Our Ladys message of 25 May 2005:
Dear Children! I call you anew to
live my messages in humility. In
particular, witness them now as we
approach the anniversary of my
apparitions. My Children, be a sign to
those who are far from God and from
His love. I am with you and I bless you
all with my motherly blessing. Thank
you for responding to my call.
Be a Sign
Once again I invite you to live my
messages in humility - says Our Blessed
Mother. This is a recurring invitation.
What other news is important besides the
only news truly able to change human
history? The good news is that God
became man to live in his midst; Jesus
Christ Himself is the Good News. All else
is vanity: What does man gain by all the
toil at which he toils under the sun? A
generation goes, and a generation comes
(Eccles 1-3).
The coming of Jesus changes
everything, not only history, but our own
reality; not only for man of the last two
millennia, but for every person since the
beginning of time. Even more so, all of
creation is redeemed in Jesus Christ; in
fact, St. Paul says: the whole creation has
been groaning in travail (Rm 8:22), that
is, it is being born into life.
All creation, especially the human
creature, must face this long and painful
birth. We are not alone; and I would dare
say that no other birth in the world is
assisted and guided as lovingly.
Mary is with us to assist and guide us.
In John (19:26) we were received as
children of God, and from that time on
Mary has never for a moment neglected
us. Now, in this special time of grace, Mary
is close to us as never before to repeat to
us what she said the very first days of her
presence at Medjugorje. Shes not inviting
us to add devotions upon devotions, but
to live that which we profess. This way
pointed out by Mary is marked by the
Sacraments, Holy Scripture, prayer and
fasting. The method is through trustful
surrender to God. Not words, but concrete
gestures of life are being asked of us.
Today our Blessed Mother calls us to
live her messages in humility, and
especially to witness them now that her
anniversary is drawing near. She is
clearly telling us that to celebrate the 24
th
anniversary of her presence at Medjugorje
we should authenticate her messages by
donning the cloak of humility. It is not for
her own glory that Mary asks this: My
Children, be a sign to those who are
far from God and from His love. This
is what Mary is concerned about. Those
who are far from God need a sign that
shows how He seeks and desires to be
close to them. Those who are far from
His love need a sign to show them how
great and merciful He is and that His
gratuitous love is not given according to
ones merits. These people need signs, not
words; they need to encounter Christ so
they can find the meaning of their own
life, and encounter the Love of the Father
and receive from Him the fire of His Spirit.
We can be that sign, despite our own
wretchedness, if with faith and trembling
we let Christ live in us.
Thank you, Mother, for calling us to
such a wonderful task. We know that to
be the sign youre calling us to be, means
to follow in Jesus steps. This means to
deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and
follow Him, but you are with us and you
bless us with your motherly blessing,
therefore, we are not afraid. With trust we
surrender ourselves to you so that the
Fathers will might be accomplished in us.
Yes, Father: wholly Thine in Jesus and
Mary!
Nuccio Quattrocchi
Young people: this is
your Summer!
Medjugorje 1-6 August 2005
Cologne 16-21 August 2005
Our Ladys message, 25 June 2005:
Dear Children! Today I thank you
for every sacrifice that you have offered
for my intentions. I call you, my
Children, to be my apostles of peace
and love in your families and in the
world. Pray that the Holy Spirit may
enlighten and lead you on the way of
holiness. I am with you and I bless you
all with my motherly blessing. Thank
you for responding to my call.
Apostles of Peace
and Love
In a world where sacrifices are
considered worthless if not unjust burdens,
Mary thanks us for the sacrifices we
offered up for her intentions. Without
making distinctions she thanks us for every
sacrifice. The important thing was to offer
them for her intentions, to place them in
her hands, for she knows what to do with
them, how to unite them to the one true
salvific offering made for the man of
yesterday, today and tomorrow; that is,
Jesus Christ who died and rose again for
our sake.
He alone can purify our own sacrifices
to complete what is lacking in Christs
afflictions for the sake of his body, that
is, the Church (Col 1:24). How consoling
for us all, especially for the sick! And what
a terrible waste of suffering that which is
not handed over to Mary! What a waste
of graces not received because they are
not asked for! Once, Mary said: In these
days of celebration of the Cross I would
like your cross to be a joy for you too.
Pray especially, my Children, to be able
to accept sickness and suffering with love,
as Jesus did. Only then will I be able to
give you with joy - the graces of healing
promised by Jesus. (11 sept. 1986)
Oh, to be aware of the treasure of grace
that Jesus constantly offers us! It is not a
question of inventing or planning, but rather
accepting, desiring and living His life in us!
When we receive the Lord in Holy
Communion do we not receive His Body
and His Blood? But what do we do with
Him once out of church? If Jesus is in us,
He must be visible, not us. He must
increase and we must decrease (Jn 3:30). Yet,
how large is our own person, and how
insignificant the presence of Christ in us!
All the same, Jesus is always there,
waiting for us. He loves us and continues
to love us despite the offences and
betrayals. The Father still allows Mary to
visit us, encourage us and guide us on the
way to Jesus, and His love is merciful in
our regards.
