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THE 800 CLUB SOMETHING NEW TO CHECK OUT ON DEMAND PROGRAMMING LIVE CAMERAS DENIS’ CORNER “…Thank you for being here!” Shadow on the Water Website I started Shadow on the Water to help the church rediscover her identity. We who populate the pews have forgotten that Jesus did not die for a powerless church. As sons and daughters, we have access to everything Jesus had access to in His earthly ministry. Shadow on the Water is a response to Jesus’s call to live fully the identity He gifts us, for which He paid such a high price. Join me as we rediscover who we are in Christ Jesus and pursue living a Kingdom life from that identity. Mike Nolan Read More Messages “Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!”Pope St. John Paul II Why He Is A Saint, the Life and Faith of Pope John Paul ll and the Case for Canonization, p. 168, by Msgr. Slawomir Oder, Postulator for his Cause of Sainthood  “In Medjugorje Our Lady is coming in a very powerful way… It is impossible not to see here the Lord our God. Impossible!…In all our churches throughout the world, it should be as it is here in Medjugorje!” Bishop Domenico Pecile, Vicar of St John Lateran Basilica, the Pope’s Cathedral in Rome. (Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Chairman of the Vatican Commission on Medjugorje, is the Archpriest of St. John Lateran Basilica.)

Spiritual Warfare Prayers “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:10-20 Every day today is a battle.  Our Lady tells us, “I desire to take you by the hand and to walk with you in the battle against the impure spirit,” (3/18/12).  Twenty-two years ago she asked us to pray and make sacrifices for her intentions, “For now as never before Satan wants to show the world his shameful face by which he wants to seduce as many people as possible onto the way of death and sin. Therefore, dear children, help my Immaculate Heart to triumph in the sinful world,”  (9/25/91).  That same year she called to , us“If you can, grasp the rosary, even a rosary alone [one rosary!] can do miracles in the world and in your lives!”  (1/25/91).  In 1957, Sr. Lucia of Fatima had said the same thing.  The weapon today is the rosary!  “And always keep the rosary in your hand as a sign to Satan that you belong to me,” 2/25/88). Though the Rosary is the weapon against the evil spirits, these spiritual warfare prayers may be helpful, and so we recorded them to help you pray them.

Novena Prayers O Jesus I Surrender Myself to YouA Prophet of our Time Don (Fr) Dolindo Ruotolo On November 19, 1970 Don (Fr) Dolindo Ruotolo died at the age of 88. Padre Pio once said of this priest from Naples, Italy, “The whole of paradise is in your soul.” His name “Dolindo” means “Pain” and his life was rich with this pain. As a child, a teenager, a seminarian and a priest, he experienced humiliation, which was the realization of the prophetic words of a bishop who said “You will be a martyr, but in your heart, not with your blood.” In his profound humility, he was able to hear the words of God. Even with his hidden life he was one of the greatest prophets of the last century. He wrote to Bishop Hnilica in 1965 that a new John will rise out of Poland with heroic steps to break the chains beyond the boundaries imposed by the communist tyranny. On this postcard, he wrote words of consolation for Poland and all the countries suffering under the communist regime. This prophecy was realized in the papacy of John Paul II. In his tremendous suffering, Dolindo became more and more a child who lived his self-offering to the Divine Father. “I am totally poor, a poor nothing. My strength is my prayer, my leader is the will of God which I let take me by the hand. My security over the uneven path is the heavenly mother Mary.” One of the treasures from the words which Jesus spoke to Dolindo was the teaching about total abandonment to God. In this novena, Jesus is talking to Don Dolindo, and also to you. Day 1 Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 2 Surrender to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything. It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in my care, so that only I act. Saying “You take care of it.” O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 3 How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need turns to me, looks at me and says to me; “You take care of it,” then close its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to me, instead, you want me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: “Hallowed be thy Name”, that is, be glorified in my need. “Thy kingdom come”, that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with your kingdom. “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, that is, in our need, decide as you see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to me truly: “Thy will be done”. Which is the same as saying: “You take care of it”. I will intervene with all my omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 4 You see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry, Close your eyes and say to me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than my loving intervention. By my love, I promise this to you. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 5 And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in my arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts and worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 6 You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse- to men themselves, trusting in their intervention,- this is what hinders my words and my views. Oh how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from my protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So, trust only in me, rest in me, surrender to me in everything. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 7 I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever performed miracles, not even among the saints. He does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So don’t think about it any more, because you mind is acute and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs, do this all of you and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things, I promise this to you. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 8 Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of my grace; close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in me, believing in my goodness, and I promise you by my love that if you say “You take care of it.” I will take care of it all; I will console you, liberate you and guide you. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Day 9 Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you? Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it.” Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless my name by humbling yourself. A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender, remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this:“O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!” O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) Mother, I am yours now and forever. Through you and with you I always want to belong completely to Jesus.

