From the desk of Fr. Ken,
Hvaljen Isus i Marija! This is Croatian for Praised be Jesus and Mary! It is the custom when greeting someone in Medjugorje to greet them with these words and so I return with these words in my heart and greet you with them. I am very thankful for the privilege of making my first pilgrimage to this remarkable place and I was able to share it with 13 wonderful people from all walks of life, but who were all seeking the same thing, to experience the love and peace and healing that is Medjugorje. I look forward in the coming weeks to share with you some of my experiences. I’m also thankful to Fr. Plummer and Fr. Noe for saying the Sunday Masses. They are wonderful priests.
I was the only English speaking priest in Medjugorje and therefore was responsible for saying the daily English Mass at St. James. My homilies were recorded by Mary TV. They are available online at www.marytv.tv. Scroll down and click on English Homily in Medjugorje and then scroll over the image and click on playlist to choose the homily. On the Feast of the Presentation (Feb. 2) after the homily, I consecrated our parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In a few weeks I will have the video of the consecration and I hope to upload it to our website.
During the morning of February 2, we were present for the Apparition to Mirjana Soldo, here is the text of our Blessed Mother’s 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.”