July-August 2005 - Echo of Mary, Queen of Peace, P.O. Box 27, I-31030 Bessica, Treviso, Italy. Yr 21 #4
A translation of the original Italian: Eco di Maria. Ph/fax +39 (0)423-470331; Email: info@ecodimaria.net
182
Mary not only thanks us, but she opens
the way for us: I call you, my Children,
to be my apostles of peace and love in
your families and in the world. Perhaps
this is the flower which blossomed from
our sacrifices, but the flower can produce
fruit only if it remains exposed to the sun-
Spirit, which is precisely what Mary urges
us to do: Pray that the Holy Spirit may
enlighten and lead you on the way of
holiness. When Jesus took our sins on
His own shoulders He opened the way to
God. That way is the way of holiness.
Holiness ought to be the normal condition
for all those who in every place call on
the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Co
1:2)
. All humanity and all creation have a
vital need for this revealing of holiness,
for the revealing of the sons of God (Rm
8:19
). We are to be apostles of peace and
love since it is on peace and love that the
family and the world are founded. We are
called to be her apostles that the peace
and love we transmit might be pure; her
apostles because the true apostles of the
last times - according to Montfort - belong
to Mary.
N.Q.
Young peoples
Summer!
Important meetings await them. And
from every corner of the earth they will
come, ready for moments of grace that
will see them united and festive around our
Lord Jesus who out of His excess of love
wanted to become bread and wine so He
could continue to remain with us.
WE HAVE COME TO ADORE HIM
This is the theme of two important
youth meetings this year. The first is the
youth festival at Medjugorje (1-6 Aug.)
which has never failed to grant young
hearts that thirst for God and the truth the
grace to return home with renewed hope
and healing. Another, more astonishing
event will call together an even greater
number of youth: the XX WORLD
YOUTH DAY in Cologne, Germany from
16-21 Aug.
In groups large and small, by twos
and alone, they will all converge at the place
appointed by John Paul II. It is a theme
that enables young people from every
continent to follow in spirit the path taken
by the Magi whose relics are venerated in
this very city, and to meet, as they did, the
Messiah of all nations, John Paul had said
in his Message for the occasion.
IMITATE THE MAGI
John Pauls recommendation to the
youth was that they be spiritually
prepared, in order for their hearts to be
all the more welcoming for Christ and all
the more capacious for the graces He shall
want to pout out into them: It is true to
say that the light of Christ had already
opened the minds and the hearts of the
Magi. They went their way (Mt 2:9), says
the Evangelist, setting out boldly along
unknown paths on a long, and by no means
easy, journey. They did not hesitate to leave
everything behind... Through imitating the
Magi, you are also making preparations to
set out on a journey from every region of
the world to go to Cologne. It is important
for you not only to concern yourselves
with the practical arrangements for WYD,
but first of all you must carefully prepare
yourselves spiritually, in an atmosphere of
faith and listening to the Word of God.
OBSERVING THE SIGNS
How many times God may have called
us, yet we werent able to distinguish His
voice amid the confusion and din of our
own little world. Thus JPII wrote: It is
important, my dear friends, to learn to
observe the signs with which God is calling
us and guiding us. When we are conscious
of being led by Him, our heart experiences
authentic and deep joy as well as a powerful
desire to meet Him and a persevering
strength to follow Him obediently.
ADORE THE LORD
In the stable at Bethlehem He allowed
himself to be worshipped under the humble
outward appearances of a newborn babe,
by Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. In the
consecrated Host we adore Him
sacramentally present in his body, blood,
soul and divinity, and He offers himself to
us as the food of eternal life... The Mass
then becomes a truly loving encounter
with the One who gave himself wholly for
us.
WHAT GIFTS SHOULD WE BRING?
My dear young people, offer to the
Lord the gold of your lives, namely, your
freedom to follow Him out of love,
responding faithfully to His call. Let the
incense of your fervent prayer rise up to
him, in praise of His glory; offer Him your
myrrh, that is, your affection of total
gratitude to Him, true Man, who loved us
to the point of dying as a criminal on
Golgotha. Be worshippers of the only true
God. Give Him pride of place in your lives!
COURAGEOUS CHOICES
Listening to Christ and worshipping
Him leads us to make courageous choices,
to take what are sometimes heroic
decisions. Jesus is demanding, because He
wishes our genuine happiness. He calls
some to give up everything to follow Him
in the priestly or consecrated life. Those
who hear this call must not be afraid to
say yes and to generously set about
following Him as His disciples. There is
also the specific vocation of all baptised
Christians: the high standard of ordinary
Christian living expressed in holiness.
TIME FOR AUTHENTIC WITNESS
So many of our contemporaries do not
yet know the love of God or seek to fill
their hearts with trifling substitutes. It is
therefore urgently necessary for us to be
witnesses to love contemplated in Christ.
JOHN PAUL WILL BE THERE
The Pope who invited the youth to
Cologne may not be physically present, but
he will be in spirit, together with Mary,
and there he will encounter each one
present in the secret of the heart. My dear
young people as you move forward in
spirit towards Cologne, the pope will
accompany you with his prayers. May
Mary, Eucharistic woman and Mother of
Wisdom, support you along the way,
enlighten your decisions, and teach you to
love what is true, good and beautiful. May
she lead you all to her Son, who alone can
satisfy the innermost yearnings of the
human mind and heart. Go with my
blessing!
(Editor)
Inner quest and freedom:
wings for young hearts
When I went to see her it was about 9
in the morning and she was in the vegetable
plot, weeding. She greeted me, as usual,
with her beautiful smile which reveals her
profound happiness. Its time for you
young people to start taking our place,
she said to me as she dusted off her apron
and indicated two chairs nearby.
Leave everything to follow the
Lord, she had said to me the day I told
her Id be entering a religious Community.