Helping Saint John Paul the Great Dear Family of Our Lady of Medjugorje, Consider partnering with Mary TV and Saint John Paul II to “give the gift to others with love and not to keep it for yourself!” (May 8, 1986 message). Place the attached ad in your local secular newspaper (either business card size or as large as you can afford). Advertisement:  Mary TV Ad (download this advertisement and send as an attachment to be the ad in the newspaper). And then also place it in your local diocesan newspaper. You can find the email addresses for the advertising sales representatives of all diocesan newspapers here: http://www.ourcatholicneighborhood.com/faith/evangelization/media/newspapers/u.s.-diocesan-newspapers Consider this your canonization gift to Saint John Paul the Great! Thank you for your generosity to Saint John Paul II, Mary TV, and to Our Lady and her children in your city / diocese! God bless you!   Denis Nolan MARY TV PS.  Below is an example of the text you can send to newspapers along with the attached ad:   Dear advertising representative, I would like to place the attached ad in your newspaper.   (I hope it will also be placed in the ONLINE edition of your newspaper. Let me know the cost. Thank you and God bless you! Name_____________ Email address____________ Address_______________ Phone number____________ PS.  The source for the quote from Blessed John Paul II,  “Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!” is “Why He Is A Saint, the Life and Faith of Pope John Paul ll and the Case for Canonization”, Rizzoli Publications, 2010 (www.rizzoliusa.com), p. 168, by Msgr. Slawomir Oder, Postulator for his Cause of Sainthood

Can You Receive Blessings Over the Internet? WHETHER OR NOT YOU CAN RECEIVE BLESSINGS OVER THE INTERNET  Recently there was a typical Internet-era tempest in a teacup caused by a blogger’s allegation that Mary TV was wrong in affirming that those witnessing a real-time/live Internet transmission of the Blessed Mother’s apparitions receive the blessing of being in her presence. Given all this manufactured heat, it’s time to shed some light on the matter.  We will rely on reason, Church teaching and the situation specific to Medjugorje. Let’s start with the relevant questions and then proceed to address them.   Can blessings be transmitted through electronic media when this happens real-time/live? Does Our Lady bless all those who are present at one of her Medjugorje apparitions? Can Our Lady’s blessings be transmitted across different geographical locations when she is appearing at one particular place – and specifically can it be transmitted via the Internet?   PHOTONS AND ELECTRONS Can blessings be transmitted through electronic media when this happens real-time/live? Regarding the first question, the answer (if you believe Church teaching) is an unqualified YES. The Catholic Church has specifically stated that papal blessings can be transmitted over the radio and other electronic media to observers/listeners when this happens in “real-time/live,” i.e., at the actual time when the Pope is giving the blessing even if the observer/listener is on a different continent.  To give a very recent example, on May 25, 2012 the Vatican announced a plenary indulgence for those attending the Seventh World Meeting of Families from May 30 to June 3, 2012 even when the attendees receive the papal blessing over electronic media:  “Faithful who are unable to participate in the event may nonetheless obtain Plenary Indulgence under the same conditions if, “spiritually bonded to the faithful gathered in Milan, they recite the Our Father, the Creed and other devout prayers calling on Divine Mercy to grant the aforementioned ends, particularly when the words of the Pontiff are transmitted by radio and television.” What’s the difference between physically witnessing an event and witnessing it in real-time/live over a video stream on the Internet?  It’s the difference between photons and electrons.  Those who witness it physically see the event through the medium of photons while those who see the same event while it is taking place use the medium of electrons.  It’s the same event seen at virtually the same time, the only difference being the respective speeds of photons and electrons.  The Vatican has attached a plenary indulgence to the claim that a blessing received via either medium is equally effective! If this is true of the blessing of the Vicar of Christ, it is especially true of a blessing from the Mother of Christ.   