date: 21.11.2023.
The second day of the congress "Mary, the Queen of Peace" in Miami began with the prayer of the Rosary, after the workshops were held in which the participants were divided into groups by language. Working in groups was a valuable time for the participants to get to know each other and exchange experiences about the ways of evangelization in today's time. The work generated many ideas on how to more effectively spread Medjugorje spirituality in the USA through the newly established Mir Medjugorje Information Center for English-speaking countries.
After the workshops, Br. Danko Perutina addressed the audience again.
Dear friends, thank you for these two days. I am particularly happy about this workshop, which generated many new ideas. All evangelization is summed up in one sentence, which is "bringing people to the source of love", which is God. Whoever found God, found everything. That is the goal of evangelization, and then there are different means, different groups, different spiritualities, like a beautiful mosaic, like flowers in a garden, and the more flowers there are, the more beautiful the garden will be. But the goal is always the same: to let God's love touch me, to meet the living God. The Virgin Mary visited us and invited us to do everything we do out of love. She wants to equip us to fight against evil and sin. Medjugorje is not in Medjugorje, but it is where you are, where you spread the messages of the Virgin Mary, where I recognize my sins and renounce them daily, that is where Medjugorje happens, grace happens, a new heaven and a new earth happen. The law of prayer is the law of faith. He who prays a lot believes a lot. He who prays little, believes little. I invite you to begin praying and fasting for this newly established center so that the Virgin's message will spread throughout the United States because from here it will have a great impact throughout the world. But it is not possible for grace to intervene if the sacrifice is not offered. That's how it was in the Old and New Testaments. Jesus made a sacrifice for us, but we are also expected to make small daily sacrifices,'' said Br. Danko.
"Millions were reborn there. Those who have been to Medjugorje once will return again. Our Lady is the Mother of the baptized and unbaptized, Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims, Protestants, and she has a great role in the history of salvation. Even after she went to Heaven, she didn't stop fighting for us, but we too must respond to the call of the Virgin, because she is telling us today, to you and me: I need you. Every day we should ask ourselves what can we do for Jesus and the Virgin. Love is genius and I am sure that each of you will contribute with your talents and in your own way,'' said Br. Danko, who at the end prayed for everyone and answered the questions that some participants asked him.
At 12:30 p.m., the Holy Mass celebration was led by the Auxiliary Bishop of Miami, Msgr. Enrique Esteban Delgado, whose words touched everyone present.
"My dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate 33rd Sunday throughout the year, the last Sunday throughout the year because the next Sunday is the Sunday of Christ the King. But this Sunday is not quite an ordinary Sunday because we are participating in the "Mary, the Queen of Peace" conference. It all started in Medjugorje where six young people said they saw the Virgin Mary. Over the years, the question has always been raised as to whether apparitions are authentic or not. However, the Church prudently investigated the actions and events that took place there and never declared itself either for or against. But one of the things I always asked many people who went to that pilgrimage site was their experience there. Their answer is that they found indescribable peace and an encounter with the Lord, which led them to change their lives and take up the Christian life more seriously. I was not there, but I heard the testimony of many people who found peace and conversion in that place. That is why we celebrate this conference of the Virgin, the Queen of Peace. I want to remind you that one of the foundations for verifying the authenticity of the apparitions of our Mother Mary is that she does not ask for anything for her, yet she reminds us to do what her Son asks of us. This means that we are living our call to holiness, which we received on the day of the baptism,'' said Msgr. Delgado.
At the very end of the day, the first meeting of the newly appointed board of directors of the Mir Međugorje Information Center for English-speaking countries was held. The meeting was attended by 10 members of the management board who discussed the future plans and activities of this center.
"Every time a new Medjugorje center is opened, the Mother makes us see that unity in diversity is one of the greatest treasures of our Church and that every culture, every people, every language are just parts that little by little reveal to us the beauty of the mosaic that is God envisioned for this great plan that he has for the whole world through Medjugorje, and that plan includes and binds each of us, because we are all important to him, and the more of us, the more beautiful the mosaic will be, and the Mother's message will reach more hearts'', it was concluded at the end of the second day of the first bilingual congress "Mary, the Queen of Peace'' in Miami. (FOTO)