For me it was a demanding step that
required total trust not that I had much
to leave behind me, but Id do it over and
over again! And I was moved by the
conviction of this old nun. Every time I
visit Sr. Miriam I come away richer, like
the time our conversation fell on religious
vows: Poverty?, she exclaimed. You
take a vow of poverty out of free choice,
just as you do for obedience and chastity
out of free choice!
Yeah, freedom! Freedom is
fundamental for the young. Instead, it
is the distorted interpretation of freedom
that is causing the decline in todays young
generations.
There is an external freedom and
no matter how great this might be it can
never be total and true. Doing whatever
one likes can never satisfy the deep desire
we each have for life. The more we follow
this false freedom the more we see its
inconsistency. Then there is an inner
freedom; it is the freedom God granted
us and in a certain way it is the most
important part of our being which is in
His image and likeness. With our will we
can choose life or death, good or evil,
decide for Gods Commandments and His
laws that are impressed in our souls, or
decide the opposite.
Its true that the great choices of
life are a bit scary for young people to
face,
because
choice
implies
renouncement. And we dont always see
that if we are decisive and are willing to
renounce, we are led to true freedom, the
freedom to be what we really are: that is,
Gods chosen people, whom He loves.
Fear paralyzes many young
people, but the alternative is a type of
passive expectation that doesnt reflect life
as it is meant to be. When I decided to
consecrate my life to God I wasnt
concerned with what Id be giving up for
I had already experienced that renunciation
opens the way to the priceless gift of
2
freedom. Rather, it was the case of
removing the superfluous to make space
for the only really important thing.
Entering Community doesnt mean
giving up friends, or university, or family
affection. And it doesnt mean giving up
ones youth. To me it means choosing
something much more important,
something so great that it supersedes and
embraces all the rest.
Closing myself up in the convent as
I would sometimes say with irony, is to
receive the best, the most, all that the Lord
will want to grant me. But some would
question - at nineteen years of age, why
cant you wait a bit more, to see a bit more
of the world, experience something else
of the world
?
The more I was able to set aside my
own will, and the more inner space I
gave to God, the more I became
convinced that I am losing nothing of what
is really important for my own personal
formation. How could I wait even a month
longer when it is already clear to me that I
have to place all my enthusiasm; all that I
am and all that I have, at the service of the
Queen of Peace?!
It is this inner openness and quest
for the truth that so characterizes
young people. Being young is not being
satisfied with intermediate arrival points.
Its being receptive, and always willing to
learn. When we are free of prejudice and
of the fear of losing our human security it
is then that our hearts are open and able to
recognize the voice of God even in those
who may have less experience than us.
This inner quest and freedom are
as two wings which lift you up during
lifes adventure, into your future which
is a gift of Christ; and it cant be faced if
not with hope and joy. It takes this
youthfulness of heart to advance in the
spiritual journey. The Most Holy Trinity is
youthfulness, newness without end, and
at times this novelty can turn everything
upside down, but if we let ourselves be
continually won over, if we surrender
ourselves over and over again to Christ,
without clinging to the safety of what we
already know, we will advance in grace.
What a pleasant surprise to find
this youthful attitude in Sr. Miriam -
or in the not-so-young religious. It is both
encouraging and consoling for someone
like me who has chosen this same path. I
had many times heard say that God is the
fount of true youthfulness, without really
understanding its full meaning, but now it
has taken on a lot of meaning, especially
when I speak to my big brothers and
sisters and see how their hearts are like
open channels for Gods love, and that they
have allowed themselves to become His
instruments so that God can continue to
be present in our midst.
Thanks to the witness of people like
these and Sr. Miriam I know that I need
not fear that as I grow old I will not lose a
part of myself. And with all my inner
freedom I bless the Lord and say: To You
Lord I give my youthfulness, to You I
entrust my future which is unknown to
me. All I ask is that my love for You might
grow more with every passing day!
Francesco Cavagna
Young Hearts beat for Church!
decided to push wide open the doors
without fear of being disappointed or
unsatisfied.
All the young people whove fallen
in love with Christ have a heart that
beats for the Church; it is their young
strong heart that is able to pump blood to
every part of the body so it can live and
work. It is a heart that works day and night,
without ever stopping, and it beats all the
more stronger when the battle is harder.
What power the heart of the young
contains! They have the future of the world
in their hands, and that is why the world
tries with every means to seize their heart.
What is the deepest need of todays
young people? Certainly that of seeing
consistency in those who are older,
particularly with regards to faith and
morals. It is thanks to the example of the
numerous saints of our times that many
young people have decided for God and
have responded to Marys appeal to
become her witnesses.
The family has a very important role
in determining the growth and maturity of
the faith in the young. The young need to
see consistency in those who consider
themselves to be real Christians; they need
to see demonstrations of this faith, not
compromise.
Jesus prayed for the unity of Gods
children on the vigil of His Passion: Even
as thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee,
may they be one, so that the world may
believe that Thou hast sent me (cf. Jn
17:21). In this relationship of love and
reciprocal respect amongst the young and
not-so-young the Church may advance
courageously, and face the various
difficulties of every day, precisely because
of this unity. Jesus prayed for this, and
we are all called to do the same. So lets
pray, pray, pray!
Alessandro Macinai
The human person cannot do without
love. People were created by God to live
for ever with Him in a communion of love.
Man is born for loves sake, he lives and
dies for loves sake. He is fruit of a love
so great that every moment of his existence
he yearns to return to the One who created
him and who constantly sustains him.