BLESSINGS ARE THE HEADLINES OF THE MEDJUGORJE APPARITIONS Does Our Lady bless all those who are present at one of her Medjugorje apparitions? YES.  From the very beginning of the apparitions, this is what the Blessed Mother said.   From 1981 the Medjugorje visionaries have often reported this remarkable phenomenon.  Remember that Our Lady’s voice caused the babe in Elizabeth’s womb to leap with joy.  Her very presence is a blessing. The specific blessing that comes by being present at a Medjugorje apparition has a real power.  To give two instances of the Blessed Mother pointing this out, consider the February 25, 1991 message which specifically states“I am blessing each of you” or the July 25, 1990 message where she says “I bless you with my motherly blessing.” The visionary Marija is especially potent on this point as she has said in several interviews.  Consider this example ( http://www.degrandisssj.com/links/readings/index1066.html):   Q: Marija, why did Our Lady say that She is happy to see us in such large numbers when She is referring to those gathered? A: Every time I receive Our Lady, when there are many numbers present in the apparitions, Our Lady blesses us and She asks, really from everyone of us, to be more near to Her and to be Her instruments. The more people are with Her, the more Her plan is fulfilled.   Q: So you would say it is important to be in the presence of Our Lady? A: Yes. Also the blessing of Our Lady is important.   Q: How does the apparition affect our soul when we are in Her presence? A: Always we should be open for the graces Our Lady wishes to give us. Our Lady has said, “Pray for my intentions. The moment you pray for my intentions, it is then possible I can help you.” Then our hearts, our minds are open for the blessing of Our Lady, of the presence of Our Lady, and so in this way you become more open to receive grace from Our Lady and your soul is affected.   Q: So, being in the presence of Our Lady, even if loved ones are not with us, does it affect our loved ones and our family back home? A: Yes. Our Lady always says, “You are instruments. I invite you, dear children,” and so Our Lady said that you will become more of an example for others, when you’re back with them. You bring blessings to them of the apparitions. To us, Our Lady gives graces in the apparitions, when we are present with Her. For our family, our loved ones, the people who are near to us in our family, who thought it may not be possible for them to come and be blessed by Our Lady in an apparition, they, too will receive blessings from those who pray for them in preparation for and during the apparition. And so, every blessing from Our Lady that we receive in the apparition is not only a grace for us, but also…our families will receive blessings and we are able to give these graces to other people.   Q: Our Lady said in 1984 that there are particular graces available during the moment of the apparition. Can you explain what some of these graces are? A: I always say, the presence of Our Lady is a “big” grace for every one of us. Many times it is possible that we are tired, we don’t understand, we have unimportant problems, sicknesses, and we always are asking Our Lady only for help with these situations. But Our Lady desires to give us more, a much more large number of graces. Not only does Our Lady give the grace of blessing you, but also She grants many other gifts for those present, to be more open for God’s Word and more open for graces that She desire to give to us, not only these days, but also throughout all our life. Also, She desires to give the grace for us to give thanksgiving to God for Her presence in the apparitions. This is a great grace. Our Lady said pray. The moment when you pray, you become more open and your heart is more open, and it is then that She can intercede before God and help you with many other graces She wishes to give you.   Q: Marija, when everything in your day goes wrong and your crosses bear down real hard on you, what happens to those life burdens at the moment you see Our Lady? A: Every time at the moment of the apparition, we, the visionaries, forget everything and we then become aware only of Our Lady and Her presence and more beautiful things are in our hearts. But in our mind, ‘we remember’ also those people who are present and in a special way, those who are physically sick, and those who are spiritually sick.   