Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • December 10, 2021 11 228-539-9800 www.RiemannFamily.com Gulfport Pass Christian West Jackson County Biloxi Long Beach Hancock County In thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit, Blessed Mother and St. Jude, for prayers answered. BAB WE CARE HOSPICE “Innovators in End of Life Care” Home Hospice Inpatient Hospice Residential Hospice In House Palliative Care Respite Care Call us, we can help. The choice is yours! (228) 474-2030 24/7 Medjugorje Pilgrimage From page 9 “I didn’t make it up the mountain today and I was so disappointed in myself,” Denise Ferrara said. “And I thought to myself that Mary didn’t want me up there. That’s why I didn’t go. But I know that she was talking to me through Marjia because she was like ‘If you knew how much I loved you, you would cry with joy.’ And that’s exactly what I felt.” The big climb The next day the pilgrims split into two groups. Half the group decided to climb Cross Mountain. The other half, however, after experiencing Apparition Hill, decided to stay in town and do the Stations of the Cross behind St. James Church. But before they split into two groups, each pilgrim randomly chose a wooden cross with a name on it. The pilgrims were asked to pray for that person throughout their experience. Later in the trip, the pilgrims exchanged crosses. Both groups had a memorable experience that day -- whether it was on the ground or high up on the moun- tain. Louise Vrazel was in the group that went to St. James Church for the Stations. “The pictures they had at each station were really touching. We also saw the Risen Christ statue. That was very nice,” she said. “And we were able to go up to it and take a cloth and wipe the water from the knee of Christ on the statue and that was really a touching moment for me, too.” Louise’s husband, Deacon Bill Vrazel, was in the group that made the climb up the mountain. The climb was more difficult than the climb the other day. At one point, Bishop Kihneman said it took “two deacons and a partridge in a pear tree” to get him up the mountain. At the top of Cross Mountain, pilgrims saw a large white cross. On the other side of the cross, the group said a prayer and received a blessing from Bishop Kihneman with the sacred oil of Padré Pio. Luckily the weather held out and the pil- grims made it down the mountain without getting too wet. The whole climb took about four hours to com- plete. “When I was climbing up the mountain, I first thought of Jesus going up Calvary as we climbed say- ing the Stations of the Cross,” said Deacon Bill Vrazel. “But then what came to me was that it’s kind of like life. It’s really rocky and rough and sometimes you need a hand to help you and so there were a lot of times hands were given to help people up. And there are some places that are smooth and nice. So, it kind of reminded me of us and our struggle getting to heaven. So some- times it’s rocky and hard and other times it smooths out and you have a grace time. It was a very grace moment. So, that’s what I experienced going up the mountain.” Holy relics The group started the week by attending Mass at Divine Mercy Church in Šurmanci. While there the pilgrims were blessed with oils as well as holy relics. Those relics were of St. Faustina and St. Pope John Paul II. The whole experience greatly affected the pilgrims. “It’s like everything else that’s been on this trip, it has been extraordinary,” said Serena Gilich. “Overwhelming. So blessed. And we’re so glad we’re here to experience all of this.” Last day in Medjugorje On the last day in Medjugorje, the pilgrims had another private session with Pavloviċ. During the ses- sion, she told the group what it’s like being in the pres- ence of Our Lady. “Our Lady’s presence is so deep. So short, but so deep,” she said. Pavloviċ also answered questions that pilgrims had about fasting, the rosary, and other topics they brought up. At the end of this session, the pilgrims prayed over Pavloviċ and thanked her for her hospitality. “I think [the talk] was excellent,” said Sylvester Lavon Evans. “I think it brought closure to the big pic- ture of being here. And I get it, I think, that if we’re praying to Mother Mary our prayers are being heard. So, I think that’s wonderful to instill in us that we should pray to her for our needs.” Later in the afternoon, the pilgrims visited Blue Cross. The site is home to two blue crosses where people can go and pray. The hike is a lot shorter than Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain and the location is also a place where apparitions take place. At the site, the pilgrims were given a blue piece of paper with the title “Consecration of Two Hearts.” The sheet had a prayer for Consecration to Jesus and Consecration to Mary. The pilgrims had the chance to sit and pray these devotions in silence. Split Before heading back to the United States, the pil- grims had to take a COVID test. So, before leaving Medjugorje and heading to Split, the group gathered in the downstairs lobby to take the tests. Luckily, all the pilgrims tested negative. With their test results in hand, the group headed back to Croatia. On their way to Split, the pilgrims stopped for lunch and daily Mass in Sinj. It was the last Mass Bishop Kihneman’s group celebrated together. After the Mass, the pilgrims admired the large doors outside the church with a severely worn image of Mary on them. Our Lady’s image was worn because of so many people touching it to show their respect. After celebrating his last Mass with the pilgrims, Bishop Kihneman talked about his experience on the trip. “It’s been a blessing to be with the folks and then of course all the folks we’ve had with us on the pilgrimage have been a blessing,” he said. “It’s a wonderful sense of peace to have an experience of Our Lady and to meet the visionaries and experience their faith and their hope in the world and their love for Jesus Christ. It’s really powerful.” Michele Moore also shared her experience on the trip outside the church. According to Moore, this was her second time coming to the area. She said both trips were spiritual and transforming in different ways. “I hope that everyone here takes [their] devotion back, to the rosary and Our Mother, back to the U.S. and really uses it …,” she said. “And also gives it … to other people [to promote] the rosary b e c a u s e that’s what Our Lady wants.”