Nonetheless, it often happens that we get
to a certain point in our life when we realize
we never loved enough, that we always
kept something back for ourselves, that
we sought out the love of others, but never
loved anyone ourselves. But how can I
find something that Ive never used? Even
now, the grace of God sustains us and
speaks to our hearts in ways that are
completely mysterious.
It was the gaze of a young man that
awoke in me the desire to be happy the
way he was. I had seen him many times,
but that day I found the courage to look at
him more attentively. There were no
apparent reasons why he should be happy,
yet through his gaze and smile one could
see that his heart was overflowing with
love. What made this possible? For what
reason was he able to transmit such a desire
to live that he could bring dead bodies
back to life? I read his story written by
others and finally I understood why he
was a fount of love. It was Love Itself
that used him to transmit true life to others.
This young man never kept back the love
he received, but generously shared it out
with all.
Whoever really encounters Him, face
to face, has to fall in love with Him. Today
you can see the young people whove
decided to give meaning to their life;
especially those tired of pretending and
tired of taking the crumbs of life the
world offers. They are courageous young
people whove decided for God, whove
Through the eyes
of a Missionary
Missionary countries are so different
to our western society with all its
consumerism and evolution, that to
imagine the life of a missionary and the
mission itself is a rather arbitrary task. The
humble pages of our Echo are eagerly
awaited by many missionaries, one of
whom says: When Echo arrives I make
several photocopies and distribute them
amongst various remote villages of the
Amazon. Many are the courageous men
and women who have offered their own
lives to bring a reflection of Gods love to
the peoples who thirst for Him, to those
who often dont even have the right to live,
just because they live in countries less
fortunate than others.
We wish to dedicate these lines to
them, Gods littlest yet beloved children,
and to missionaries the world wide.
Francesco Bazzoli is a lay missionary
whos been working
for some years in
Congo and Rwanda,
two countries ravaged
by famine and
guerrilla war. He says:
In Congo there are
many groups under
the
control
of
warlords who work
with foreign aid. Here we have the Maji-
Maji: something like local partisans. There
are no rules, no discipline, no uniform and
one doesnt know whether theyre bandits
or what. Generally, these so-called
soldiers do what they want: they arent
paid, theyre armed with rifles, and they
use this weapon power to run down
others. Everyone is afraid of them and so
everyone stays quiet. With the war many
missions were closed, but the Bishop wants
to open them up again to work at bringing
peace, reconciliation and peaceful co-
habitation.
Hungry for God
During the important liturgical times of
3
Echo 182
the year Francesco accompanies priests
to remote villages for the celebration of
the festivities. I spent Christmas at a poor
mission in the forest. Those Christians
hadnt received the Sacraments for nine
years, so it was indeed a holy Christmas,
and Jesus truly was born into their
community. People came from all over the
vast parish, some even walked 100 km,
bringing just a little food. Like the Magi,
they came to adore the King of the world
in a long celebration that lasted five hours,
with baptisms, first communions,
confirmations and weddings!
Abandoned and poor, with not even two
fish to offer for Christ to work the
miracle! But they are rich in faith, and the
miracle will be repeated, because at Easter
we will go again, and we have already built
a tabernacle for the Risen Christ who every
day becomes host and food for us.
Humanity needs Christ: broken
bread
Like the missionaries the Pope never
fails to give voice to the needs of the poor.
John Paul II in his Message for the
World Day for Missions 2005 which he
wrote in February 2005, said: I invite you
to contemplate Jesus in the breaking of
the bread offered for the whole of
humanity. Following his example we too
are called to offer our life for our brothers
and sisters, especially those most in need,
and: The Eucharist is not merely an
expression of communion in the Churchs
life; it is also a project of solidarity for all
of humanity; it is bread from heaven
which gives eternal life (cfr Jn 6,33) and
opens the human heart to a great hope.
Jesus alone can satisfy humanitys hunger
for love and thirst for justice; He alone
makes it possible for every human person
to share in eternal life.
Missionaries, broken bread for the
life of the world
That Christ might reach the mouths of
people there must be those who carry Him.
That is why the Holy Father adds: Still
today Christ urges his disciples: Give them
something to eat yourselves (Mt 14,16).
In his name missionaries all over the world
proclaim and witness to the Gospel; they
too become bread broken for their
brothers, some even to the point of
sacrificing their life.
Interviewed by Francesco, Fr. Simone,
a Xaverian missionary who died last year,
said: We try to be present as much as
possible. Our presence is a guarantee for
the people; it nourishes hope. For a mission
to really work you must help the people
acquire a new mentality that teaches them
to forgive and live in harmony, in a new
way, and to nourish a sense of
responsibility so that each person after
so many mortal blows - feels he is a part
of the work of reconstruction.
That is why we missionaries must be
in touch with the people as much as
possible, by living even the same life style.
This means giving greater trust to those
on the front and accepting that they might
make mistakes. A missionary needs to be
seen not as a superior, but as a brother;
and this might mean putting ourselves
more in the background so that the people
can become more responsible.
Stolen childhood
Francesco concludes with this sad
note: I feel so sorry for children; you see
them holding kalashnikovs that are bigger
than them. They feel grown up, and when
you ask their age they lie saying theyre
older. One day I helped one of them to
ride a bicycle. I was holding the bike by
the seat while he swayed from side to side.
