of Warsaw-Praga, is expected to finish his mandate as Special Envoy by summer of this year.
Let us pray fervently and with confidence for this special envoy, and in the coming summer we will see what fruits this mission will have brought. I rely a great deal on these words that Vicka often repeats: “The Gospa will fulfil her plan!” Now, we can either delay or hasten this plan. Each month, Our Lady thanks those who respond to her call, she counts on them, the “Apostles of my love”, to shorten the time of trials, and hasten the triumph of her Immaculate Heart.
3. The Gospa a superstar?
New confusion regarding Medjugorje has recently emerged in many media outlets. Let us remain calm and vigilant. Journalists often like to create scoops in order to draw attention, without any real concern for the truth. Taking a word out of context is called manipulation, and it is misleading for the reader! The fact is that there people (maybe with good intentions) who send messages to Pope Francis everyday saying that they are from a so-called virgin. In this case, we can understand his negative reaction to fake messages bombarding him. But we take note of the fact that he said nothing about Our Lady of Medjugorje.
On the contrary, the so-called virgin that he describes does not at all resemble Our Lady in Medjugorje in three particular ways:
1.) According to reports these fake messages come every day. In fact, the Gospa in Medjugorje only gives a message on the 25th and the 2nd of every month;
2.) It was suggested that this fake virgin focuses on herself. Instead, in Medjugorje, Our Lady invites us to put God in the first place in our lives by participating in Mass, going to Confession, praying with the heart and adoring the Blessed Sacrament, reading the Bible daily, and fasting on bread and water Wednesday and Friday;
3.) The virgin spoken about in recent media is known as a superstar to her apostles. Pilgrims coming to Medjugorje would never think of making the Gospa a superstar, she is someone who reorients us to the love of her Son.
So, just like in battleship – hit and sunk! Let’s put an end to that controversy!
4. Good news!
My latest book is finally out in French. The English will be out soon. The book is called “Scandaleuse Misericorde.” Father Jacques Philippe, CdB, wrote the preface. Here I would like to give a snippet from the book and then quote a few excerpts from Fr. Jacques Philippe that shine a beautiful light on forgiveness.
“How can I stand the rest of my life as an invalid in this wing?” he asked himself. A terrible heaviness came over him. The seeds of depression were planted. Night after night Father John felt increasingly distressed, and feelings of despair took hold of him. There he was, confined to his bed with nothing to do, with no hope of getting better. It was he, the tireless and active worker par excellence. What a contrast with his former life of activity and meeting acquaintances! Struggling with his solitude, and with a terrible feeling of powerlessness, he cried out to the Lord every day: “Help! Help!”…
…Suddenly, he heard the voice of Christ, who asked him: “My son, how old am I?” Father John replied, “Lord, You’re 33 years old!”
“And you?” Jesus asked.
“I’m 50,” Fr. John answered.
Then the Lord continued: “Why haven’t you ever thanked Me? I gave you 18 more years to live. At 33 I had already died.”
“Yes, Lord. I’m sorry. Forgive me for never having appreciated these extra 18 years of life You gave me.”
“You have spoken well about me John, but you do not know me. Taste Me.” (Father John reported that Jesus stressed the words ‘Taste Me’.)
“Lord, what do You mean by telling me this?”
“My son, I didn’t consecrate you to be a worker. I didn’t consecrate you to be an administrator. I consecrated you to be ME. Be Me!“
Father John was dumbfounded when he heard the way Jesus said “Be Me!” Jesus added: “While I was suffering, I felt abandoned, rejected, condemned, and nailed. It was a very painful situation. Now, you know.”
…Father John understood a reality that concerns all of us. Before, he was performing one thousand and one works for God, where prayer was dangerously missing. Through his dereliction of a handicapped person, the Lord made him understand that He was expecting from His priest that he would perform the works OF God, rather than FOR God. That is to say, the works that God Himself had prepared for him to realize according to his Divine design.
From Fr. Jacques Philippe:
“This book gives us an opportunity, through a diversity of stories, to see mercy at work in a living and personal way. Mercy is not an abstract idea, it is a reality that has deeply changed and transformed the lives of so many people. The various chapters illustrate how God’s benevolent and gratuitous love can burst forth in a human existence and, where sometimes all seemed lost, lead to true resurrections. The strength of this book does not come from speeches, but from living testimonies…
“We love freedom. And yet, somewhat surprisingly, our world does not fully understand the liberating force of forgiveness. We aspire to freedom, but don’t always do what is necessary to achieve it! To be truly free, we must forgive. As long as I haven’t forgiven someone who has hurt me, I will be stuck in my past, and will remain dependent on this enemy whom I blame and toward whom I feel anger and bitterness. The grudge will take a place in my heart which will prevent me from being free and living to the full. Forgiveness is sometimes difficult; it may seem impossible. Forgiveness is a grace that must be begged for humbly in prayer, and sometimes it takes a lot of time to get there. However, it is absolutely necessary. Whoever does not forgive will never heal completely from the wrong he has suffered and from the wounds that have been inflicted on him.
“In modern society, we take great care of people who have been victims, supporting them, enabling them to express their pain, to shed light on their suffering, to ensure that they also find the truth and justice to which they are entitled. This is a good thing. However, perhaps we sometimes forget to convey to the victims that they cannot completely recover from their past unless they decide, one day, to forgive. This is not a natural decision to make, it takes courage, but it is necessary in order to find peace, healing and freedom.
“The ultimate source of all forgiveness is in God, in the infinitely merciful heart of the Father.”
Dearest Gospa, what patience you have with us. Do not get tired of us. Please continue to visit us! What would we do without you? Those who reject you would joyfully welcome you if only they knew you.
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
P.S. 1 – Sister Emmanuel’s next missions will be in Italy and Egypt this month. She will speak about mercy and Our Lady of Fatima. Your prayers for her safe and fruitful mission are appreciated. If you are living in either of those two countries and you would like more information, please contact Betty Cassis in Egypt: bettycassis14juillet@gmail.com or in Italy the National Secretary of Mercy at: segreterianazionale@dmisericordiamed.it
P.S. 2 – Our dear Rosie who spent two years with us at the service of the Gospa has just given birth to a little girl, Marie-Emmanuelle in New Jersey, USA. She and Matthew are full of joy.
P.S. 3 – Sister Emmanuel is preparing a new book on the Mysteries of the Rosary. Please send her your testimonies about the rosary that they may edify all who read it. Write to: gospa.fr@gmail.com.
P.S. 4 – Looking for Translators.
We are looking for experienced translators from French to German, Spanish and Polish. If you can help, please contact gospa.fr@gmail.com with the words “Mercy Book Translator” in the Subject line.
P.S. 5 – The next Direct Live will take place on March 3, 2017 at 9 pm Rome time. Sister will speak in French about the message of the 2nd. The re-transmission can be found at: www.enfantsdemedjugorje.fr/index.php/le-direct-du-3.html
P.S. 7 – “My Heart Will Triumph” by Mirjana Soldo can be purchased at:www.MyHeartWillTriumph.com. Co-publisher: Catholic Publishing, 317 Riveredge Blvd., Ste 208, Cocoa, Florida 32922
P.S. 8 – Sister Emmanuel’s Newsletter can be received in many languages! Write to the following email addresses to add your name to the list in your language.