Q: So, if we are in the presence of Our Lady with you can we experience the same grace of our life’s burden being lifted as you, and how do we so this? A: Yes. Our Lady said pray. And I have seen, from the beginning, that Our Lady asks from us to be more open for prayer every day, more open for sacrifice, for fasting and after, we will see the fruit of prayer in our personal conversion, and with our conversion, we help also other people to convert and to be near to God.   Q: So, we can experience, in a sense, the same thing you experience in the apparition in regards to our life burdens being lifted? A: Yes. We have this experience in the beginning – Our Lady appeared and She became more important for us, and life’s problems, less important. Then, little by little Our Lady said, “I am not important. God needs to be in the center of your life.” In this way, Our Lady helped us to give our problems to God and instead of having problems, we had God.   Q: Why does Our Lady bless everyday in Her apparitions? A: Our Lady blesses us and I think the most beautiful thing is this blessing of Our Lady that is for everyone.   BLESSINGS OVER THE INTERNET Can Our Lady’s blessings be transmitted across different geographical locations when she is appearing at one particular place – and specifically can it be transmitted via the Internet? Once we understand that the celestial realm is not limited by our geographical constraints, we will recognize that the answer is YES.  If you believe that a Hail Mary no matter where in the world it is prayed will reach Our Lady, if you believe that she intercedes for you no matter where you live, then you can hardly say that her blessings cannot reach you no matter how far away you are from the site of an apparition to which you are “connected” on a sensory and intellectual level (via electronic media). MARY TV had said at the beginning that the visionary Ivan had stated that it was his opinion that the blessings that come with the apparition of the Blessed Mother can be transmitted over the Internet when this is broadcast real-time.  Cardinal Schonborn, the primary architect of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Ivan’s host, agreed with this assessment. Given what we have seen about Church teaching on the transmission of blessings over electronic media and the special grace promised by Our Lady to those who witness her apparitions, MARY TV feels a particular obligation to share this message of joy to all its viewers. Denis Nolan MARY TV (c)Mary TV 2012

Surrender Prayer form Fr. Paddy God, my Father, I thank you for all that you are, and all that you do for me through your son Jesus Christ. I praise you for my life, for your mercy and for your Eucharist. In Jesus’ name, Father, I place myself entirely in your Heart. I surrender to you my whole self, my heart, my mind, my memory, my imagination, my will, my emotions, my passions, my body, my sexuality, my desire for human approval, my weaknesses, my desires, my sins. I surrender every person in my life to you. I surrender every situation in my life to you. I surrender every relationship I am in to you. I surrender every concern I have to you. I surrender every fear I have to you. I surrender every doubt I have to you. I surrender all confusion I have to you. I surrender all sadness I am experiencing in my heart to you. I surrender all my wounds to you. I surrender all anxiety and worry I have to you. I surrender all that deceives me in my heart to you. I trust you to care for me and others in a perfectly loving way. As I have emptied myself, and surrendered everything to you, I ask you now, Father, to fill me with your Holy Spirit and all the gifts and fruits of your Spirit. Holy Spirit you are the source of love, hope, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, tenderness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. Purify my desires. Help me to open my heart to you. Help me to become perfectly receptive as a pure child. Help me to believe in your love for me. Help me to hope in your love. Help me to receive from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus all grace and virtues necessary for me to become the person you created me to be. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Your son, God Almighty Father. O Most Holy Immaculate Virgin Mary. I entrust this prayer to your Heart, and ask you to press it to your wounded heart and intercede for me to your Son Jesus. Please help me to be as you are, a perfect disciple, an obedient servant, a true child of God. Amen.

