Bulletin
203
Medjugorje,
October 26, 2004
“Dear children! This
is a time of grace for the family and, therefore, I call you to renew prayer.
May Jesus be in the heart of your family. In prayer, learn to love everything
that is holy. Imitate the lives of saints so that they may be an incentive and
teachers on the way of holiness. May every family become a witness of love in
this world without prayer and peace.
Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 25, 2004
FAITH
ACCORDING TO THE MODEL OF SWEDISH TABLE
When someone expresses an opinion or wants to say something very
important, it sometimes happens to him to add: “But are you taking me
seriously?” It is quite legitimate; especially as we are all more and more
invaded by information, exhortations and directives that are not always put into
practice. In the inflation of words, the importance of the contents seems to
decrease. In the superabundance of proposals, we take for ourselves the right to
select what appears important and useful for our personal life. We choose what
we like. In other words, it is a life according to the rule of offer, demand,
and free choice. It is the logic of the market.
This same
mentality introduced itself into the life of faith. The faithful seem to choose
the elements and the contents, which appear reachable and acceptable to them,
while forgetting the fundamental significance of the faith as a gift, the faith
that implies the need for believing in an integral way and the need of putting
into practice of all that we believe. This approach of faith could be called
“a life according to the model of the Swedish table”. What does it mean? In
all that is proposed of the mystery of Salvation and of the sacraments, the
believer chooses only what he likes, which leads to all kinds of paradoxes: a
believer who calls himself a Catholic will perhaps go every Sunday for Mass, but
will not take his marriage seriously; he will speak in favour of life, but will
proceed to the abortions; he will ask for the protection of God, but will
mistreat his family or his subordinates, etc.
To be a Catholic means to belong to somebody completely. To be a Catholic
implies the obligation to believe completely and wholly all the truths that
Jesus Christ gives us through the Church, which he founded and which he makes
alive. Our first obligation is thus to believe and to give testimony of what we
believe, but completely. The Scriptures tell us that we should not omit or
modify even one iota. Faith is a serious thing. It requires of us to live all
that Jesus lived, and all that has been transmitted to the apostles. To be a
Catholic does not only mean to belong to a group or to an organization. To be a
Catholic means to be written in the palms of the hands of Jesus Christ, and to
put Jesus Christ at the first place in our life.
On this way, Our Lady is our best teacher. She believed completely. She did not
choose what should come and how that should happen. She listened and she served.
She is the expression of the first true Christian relation to God.
Fr. Mario Knezovic
NUMBER
OF COMMUNIONS AND NUMBER OF CONCELEBRANTS
During the month
of September, 165000 communions were distributed and 3806
priests from this
country and from abroad concelebrated Holy Mass in Medjugorje.
In
September, pilgrims were here from: Canada, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Korea,
Malta, Lebanon, Scotland, Austria, France, Portugal, the USA, Slovakia, Spain,
Holland, Ireland, Poland, Rumania, the Czech Republic, England, Hungary,
Australia, Slovenia, Belgium, Philippines, Egypt, Lithuania, Mexico, Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Croatia.
“THE
WALL OF LOVE” IN MEDJUGORJE
About
60 members of the humanitarian association “Bedem ljubavi” (“The wall of
love”) from Varazdin/Croatia came on pilgrimage to Medjugorje on October 6, at
the occasion of the 13th anniversary of its foundation. The theme of
this one-day long pilgrimage was “On the paths of friendship, of peace and of
love”. They climbed the Apparition Hill and visited other prayer places. In
the Adoration chapel, they had a thanksgiving mass presided by Fr. Mario
Knezovic.
St.
Francis’ “Transitus”
On
the eve of St. Francis’ feast, the Franciscan family all over the world
celebrates the moment of its holy founder's passing away from this world into
eternity, called Transitus. In St. James’ parish in Medjugorje, this rite is
celebrated immediately after the evening Mass. Medjugorje Friars, Franciscan
sisters, Franciscan Youth Fraternity (Frama) and members of the Franciscan Third
Order took part in this celebration. Together with many parishioners and
pilgrims, with participation of the choir of the Franciscan Youth Fraternity and
the children’s choir “Little Doves of Peace”, this year’s liturgy of the
Transitus was presided by the pastor, Fr. Branko Rados.
1900
kilometres on bicycle for an orphanage in Uganda
In
order to help the construction of the orphanage “Kumi” in the diocese Soroti
in Uganda, Alois Gerding from Senden (Germany) drove 1900 kilometres from
Munster to Medjugorje.
Together
with friends, especially the Eink family, Alois and his wife Elisabeth are
materially supporting several African priests and their social and humanitarian
work. The orphanage “Kumi”, which is led by Fr. Charles Osire, will take
care of 200 orphans.
