date: 26.06.2023.
Today, on the 42nd anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje, with numerous pilgrims from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were also groups of pilgrims from: Ukraine, Italy, Poland, Romania, India, Canada, USA, Scotland, England, Ireland, China, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malaysia, Peru, Chile, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador, Lebanon, Korea, Austria, Germany, Australia, Guatemala, Spain, and Switzerland. Throughout the day, as in the days before the anniversary, many parishioners and pilgrims were at all Medjugorje prayer places, as well as in the lines for confession, and 20 holy masses were celebrated during the day.
The central Holy Mass celebration was at 7 p.m. with many pilgrims and concelebration of 285 priests, this Holy Mass was celebrated by the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina, Fr. Jozo Grbeš.
"We all know this is a holy place. We know that this is the place of many beginnings, that this is the place of new life, that this is the place of promises that have meaning. As the hymn says 'we promise you to be better than we were', that a good man can become better, a better man can become more perfect and a more perfect man can become holy. Therefore, dear friends, from wherever you came to be here with us tonight, let's start anew'', Fr. Jozo Grbeš said at the beginning of the Holy Mass, inviting us to ''ask the Lord to cleanse our hearts, so that he cleanses our intentions and our lives''.
The Holy Mass was preceded by a procession with a statue of Our Lady carried by the parishioners from Miletina, and the rosary was led by Fr. Franjo Brbor. The Mixed Parish Choir of Queen of Peace from Medjugorje sang at the mass, and members of the Trumpet Quartet from Trebižat played along.
Fr. Jozo Grbeš said in his homily that Our Lady sounds gently and that it is good to have a mother.
"We celebrate Her arrival in the birth and Her departure in the Ascension. We celebrate Her journeys and Her sorrows. We celebrate Her name and Her decisions. We celebrate Her Sabbaths and Her months. Together with her, we understand that with God everything is possible.
Her life begins with an encounter that marked both her life and our world and I believe us here tonight. Oh, how encounters can change. That encounter of hers begins with the words of an angel: Do not be afraid! You found grace. Not to be afraid is to believe. Oh, how pleasant it sounds when the one who has power, the only one who has power, says: Do not be afraid! Even in times when nothing is clear to us. Even then, God's riddles give us more peace than human solutions," said Fr. Jozo, who also asked himself: "If nothing is impossible for the Almighty, then why would it be impossible for us to believe that everything is possible?"
"Why should it be impossible to trust Our Lady regardless of whether she speaks through her silence or through her apparitions? When the impossible no longer exists in our lives, when everything becomes possible, then we start the journey... Then life begins'', said Fr. Jozo, emphasizing again Mary who is ''quiet and strong, gentle and strong, gentle and always a mother, always a mother''.
"He keeps whispering to us about love. Whispers are the mystique of love! A mother whispers the most beautiful thing that exists in her to the little child of her love. When we confess our sins, we do not shout, but whisper! A whisper is a sign of both love and sincerity. Our Lady constantly whispers and tells us what to do.
If Mary is the one through whom Christ was born, and she is, and if the Church is truly Christ's mysterious body, and it is, then she is the one through whom Jesus continues to be born in the hearts of those who believe that nothing is impossible. That is possible, my friend, for you and me. When you stop believing in the impossible, everything becomes possible with this gentle Our Lady!" said Fr. Jozo Grbeš, reminding us that Our Lady "constantly tells us how much she needs us!"
"Therefore, while we celebrate Mary, while we listen to the words: Do not be afraid, while we believe that the impossible does not exist, while we walk the path paved by millions before us, while we know that she tells us that we are needed, we know that Medjugorje is today the hope of a dead Europe, that Medjugorje today is the hope of the confused Church, that it is a light to the rest of the world, the beginning of something new, that it is a place of coming to oneself, that it is a place of peace that forgives because we know that the truth lives here, that here we return to the beginnings of Christianity, that here we are not afraid to remove the old man before God, a copy of this world, here we are not afraid to be the originals as He created us, here we believe in the impossible, here we whisper the most sincere prayers.
Therefore, when you return home, when you come back home, when you are again in the same place and with the same people, become apostles who live what they experience and believe what they say: 'Yes, it is possible'. Everything is possible with Him! Everything is easier with Mary. Let's start again when we get home", were the words with which Fr. Jozo Grbeš concluded his homily celebrating the Holy Mass on the 42nd anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje.
After the Holy Mass, there was an one-hour adoration of Jesus in the Most Sacred Sacrament of the Altar, which continued in silence until 7 this morning. (PHOTO)