The whole scene was so silly, not because
he was little but because of the rifle over
his shoulder which he cant ever
abandon
Editor
Why missions?
a question of love
God so loved the world that He gave
His only Son
For God sent His Son into
the world, not to condemn the world, but
that the world might be saved through
Him (Jn 3:16-17).
This is the most beautiful
expression to describe the Christian
mission. Gods love dilates; His love -
originally paternal - expands outwards to
the Son and to all creation.
Creation contains within itself beauty,
strength, grace and grandeur because it is
a fruit of love; it is love that wanted it,
love that made it. Man is the vertex of this
fascinating creation. If it were possible to
descend into the heart of reality, thus, into
the heart of man, the heart of relations and
human events, we would discover this
truth: that the entire creation is in love
with its Creator!
However, this world that God made
for loves sake, this world in love with
God, suffers even if it doesnt know it
because love was originally contradicted
by man. God, who created the world,
loves the world; the world, in turn, is in
love with God even if it doesnt know it,
and is torn, and cries out and groans
because Love has been betrayed (cf. Rm
8). And the Holy Spirit purposefully
amplifies these groans so that in the
fullness of time the fruit of love, the Son,
will leave the Father to come and live in
our midst.
The Son of God came into the world
and found (or rather, prepared in advance)
a heart totally in love with Him: the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was then
that the love creation had for its Creator
became a conscious love in a subject
full of holiness and grace. That subject
was Mary, the Virgin Mother, who fell in
love with Christ, just as every mother falls
in love with her child; but in this love we
have the incarnation of the love of the
Creator and of creation. This first love
between Mother and Son was a complete
love: maternal, sponsal, fraternal, filial,
everything!
After Mary, and together with her,
is the Church. The little, humble
community, the Church, acknowledges
Gods love for the world and the worlds
for God. The Church flourishes wherever
in the world this loving conscience is
present. At the beginning this awareness
was in Mary, then in the first disciples,
and down the centuries in the Saints.
Saints are the most conscious
expression of the Church in love. Then,
theres the love of Christ which expands
out to peoples consciences and into the
world even to where it is merely a
foreboding, an expectation
till the ends
of the earth.
This is the story of salvation: it is
one great mission of love which gushes
forth from the Father and reaches the
whole world, then from the world returns
to Him. Christ is the organizer of this
mission; the Holy Spirit directs the
mission; the Church is the vessel in which
it is realized
What does all the rest matter? The rest
is closed up in this certainty: that God can
do as He wishes; He can reach souls in
the manner He wishes; He can make them
fall in love in manners unknown to us. I
am convinced that He makes the majority
of creatures fall in love before they die to
ensure theyll be with Him.
In the meantime, however, behold
the missionary work of the Church! The
mission of the Church is there where the
Church vibrates with this love, is aware
of this love, suffers for this love, desires
this love and wants to spread it. Love, you
see, needs to become flesh: the Gospel
which the Church preaches is love
embodied; the Sacraments are love
embodied; the Eucharist, in particular, is
love turned flesh and blood, turned
nourishment.
So wherever someone intuits this love
and offers himself to become an instrument
or vessel through which this living,
essential love can flow, there is mission.
So mission means to help others
become aware of this love. Every
creature has a seed implanted in it. What
we need do is make this seed fuller, richer,
more real, more total, more sponsal.
Missionary duty comes from the right to
love, and love wants to be shared, offered
up. God and the world, the Creator and
creatures, have the right to know and love
each other as much as possible.
We are all called to the fullness of love,
and thus all of us are both the subject and
the object of the mission! May no woman
or man say: A little bit of love is enough
for me. He who loves wants all. Thus is
mans heart! And thus is the mission.
(Excerpt:
Perché la Missione? by AM Sicari)
4
News from the blessed land
Yet another year of
Grace!
Its almost become a habit for us, this
appointment that recalls the first day the
Blessed Virgin began to appear to the six
young people at Medjugorje in 1981!
Habits are part of life; they give us a
certain sense of security, but we should
never become accustomed to them, to the
point of taking them for granted.
The anniversary of the 25
th
June
recently celebrated at Medjugorje and at
our homes should never be taken for
granted. In a way, our hearts are
accustomed to receiving intense
sensations served up by the mass media,
but the grace that is offered us through
Medjugorje is such that it should provoke
amazement in us every moment of the day.
The daily visit that the Mother of God
has been paying us for the last 24 years is
so exceptional and extraordinary that the
word habit is definitely out of place. Yet
many will be aware of how exceptional
this event was only when the apparitions
are finished; and well be feeling orphaned,
as with John Paul when he died.
In times of want we should understand
how well-off we were before. The older
generations that lived through the World
Wars would have a lot to say on the
subject. But we, children of consumerism,
grew up with different parameters and in
this world of disposables we feel uneasy
with things that last, preferring perhaps a
sweet that is quickly finished to the food
of every day which though bland is the
one that gives us nourishment.
Yet, the apparitions at Medjugorje do
have an every-day quality despite the
years; an ordinariness despite their
exceptionality; a normality even though it
is the Queen of Heaven who comes to us.
And they are marked by simplicity and
naturalness and it is for this that they
provoke the complicated minds of men,
spoilt by technology that continues to make
new findings.
Marys presence at Medjugorje is a
solid food that lasts and makes us grow.
Mary, as mother, hasnt rushed to teach
us with her messages. Every mother
knows best how to educate her children.
Mary is the pure gift of the Father for a
world where everything must be paid for;
at times even the right to live must be paid
for.