Top Exorcists Lament Apathy To Medjugorje Ignoring the apparitions in Medjugorje is unforgivable for Christians, says Rome’s leading exorcist who shakes his head at those who wait until the Church has ruled. Speaking of “betrayal” Fr. Gabriele Amorth also lashes out at bishops and priests for being indifferent to the fruits of Medjugorje. Fr. Gabriele Amorth (born 1925) was ordained a priest in 1954 and became an official exorcist in 1986. For about 20 years he served as chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome. In 1990 he founded the International Association of Exorcists whose president he was until his retirement in 2000, now being honorary president for life. Throughout the years Fr. Amorth has embraced Medjugorje, and he has called the place “a great fortress against Satan” By willingly failing to pay attention to the Virgin Mary’s apparitions in Medjugorje, a great number of Christians have proven to be no different from pagans. Within this great number, both bishops and priests are included, the leading Catholic exorcist of the past 20 years said in a September 15 interview given to Radio Maria. Fr. Gabriele Amorth was speaking at the backdrop of the Virgin Mary’s message of August 25 when she said: “Dear children! Today I call you to pray and fast for my intentions, because Satan wants to destroy my plan. Here I began with this parish and invited the entire world. Many have responded, but there is an enormous number of those who do not want to hear or accept my call. Therefore, you who have said ‘yes’, be strong and resolute. Thank you for having responded to my call.” “How bitter, how bitter was the last message of Our Lady of Medjugorje, on August 25: ”Many have responded, but there is an enormous number of those who do not want to hear or accept my call’, Fr. Gabriele Amorth first commented. “Now look here; it is very sour, this balance. After more than thirty years! More than thirty years! Now if it is the pagans who don’t listen to Our Lady’s words, then that I can understand. But be you a Christian, it is not forgivable. Be you a Christian!”. Both volumes of Fr. Amorth’s memoirs have become international bestsellers However, according to Fr. Amorth’s experience, the indifference to Medjugorje goes further that that: “Even priests and bishops don’t even want to hear about it. It is not that they went there and then made their decision fairly after seeing things for themselves, no! They don’t even want to hear it being spoken about!”“The Gospel is so clear, it tells us how to discern! By the fruits you will know the tree! It has been 30 years when Medjugorje has given us fruits that are ultimately exquisite! Confession, conversion, vocations, graces of every kind! For more than 30 years!” the exorcist reminded on Radio Maria. “In the Old Testament God sent prophets to warn of the betrayals of the Jewish people. Now, here, to warn of the betrayal of the Christian people, also the priests, God sends us His Mother! It has been 30 years! Is it possible that people still do not hear? And as for those people who believe themselves to be intelligent by saying they wait until the Church approves? They are fools!” said Fr. Gabriele Amorth. Spirit Daily is circulating this story

Denis’s Corner, March 9, 2017 Regarding Article written by the Bishop of Mostar-Dunvo March 9, 2017 The following may help those confused by a recent article written by the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and posted on his Diocesan website on February 26, 2017, trying to bring an end to events taking place in his diocese – while at the same time the Pope is sending his envoy into his diocese to care for those events! As the bishop of Warsaw-Prague (Poland) prepares to go to Medjugorje as the Pope’s special envoy, the Catholic media is spreading on-going attacks by the Bishop of Mostar against the authenticity of Our Lady’s apparitions there, even though the Secretary for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith had clarified in an official directive dated May 26, 1998 (Pr. No. 54/81-06419) that Bishop Peric’s negative opinion “should be considered as the personal conviction of the Bishop of Mostar which he has the right to express as Ordinary of the place, but which is and remains his personal opinion.” For 19 years the Catholic media has ignored this directive. When “Our Sunday Visitor” published this clarification from the CDF in its January/February 2000, issue of “The Catholic Answer”, the phrase “but which is and remains his personal opinion,” was deleted. The Catholic answer it was not. On October 9, 1998, five months after that announcement from the CDF, the Bishop of Mostar, Mons. Ratko Peric, went on record stating before witnesses that he had never met or spoken to any of the visionaries and that he didn’t believe in any apparition of Our Lady, specifically naming Fatima and Lourdes.  “I believe what I am required to believe – that is the dogma of the immaculate Conception which was issued four years before Bernadette’s alleged apparitions,” (witnessed in a sworn statement attested to by Fr. John Chisholm and Major General (ret.) Liam Prendergast; the bishop’s remarks were also published in the February 1, 2001, European newspaper, “The Universe”). Though the Catholic media in America would spread widely Bishop Peric’s June 15, 2006 demand for obedience and an end to the events of Medjugorje it gave little notice to the July 15, 2006 rebuke he received from Cardinal Pulic, the President of his Bishops’ Conference, (“Medjugorje and the Church”, Queenship, p. 183, 184). Bishop Peric’s predecessor, Bishop Pavao Zanic, had a similar attitude towards Medjugorje as shown in the published interview with Gabriel Meyer (“National Catholic Register”, April 1, 1990): “What do you as bishop want to have happen in Medjugorje?  What could the Franciscans and the parishioners there do to work with you?”  Zanic leaned back in his chair: “Simple.  I want Medjugorje destroyed,” (“Medjugorje and the Church” Queenship, 2007, p. 183). On July 25, 1987, Bishop Zanic, with miter and crosier from the altar of St. James church in Medjugorje, condemned all those who purported that the Blessed Virgin Mary was appearing in Medjugorje “to the lowest place in hell.” (“He expected to see the parishioners revolt, but they silently listened to him with respect, in spite of the deep hurt they felt in their hearts,” (Fr. Rene Laurentin, “Seven Years of Apparitions” the Riehle Foundation, p, 7, 8). Bishop Zanic had told Fr. Milan Mikulich, a native of Croatia and editor of “Orthodoxy of Catholic Doctrine” – one of the first priests to visit Medjugorje from America after the report of apparitions in June, 1981 – that if the Vatican didn’t accept his condemnation of the apparitions, “There will be a war in the Church!” Fr. Mikulich responded, “Bishop, I think you are fighting against Our Lady and not against the seers or the Franciscans in Medjugorje.” He replied: “If I lose there will be a war.” (Fr. Mikulich’s testimony was presented at the 1991 Medjugorje Conference at Notre Dame.) His successor, Bishop Peric, continues this same war. For example, when the Franciscan parish in Capljina was to be turned over to diocesan clergy, the bishop was advised to take several weeks, changing the priests gradually in order to make the change easier for parishioners. Instead, he removed all the Franciscans and staffed the parish with his diocesan clergy on the same day fanning the flames of an already tense situation. As he had been warned beforehand would happen, the parishioners revolted giving the example of disorder in his diocese that he wanted and has referred to ever since, (“Medjugorje and the Church, 2007, Queenship, p, 187). An article in the January 6, 1991 issue of “Slobodna Dalmacija” quoting Archbishop Frane Franic, the President of the Doctrinal Commission of the Yugoslav Bishops Conference (BYC), was not spread in the English speaking world. Archbishop Franic reported on a November 27, 28, 1990 meeting of the BYC gathered in Zagreb in special session, preliminary to the Zadar meeting of April 10, 1991: “The bishops used this ambiguous sentence because they did not want to humiliate Bishop Pavao Zanic of Mostar who constantly claimed that Our Lady did not appear to the seers. When the Yugoslav Bishops discussed the Medjugorje issue, they told Bishop Zanic that the Church was not giving a final decision on Medjugorje and consequently his opposition was without any foundation. Hearing this, Bishop Zanic began to cry and to shout, and the rest of the bishops then quit any further discussion.” The result was dissemination of Bishop Zanic’s press release that he sent to the Italian Catholic News Service presenting his own version of that meeting: “Yugoslav Bishops Say Medjugorje Not Supernatural.” On March 29, 2010, seven years before reporting that the Pope was sending a special envoy to Medjugorje, Rome Reports aired an initiative of Pope Benedict XVl: “Vatican Considering the Creation of a New Diocese for Medjugorje,” stating, “The project was proposed in September 2009, but it was not carried out due to the lack of support from the bishop of the area, Ratko Peric.” On September 6, 2008, I received a letter from the Assessor to the Holy See, Monsignor Gabriele Caccia, thanking me for having sent the Holy Father the DVD “Medjugorje and the Mission of Mary TV”: “I am writing at the direction of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVl to acknowledge the receipt of your letter and gift.”  