A testimony: Jorge de Jesús Loria Padilla – Centro Maria Reina de la Paz Toluca (Mexico)

date: 05.11.2007.

In September 2007, Jorge de Jesús Loria Padilla, founder and leader of the Peace Center in Toluca in Mexico, visited Medjugorje. He not only organizes pilgrimages to Medjugorje but he is also currently translating Fr. Slavko Barbaric’s books into Spanish for Mexico.

This is his testimony:

 

I have been coming to Medjugorje since 1989. At that time, the communist regime was still governing this country. I also came here with my wife in 1993, during the war. It was then that I felt called to bring pilgrims to Medjugorje. Since 1996 I have been coming regularly to Medjugorje twice a year, and on each occasion I bring about 50 pilgrims with me. My son Fausto also accompanies the pilgrimages, although at the beginning he assured me that he would never work with me as he wasn’t interested in religion. After some time, however, he felt something deep in his heart. Three years after he finished his studies, he asked me if he could help a little bit, and now we each accompany the pilgrimages in rotation!

When I came to Medjugorje for the first time, I was in a very difficult family situation… There was discord between my wife and I, and there was such discord in the family that she finally decided to go away for one year. She went to Rome while I remained in Mexico. She went away together with our son. When that year had passed, I went to visit her. That was in April 1989. I proposed to her that we visit Medjugorje together, because I had heard that Our Lady was appearing there. In Medjugorje, I experienced change deep within myself. When we returned to Mexico, a new life started for us.

At that time I came to know Luis Siman from Florida who was translating Fr. Slavko’s books into Spanish for Central and South America. He asked me if I would help him. Initially, I was only distributing books, and then I began publishing them for Mexico. We founded an Association and opened an office. In Bolivia, I met a lady who explained to me how to do it. She took me to her home, showed me a room which served as an office, and she told me: “This is the Center of the Queen of Peace for Bolivia”! Encouraged by the simplicity of what I saw in Bolivia, I initiated a Peace Center in Mexico! Now, we have an office of about 100 square meters where 4 or 5 people work full time. In addition to publishing Fr. Slavko’s books, our mission now is to publish other catholic books as well, which we try to distribute to all people. Once a week, every Tuesday, we go to our parish church for a prayer meeting. We have Adoration, Holy Mass, confessions… and also every two months we have a recollection day, while once a year we have a retreat. We organize two pilgrimages annually. On this particular occasion five priests have accompanied us.

About 80% of Mexicans are Catholic. Mexico has 105 million inhabitants, but religious practice is in decay. Our politicians are socialists. Our laws favor abortion, same sex marriages and euthanasia… not good! About 30 years ago all Mexicans were Catholic. Now, only about 80% are Catholic of whom only about 8% attend Sunday Mass. Mexican Catholics do not know their faith any more…

 

I would like to share with you something that I have experienced recently, just shortly before coming to Medjugorje in fact. We first went to Rome for a few days. We had booked accommodation in an inn run by religious women. As per usual, on arrival, I distributed the keys for their rooms to my pilgrims. I noticed an unfamiliar face, but I thought that it was just a young man working in the inn. The distribution of the keys took me about 40 minutes. He was there all of that time, observing me… When I had finished, I went up to my own room, left my belongings there and went back to the lobby to fetch another suitcase. In the meantime, he stole all my things and disappeared. My documents, the money… a lot of money for the needs of the group, were gone. Police officers came and saw his face and his behavior as recorded by the surveillance cameras. As a result of all of this, I had two dreadful days. I came and went from the Italian Police station to the Mexican Embassy, to acquire new documents, while at the same time caring for the group of pilgrims and visiting the four major basilicas. There was only one thought running through my mind all this time: “Very well, all that has happened is my own fault, because I have not “paid my debt” to the souls in purgatory!” In Mexico we had published some books about the souls in purgatory, and we use some of the profit from each book to pay the Mass stipends. Before going to Medjugorje, I had not updated the account as I was supposed to have done, so I thought deep down inside myself that the souls in purgatory were reminding me of the correct order of priorities…

In Medjugorje, as is our custom on the first day, we were giving a talk on the theme: Why are we here and what is God expecting from us. My script for this talk was among my belongings that were stolen in Rome, so I decided to speak spontaneously, from the heart. While I was thinking about what to say to the pilgrims, I felt that the Lord was telling me: “You need no documents, no papers… you don’t need many things. Abandon yourself into my hands. You have to learn to live and to work while listening to your heart.” I felt that He was telling me: “You think that you are strong because you have documents, because you are educated, because you have prepared your talks, but without all that, you have no trust, neither in yourself nor in Me! You have to start anew, with a new mentality. You will be important for what I am doing in your life and not for what you are doing!” I began to understand that God was giving me a new orientation. I would need to change many things in my life. I was forever busy with material things while neglecting God’s inspirations deep within my heart. For example:  I was thinking about creating an organization called: “Catolicos unidos por Mexico“ (Catholics united for Mexico). I had recorded three hours of radio programming on that theme, but it wasn’t ever broadcast because the editor refused it. So now I think that we should create a Catholic Radio Station!

I am too busy with accounts with the result that I neglect spiritual things. I have the impression that now, at last, I have found a lost treasure. As I have distanced myself from God, I must now pray more to be sure to do His will. I believe that, through all of these events, the Lord is calling me to a deeper spiritual life.