So let us open our eyes, as a child
would before something beautiful, and let
amazement once again flood our senses,
and purify them. Thus we can celebrate
the Queen of Peace who every day
wrings permission from the Father to
come and visit us - she, our advocate; she,
the mother of us all.
How many words, smiles, concerns,
and embraces in these 24 years! Do we
really believe it was all for us? But yes, we
must! And this alone would be enough to
express our gratitude and to respond
generously to her calls, and to surrender
ourselves entirely into her hands; without
keeping back anything for ourselves.
The grace that gushes forth from
Marys Immaculate Heart is too powerful
to let it lie inactive. Now is the time for a
decisive fiat, like that of Mary at Nazareth.
Her yes brought on the beginning of
salvation. Our own positive response
cannot be limited to a few devotional
practices or the recitation of some prayers.
Mary needs our life, offered up with
hers and the Lords. If we offer up our
life to God through Her hands, we will
become vessels of grace and instruments
of peace in our own environments; true
apostles and witnesses of Mary who made
her home in Medjugorje, and who calls us
her dear children.
Stefania Consoli
Immaculate with Mary
It is a fundamental truth of Catholic
doctrine that the immaculate life represents
the full realization of our baptismal grace,
and is therefore the compulsory finish line
for an authentic life of faith. Nonetheless,
even in our recent past, many good
Catholics, under the influence of worldly
reasoning, were persuaded to banish the
idea of spiritual immaculacy to the ranks
of a pious and noble utopia, good for a
gaunt troop of souls cut off from reality.
But also during the time of St. Francis
quite a number of representatives of the
ecclesial establishment considered
evangelical poverty a mere ideal that could
never be realized, but would have weakened
the Church through compromise and ruin.
Generally, this is the unexpected
hour of Him who: loves the Church and
gave Himself up for her (Eph 5:25). At
the end of the last millennium, in a
disconcerting off-hand manner people
were talking about a post-Christian era
(paradoxically, even in some ecclesial
environments). Instead, a mysterious
power of grace gushed forth unexpectedly
from the Heart of the Father; a grace if
accepted capable not only of saving His
Bride from the ill-omened prognoses of
some, but capable of generating in her an
indescribable splendour of unknown
beauty; a new face of light without spot
or stain; a new immaculacy which alone
can make her entirely ready for the
betrothal with Her Lord. That is why the
Father sent in the midst of mankind Mary,
the Mother of the Immaculate Life, to
regenerate the members of the mystical
Body of her beloved Son in the world.
In her message to Mirjana last
April, Mary asked her dear Children
whom she has chosen for this time to
renew the Church. The visionary objected:
This is too difficult for me. Am I able to
do this? Are we able to do this? Our Lady
responded: My Children, I shall be with
you! My apostles, I shall be with you and
I shall help you! First renew yourselves
and your families, and it will be easier.
But what does it mean to renew? It
means to receive in ourselves, and to
donate to the world the immaculate Life
of the Most High which is present in Mary
in a perfect way; that same current of
Gods pure love that through Mary is
offered to us with fullness today; which
alone can make all things new.
Mary is the true sign of Gods
extraordinary intervention in our
history. Her presence represents an
incredible response of love by God to the
multiple spirals of darkness that today, as
never before, appear to be definitely
suffocating the Truth and the Life of the
world. Hence Mary is present today in
such a special way, and calls us to
consecrate our lives to Her Immaculate
Heart: I call you to consecrate yourselves
to my Immaculate Heart
that all might
belong to God through my hands
(Message 25 October 1988)
so we can
become in Her and with Her a living and
spotless offering to the Father, intimately
united to the offering of the Lamb; He is
the Heart of light in the new Creation.
R
ISEN
C
HRIST, you take us with
our hearts just as they are.
Why think we must wait for our
hearts to be changed before we go
to you?
You transfigure them!
With our thorns you light a fire.
The open wound in us is the place
through which your love comes
streaming.
And within the very hurts
themselves, you bring to fruition a
communion with You.
Your voice comes to rend our night,
and the gateways of praise open up
within us.
Brother Roger of Taizé
5
To communicate the fullness of grace
to us and the entire universe Mary asks
only for our yes, a yes said with all
the strength of a free heart that burns with
desire for the Kingdom, a heart vitally
united to Her own. Today, more than ever,
this is the sole key able to open the Heart
of the Father and bring down on us, and
through us upon all creation, oceans of
the same new Life that endlessly gushes
forth from the open side of Christ and from
all the yess we say to crucified Love.
But why does Mary call us with such
impassioned insistence to come closer to
Her Immaculate Heart? On 25 November
1994 Mary, in fact, said: I am your mother
and I want your hearts be similar to my
Heart
therefore, my Children, come
closer to my Immaculate Heart and you
will find God; and on 25 July 1999 she
said: I desire that my Heart, the Heart of
Jesus, and your hearts be fused into a
single heart of love and peace. The
reason is that it is only through accepting
the gift of her own immaculate life that
today, through Mary, we are offered the
extraordinary grace of being - like her
lifted up and assumed into the embrace of
perfect communion with the Father:
which is Christs salvific work
accomplished in full.
Marys Assumption was the sublime
fruit of her perfect immaculacy; that is,
of her unreserved openness of heart which
enabled her to accept and donate Gods
pure love in all circumstances, even the
most crucial ones. By the grace of God,
this is the gift that Mary is sent to
communicate to her children and to the
entire universe, for the accomplishment of
the final recapitulation of everything in
Christ. In Him all will be assumed into the
Fathers embrace, in the unspeakable and
glorious vortex of Trinitarian Love.
