Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • December 10, 2021 22 We arrived late the first evening, and were gra- ciously greeted in the lobby of the Magnificat Center by the visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti. Over the course of the next five days, she would visit with the group, invite us into her private chapel for Mass, and even invite us to be present during her apparitions with Our Blessed Mother. During her apparitions, Marija would always recommend all of our intentions and prayers to Mother Mary, and each time, Our Lady would bless everyone present with her “Special Blessing.” Every morning Bishop Kihneman would lead the group in the Rosary before breakfast and each evening we would pray together with other pilgrims from Croatia, Spain, Italy, and Latin America in our respective languages as we awaited the arrival of Our Lady. Despite some inclement weather, most of the group was able to climb Apparition Hill where Our Lady First appeared 40 years ago in June 1981, and visit the Blue Cross, a place where many visionaries, prayer groups and pilgrims often pray, and where visionary Mirjana would often have her apparition of the Blessed Mother on the second day of every month until March 2020. On the day we were to climb Cross Mountain and make the Way of the Cross, we gathered in the morning and drew wooden crosses from a box, and upon each cross was written the name of a fellow pilgrim, for whom we were asked to pray during the day, and as we made our way of the cross. The Bishop and his brave priests and deacons lead those pilgrims who were able, up the mountain, praying for healing and everyone’s intentions along the way, and anointing everyone with Padre Pio and St. Michael’s oil at the top. For those who were not be able to make the climb, I brought them to the statue of the Risen Christ in the field behind St. James Church, where we prayed all the stations as a group. During the course of the day, I came to know the lady for whom I had been praying, and just some of the many burdens and crosses she had to bear. I prayed to Our Lady to please give her strength and to intercede with Our Lord to give her His Peace. Later that evening we shared our experiences and revealed who we were praying for that day. It was a very moving and emotional evening. Having been to Medjugorje many times, this was one of the most pow- erful, healing experiences I have ever encountered. Many tears were shed, and I know many prayers were heard, and answered. It is during moments like this that you realize that you are called to be on that very pil- grimage, and that you were meant to meet, pray and share with the others in this divinely chosen group. You realize that by sharing your intentions and burdens, you may be helping others in the group to grow in faith and heal. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, here to help each other realize our salvation and share in eter- nal life together with Our Lord. Our pilgrimage included many other special moments including being able to hear and witness the power of faith in testimony given by the young men at Cenacolo, a place of healing, where prayer and loving service has become a source of hope and resurrection for young people lost in the world of darkness, who are sad, marginalized, desperate, drugged. We had Mass and prayed for healing at the Church of Divine Mercy in Sumanci, we celebrated Mass at the Magnificent Shrine of Our Lady of Sinj and we were able to pray as a Universal Church at the International Mass each eve- ning at St. James Church with the local parishioners and pilgrims from around the world. I believe there are special gifts Our Lady has for each one of us that answer her call. But I also know that she has given us a “Special Blessing” that is meant to be shared with others. This Special Blessing given by Our Lady in Medjugorje,is an incredible gift and pow- erful aid for conversions. Our Lady said this about the Special Blessing: “The more belief you have in it, the greater the power of the blessing.” In this time of grace, God is giving special graces to Our Lady to give to Her apostles to help in the salvation of souls. Our Lady desires the Special Blessing to be spread. She said December 25, 1988 -- “…Today I give you my Special Blessing. Bring it to all creation, so that all creation will know peace…” Many may have already made the journey and received this Special Blessing in person, but for those who have not, or cannot, today I would like to share Our lady’s Special Blessing with all of you. To Jesus, through Mary, James “Jimmy” Hyland Hyland is the president of Catholic Journeys and a frequent visitor to Medjugorje. Mary’s Message From page 21 The play “Tolton: From Slave to Priest” was per- formed in several Catholic schools around the dio- cese. Following the play, students discussed the rac- ism the priest encountered in his studies and his voca- tion as a priest. “We had a discussion about the racism of that time, which led to a discussion of what is going on today,” Bishop Cahill said. “You have people talk about the reality of racism historically. ... In a sense, it helps acknowledge the present by acknowledging the his- tory.” Bishop Cahill said dioceses also should have groups that are open to having “uncomfortable con- versations.” “It’s hard to talk about race,” he said. “It takes a long time to build that kind of relationship.” Bishop Guillory said Catholics are blessed to be part of a faith that is representative of different cul- tures and racial groups. “Every culture has an opportunity to make a con- tribution,” he said. “(We need to promote) unity and diversity of the one faith as brothers and sisters.” Bishop Guillory said it is a duty of every Catholic to speak out when there is injustice and to educate others to “help people be informed and form their consciences from a Christian perspective.” “What we really need to do today -- in a group such as this and in our own parishes -- is to work with and get our people involved,” he said. “We have to get over this fear of one another. And some of it is under- standable.” Bishop Guillory said we have to be “honest with ourselves and our own history.” “In the same way, we have to be honest about the history of our own country; the history of the church,” he said. “Even the church was not always in a good place. Be honest with the history. Don’t cover it up.” Editor’s Note: The document “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love” is available at www.usccb.org/racism. Torrellas is managing editor of the Texas Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Galveston- Houston. Panel Race Relations From page 20 Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, to the diaconate, and to the religious life, especially in the Diocese of Biloxi.