I had also thanked him for writing the introduction to Cardinal Bertone’s book, “The Last Secret of Fatima” expressing my gratitude that the Cardinal had included a chapter on Medjugorje.   “I am pleased to assure you of His Holiness’s gratitude.”  On August 13, 2008, the longtime secretary to Pope St. John Paul II, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, wrote to me: “I received your letter from July 25, 2008 with two DVD’s containing the programs of Medjugorje.  In fact, the Servant of God was very interested in Medjugorje, and sent Card. Joseph Ratzinger to know the theological position.” On March 25, 1984 Pope John Paul II said, “Medjugorje is the fulfillment and continuation of Fatima!” (‘Medjugorje and the Church”, Queenship, p. ix), and on February 24, 1990: “Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!”  (“Why He Is a Saint: The Life and Faith of Pope John Paul ll and the Case for Canonization”, Msgr. Slawomir Oder, postulator for his Cause of Canonization; Rizzoli, 2010, p.168). On December 8, 1992, Pope John Paul II wrote to his friend Marek Skwarnicki in Poland in his own hand: “I thank Sofia for everything concerning Medjugorje.  I too go there every day as a pilgrim in my prayers.  I unite in my prayers with all those who pray there or receive a call for prayer from there.  Today we have understood this call better.  I rejoice that our time is not lacking people of prayer and apostles!” (“John Paul ll: I send you Greetings and Bless You – The Pope’s Private Letters”, Swiat Ksiazki-Bertelsman Media Sp. Z.o.o., Warszwa, Poland, 2000 / and “Medjugorje and the Church”, Queenship, p. 153). On April 6, 1995 Pope John Paul ll stated publicly: “I want to go to Medjugorje,” (Slobodna Dalmacija, April 8, 1995, p.3). Several months before the Holy Father’s June 22, 2003, trip to Banja Luka in Bosnia, Zenit made public a report from the Holy See that he also wished to visit Mostar. Though the government had extended an invitation, local media reported the Bishop of Mostar’s response that it would be a mistake for the Pope to come into his diocese (as he told the media every time the Pope traveled to Croatia or Bosnia). And so the Holy Father had to content himself on that trip – his last to the country – with only visiting Banja Luka, the Serbian capital of Bosnia. Previously he had visited the Muslim capital, Sarajevo, twice. He was never able to visit Mostar, the Catholic capital of Bosnia. Bishop Ratko Peric, the Ordinary of the diocese that incorporates St. James Parish in Medjugorje, would not sanction Pope John Paul ll coming into his diocese. The Blessed Mother is calling to us through her messages to pray for the shepherds, not to judge them.  She will triumph alongside them she tells us.   “Again I am warning you, pray for those whom my Son called, whose hands he blessed and whom He gave as a gift to you.  Pray, pray, pray for your shepherds.  Thank you,” (April 2, 2013).  “My apostles, pray for your Church, love and do works of love.  No matter how betrayed or wounded, it is here because it comes from the Heavenly Father.  Pray for your shepherds so that in them you may see the greatness of the love of my Son.  Thank you,” (June 2, 2016).   Denis Nolan www.MaryTV.tv March 9, 2017   My book “Medjugorje and the Church”, which carries a Nihil Obstat, is available from Queenship Publishing <http://www.queenship.org/>. It brings to light more on this subject. Don’t miss the footnotes! PPS.  Archbishop Henryk Hoser to Aleteia:We should not be worried about Medjugorje! Read Article