Marys motherly calls of our times
are thus better understood. Hers are not
pious exhortations to become better people,
but impassioned appeals not to miss this
extraordinary treasure of grace being
offered to us by the Father. By accepting
this gift of grace we are immersed with
immediate naturalness into the fullness of
divine Life, to make us vessels and
instruments of communication of this Life
for the entire creation. It is thus time for
us to make our decisive response to the
call that the Most High is addressing us
through Mary. Our response ought to be
such as to immerse us permanently in the
ocean of ineffable light and life that gushes
from Her Immaculate Heart. What a
responsibility the postponement of our
long-awaited and decisive response to
God! Multitudes of souls await that
response!
Love is repaid only with Love! May
every heart yield to the untiring love of the
Mother! Still today she awaits our yes
to offer it to Jesus and thereby fill us with
the gift of Her own immaculate life which
alone can satiate our thirst for the truth
and life, and open us up to full communion
with the Heart of God. Only He is the fount
of resurrection and light, of the new
heavens and new earth that the world
awaits.
Giuseppe Ferraro
Medjugorje
blossoming
in Sicily
I was recently
invited to a parish
in Sicily (Italy) to
hold a Triduum in
preparation for the
feast of their
patron, St. Blaise. It was my first time in
this very characteristic land where Etna
stands out by day with its mantle of white
snow, and by night with its river of red
lava that appears to descend from heaven.
The deep blue sea dotted with little islands
is a spectacular sight, but the Lord gave
me to experience something even more
beautiful: the spiritual wealth of its people.
My experience in a parish goes back
to my four years as vice to a parish
priest. During that time I often
reflected on how to make the life of a
parish community more alive. Even
though parish life can be very intense, I
felt profoundly unsatisfied because of a
general superficiality of peoples faith and
because it appeared to me that we as
Gods people didnt do enough to
discover the wealth and beauty of the faith.
Then the Lord asked me to take some
new steps in a different direction. From a
diocesan priest I joined a religious
community. Nonetheless I still carry in my
heart the dream of a renewed parish that
truly can serve as an oasis for souls
thirsting for God and for the truth. I
discovered that the small Sicilian parish I
visited, with its small, simply adorned
church is rich with a wealth that doesnt
belong to this world.
At Medjugorje, Our Lady began to
renew the parish by gathering her
children around the Eucharist; and we
learnt that Adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament leads you deeply into the life
of faith like nothing else. At the parish of
St. Blaise I was delighted to find that Mass
is celebrated with dignity and with calm.
No one was annoyed during the liturgical
celebrations enhanced by songs (suited to
the Liturgy) and various symbolic
expressions even if this meant they lasted
longer, but rather, participation was intense
and real. The faithful lived the Mass as a
part of their own lives, and as though their
lives were part of the Mass. The parish
has even organized perpetual adoration with
the participation of 200 parishioners so that
all the hours of the week are covered.
All these signs of the faith are a
confirmation of what I already knew. Fr.
Carmelo Barbera, the parish priest, did
his schooling at Medjugorje under the
tutelage of Mary, for the Lord had granted
him the grace to live in Medjugorje for 2
years. The following interview of Fr.
Carmelo helps us better understand the
fruits of Our Ladys apparitions at
Medjugorje; fruits which bring the grace
of God to many other souls so that they
too can be bearers of the fruits of
conversion and salvation.
Padre Arpad Csapai
Fr. Carmelo interviewed
A Eucharistic Parish
Fr. Carmelo, you spent two years in
Medjugorje. How did you get this
opportunity, and what does it mean for
you now?
It was definitely a call by Our Lady,
and it was through a small article
precisely in the Echo of Mary which said
there wasnt an Italian priest in Medjugorje
to look after the Italian pilgrims. I took
this as a personal call, and I asked Our
Lady to provide a ticket to get there and a
place to stay as a sign that it really was for
me. Not long after this, whilst having
dinner with friends, one of them said he
had an extra ticket to go to Medjugorje
and that he wanted to give it to someone
Then, at Medjugorje I asked Fr. Slavko
about it and he confirmed that Our Lady
had called me to stay there so I could better
comprehend Gods plans.
I spent nearly two years in Medjugorje
(1995-97), dedicating my time to the Italian
and French-speaking pilgrims, celebrating
the Eucharist and especially confessing
which took up more time. I would confess
up to 8 and 10 hours a day, and it was
here that I witnessed the grace of God most
powerfully, most visibly and most
incredibly. I was in the middle of this grace;
it seemed so normal, yet it wasnt normal.
Only the grace of God can make
impossible things possible.
After this experience, is Our Ladys
guidance important for you?
When I left Medjugorje I particularly
asked Our Lady to accompany me,
reminding her that she had said: I shall
always be with you. I consecrated myself
to her, but more than a formula it was as
though I had passed through her motherly
womb at Medjugorje and was reborn. I
was given a new style of life, a new way
of thinking, and especially a new way of
being: of being a man, a Christian and a
priest.
Thats why I consecrated to her my
every step, my every work, my every deed
and pastoral activity and everything that
the Lord would have prepared for me in
the future. I am sure that Mary walks ahead
of me, preparing everything, because
everything belongs to her. Nothing that I
have is mine; it is all hers: everything that
I am and that I have. This state of
regeneration has led me to a new life which
wasnt always understood by those who
should have understood.