Seminars
in "Domus Pacis"
There
was one "Prayer and Fasting" seminar led by Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic for
pilgrims from Germany.
The
same house welcomed also a youth group from Montenegro led by Fr. Franjo Dusaj,
a Franciscan Youth group from Herzegovina, and a group of young girls for a
seminar led by the Franciscan Schools sisters from Herzegovina.
The 10th International
Meeting for Priests
The
10th International meeting for priests will take place in Medjugorje
from July 4 to 9, 2005. The theme of the meeting is “The Eucharist and Mary
– Do whatever He tells you!” (Jn 2,5)
PROGRAM
July 4, 2005, Monday
13.00-18.00
Registration
of the participants in the New Hall behind the Church
18.00
BEGINNING OF THE SEMINAR
(Prayer of the Rosary, Holy
Mass, Prayer for health of body and soul, Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary)
July
5, 2005 – Tuesday
8.30
Laudes
in Latin and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
9.00
Talk
(Dr. Fr. Zvjezdan Linić, ofm)
10.00
Break
10.30
Prayer
15.30
Talk
(Dr. Fr. Zvjezdan Linić, ofm)
16.30
Break
17.00
Prayer
18.00
Evening
Prayer Programme
(Rosary,
Holy Mass, Prayer for health of body and soul)
July 6, 2005, Wednesday
8.30
Laudes
in Latin and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
9.00
Talk
(Dr Fr. Zvjezdan Linić, ofm)
10.00
Break
10.30
Prayer
15.30
Talk
(Dr Fr. Zvjezdan Linić, ofm)
16.30
Break
17.00
Prayer
18.00
Evening
Prayer Programme
(Rosary,
Holy Mass, Prayer for health of body and soul)
22.00
Adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament
July
7, 2005, Thursday
6.00
Rosary
at the Apparition Hill
9.30
Talk,
prayer (Dr. Fr. Zvjezdan Linić, ofm)
10.00
Break
10.30
Prayer
15.30
Talk
(Dr. Fr. Zvjezdan Linić, ofm)
16.30
Break
17.00
Prayer
18.00
Evening
Prayer Programme (Rosary, Holy Mass, Adoration)
July 8, 2005, Friday
6.00
Way
of the Cross on Cross Mountain
Confessions
16.00
Prayer, meditation
18.00
Evening
Prayer Programme
(Rosary,
Holy Mass, Veneration of the Cross)
July 9, 2005, Saturday
08.30
Laudes
at Fr. Slavko Barbaric's tomb
09.00
Sharing
of experiences, suggestions and witnessing
CONCLUSION
WITH HOLY MASS AT NOON
You
may make reservations by e-mail: seminar.marija@medjugorje.hr,
or by fax: +387-36-651-999 (for Marija Dugandzic).
We
ask all priests who have arranged their own accommodation with a family in
Medjugorje to note in their application the name and the phone number of the
family where they will be staying. We will arrange accommodation for all the
priests who have no direct contacts and have not arranged their own
accommodation. (Please note in your application if you wish us to arrange
accommodation for you.)
Instead
of a monetary payment, we ask you to kindly celebrate five Mass intentions.
It
is necessary to bring with you: your celebret given by your superior, an alb and
stole, a Bible, a small FM radio with headphones (for simultaneous translation).
Many
priests who do not have access to Internet may not have been informed about the
existence of this international meeting in Medjugorje. Therefore, we kindly ask
all Organizers of pilgrimages, Prayer Groups and Centres for Peace to publish
this information as widely as possible by all means at their disposal, so that
as many priests as possible may participate. In as much as it is possible, we
also kindly ask you to financially assist the priests who would like to come but
do not have the necessary funds for such a journey. We thank you in advance and
pray for God’s blessing and the blessing of the Queen of Peace upon you and
your work.
His did his pastoral service
among the Croatian workers in foreign countries (in Innsbruck and in Paris) as
well as in Croatia (Trsat, Karlovac, Novi Sad, Osijek, then in Zagreb), between
1981 and 1997. Since 1997, he is a director of the House of the Encounters
called “Tabor”, near the Franciscan monastery in Samobor, where he organizes
and leads retreats and recollections.
Most of the priestly and
pastoral life of Fr. Zvjezdan is dedicated to young people and the Franciscan
secular Order. Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, he helped a great
number of young people to know Christ the Saviour and to enter into the Church.
On several occasions, he taught theology. He is giving retreats for priests,
religious and laity. He is particularly known as organizer of seminars of
Christian initiation and seminars for healing and liberation.