Response to Register article on Medjugorje – March 14, 2017 March 24, 2017 “Faithful Await Vatican Verdict on Medjugorje: Cardinal Francis Arinze, whose new book about Marian veneration will be released this month, tells the Register ‘it’s not so simple’ for Rome to rule on the matter.”   It’s puzzling that the March 14, 2017 National Catholic Register article (headline above) didn’t cite anyone who was well-informed on Medjugorje.  The principal sources for the story were veteran anti-Medjugorje partisans Donel Foley and Bishop Ratko Peric (see: https://marytv.tv/?cat=5 ).  Perhaps things are “not so simple” because articles like this amplify and propagate the confusion they themselves create. In an older variation of their assault on the apparition, Foley and Peric wield as their weapon early transcripts of conversations with the visionaries. These transcripts are “the key to understanding Medjugorje,” Foley believes, as they “reveal the serious problems with accepting the visions as genuinely supernatural,” an aspect he highlighted in his book.  Foley hopes that more people will pay attention to them, and he would like the Vatican to publish “an agreed and authentic” multilingual version of the transcripts to help the ordinary faithful “better understand the phenomena of Medjugorje.” What Foley does not mention, although he is well aware of it, is that the version of the transcripts he cites was produced at the beginning of the phenomenon by two local Communist Party members operating under orders to end the apparitions. The two members were the nephew and niece of Fr. Ivo Sivric, a Croatian priest who moved to the USA a long time ago.  When his relatives fell into disgrace for their efforts, Fr. Sivric sought to sabotage Medjugorje by publishing doctored versions of the transcript in English.  Foley, E. Michael Jones and others then built their whole case against Medjugorje around these transcripts. The whole affair calls to mind the famous “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” produced by anti-Semites but publicized as having been written by Jews – and then used to justify attacks on the Jews. Anyone can write transcripts – and if it came from a declared enemy why should I trust them if I can’t listen to the actual tapes? All this “he said-she said” kind of argument may have left the debate in the same situation as that reported by the Register if not for one major recent headline not mentioned in the story or by Foley, Peric, et al.  Authentic transcripts of the actual tape-recorded conversations were recently published as Medjugorje: The First Daysby Fr. James Mulligan.  The book has “a full, un-redacted transcript of 22 tape recorded interviews and on-the-spot commentaries with the visionaries.” A comparison between these transcripts and the snarky Sivric version not only exposes the deceit of the latter but also testifies to the transparency and innocence of the visionaries in the first days of the apparition! They support the authenticity of the apparition rather than the other way around as Foley-Peric would have us believe. In an additional attempt to cast aspersions on these events, the article draws attention to what it thinks reveals Pope Francis’ negative opinion of Medjugorje: Some believe he appeared to allude to the apparitions when, in a talk to 140 superiors general of male religious orders and congregations last November he said the real Madonna is not “at the head of a post office,” every day sending “a different letter that says, “my children, do this, and then the next day do that.” It’s more likely the pope was referring to the apparitions in San Nicolas, Argentina, with which he is very familiar, and not Medjugorje.   After returning from Rome last week, Bishop Hugo Santiago, of San Nicolás, declared the on-going messages being given by Our Lady there could no longer be disseminated (March 18, 2017, “Crux”). In sharp contrast the pope is sending his personal envoy to Medjugorje next week to oversee the pastoral care of pilgrims who are coming from all over the world.  And the Papal envoy hasn’t concealed his joy! (“Archbishop Henryk Hoser to Aleteia: We should not be worried about Medjugorje!” Aleteia, March 15, 2017,  Read Article) The Register’s article notes: For Cardinal Arinze, the pastoral effects of Medjugorje are “the most important thing.  If the effects are good,” he said, “we rejoice.” Important for Cardinal Francis Arinze are the positive effects Medjugorje has had on the faithful who visit. “One point that is not doubted is that people who go there actually repent.  They actually go to confession, go to Mass — that is, they become better Christians…. So it is a shrine.” On October 10, 2007 Cardinal Arinze thanked me for my book, “Medjugorje and the Church”.  “May God bless you for the great diligence put into producing this well-documented work which I shall read with great interest.”  For 25 years, readers of Catholic print media in the US have been bombarded with dishonest reporting on Medjugorje.  I suggest their readers take a look at my book (which carries a Nihil Obstat) to consider the other side.  (Medjugorje and the Church, Queenship Publishing) Denis Nolan MaryTV.tv