I began to live the five pebbles that
Our Lady recommends, and they have
fortified my priesthood. When I came back
the Bishop entrusted me with a little
mountain parish at Vigliatore (province of
Messina) which didnt have a resident
priest. The people were used to seeing a
priest only for Sunday celebrations. I
continued to celebrate the Eucharist, to do
adoration, to celebrate the Liturgy of the
Hours, as though it were a cathedral. My
thought was this: Lord, Im a priest for
You, for Your glory and for the salvation
6
of souls, whether they are present or not.
I cant reduce my time spent with You or
my love for You only because there arent
many people here present! Gradually, the
people began to come and to share this
way of living the faith. I was letting myself
be guided by Our Lady in living out the
Gospel within the embrace of the Church.
It is elementary that the parish should
breathe with the lungs of the universal
Church, with the Pope and the Bishops
through obedience.
I noticed parishioners live the Mass
intensely. Its what Our Lady said at
Medjugorje: that a parish community
can be renewed around the Eucharist.
How did parishioners first respond?
We began with preparation for
consecration to Mary. Gradually, the parish
became more sensitive to the mysteries of
God. After the consecration we received
a great gift. In fact, we have had perpetual
adoration for more than a year, day and
night, week after week, month after
month. It has been organized around turns
of 1 hour per week. So Jesus remains
exposed 24 hours a day with the certainty
that someone will be present for adoration.
Obviously, perpetual adoration came as a
fruit of the celebration of the Eucharist; a
Eucharist celebrated with attention,
without looking at the time, but rather at
the encounter with Jesus Who speaks in
the Liturgy of the Word, Who gives Himself
in the Eucharist
and in the need to
continue the loving conversation with Him
in adoration. Its a miracle! as there are
only 2000 people in this parish, and Im
alone, without a minister of any kind.
You dont have a minister, but there
are many people who help animate the
Mass and moments of prayer
A lot of help comes from the
laypeople
for adoration, for the
celebration of the Eucharist. But we also
have a fraternity called Little Flock of the
Immaculate Mother of the Divine Mercy
the members of which are five sisters who
decided to share a communal life; there
are also some brothers and some families.
These have decided to dedicate their lives
totally to the Lord, and as such they are
the yeast to the prayer of the parish
community.
How was this born?
This fraternity came as a response,
partly to God Who placed this call in my
heart, and partly to those who desired living
the Gospel in a more radical, evangelical
way. When I came back to Italy people
asked about my experience at Medjugorje,
but I didnt know what to say as it was an
experience that needed to be put into
practice. Instead, I witnessed that I had
entrusted myself wholly to the Blessed
Mother, that I had returned to her womb
and was born again. I proposed (to the
parish) a 33-day preparation of
consecration to the Most Holy Trinity
through Mary. It is Mary who can help us
discover that we are children of God, help
us live in the heart of the Trinity, and thus,
to offer up our lives to the Father for the
salvation of the world.
A vast movement called Behold your
Mother was born. Many from all over
Sicily have wanted to adhere to it. At the
moment six thousand have consecrated
themselves. Each lives his consecration in
a different way; there are those for whom
it is a mere act of devotion, and those
whove made it a life-journey. Within this
movement, Behold your Mother, was
born the Little Flockfraternity.
You mentioned the offering of self to
the Father for the salvation of souls.
What is your experience of this?
We feel that the Lord calls us to offer
ourselves to Divine Mercy as a holocaust,
a victim; not in a negative sense of
suffering, but as a gift - the way Jesus
offered Himself - and as a joyous,
conscious gift, the way Mary did. It means
to be a victim of love for the salvation of
souls, and this can be realized in the
celebration of the Eucharist, because we
unite ourselves to Jesus Who is altar, victim
and priest. As a priest I am powerfully
aware that in the Eucharist I can reach
out to the ends of the earth through uniting
my self-offering to that of Jesus. But it is
the same for each of us, for we are all
called to offer ourselves as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This
is our spiritual worship, says St. Paul. It
is to continually offer up to the Father the
gift of Jesus life, and the gift of our own
life united to His. Then, in day-to-day
living, it means to accept everything that
the Lord will give us to live, without asking
why, but knowing that everything comes
from the Lord and that we are to give
everything to Him under the action of
grace, as a gift, precisely to implore Mercy
and the second coming of Jesus.
Can you tell us a little about your
priestly life, and this grace that is
blossoming in and around you?
Through my priesthood I am truly
united to the priesthood of Jesus, and it
has a universal bearing. To be a priest
means to bring men to God and God to
men, and not just someone who officiates
at the altar or in the confessional; but a
service of thanksgiving and offering is
rendered to God through the priesthood
on behalf of mankind. Through the
ministry of confession I take to God all
the sufferings and problems of all mankind,
of all times.
At Medjugorje Our Lady gave me to
understand the greatness of the priestly
ministry, especially in the sacrament of
reconciliation. I had been worried because
in the ministry of confession I hadnt
noticed that people were being touched by
the grace of forgiveness, but at Medjugorje
I was given to see great miracles. People
arrived, burdened by their sins; and even
their faces were sad, stressed and harsh.
During confession I saw their souls being
revived, and their faces became more
luminous. After one year I read that Our
Lady had promised she would renew
priests in the ministry of confession!
In spiritual direction it is important that
a priest be father; that he be the image of
Gods fatherhood and motherhood
together, so that this father/mother
dimension of the priest can bring healing
to souls wounded by a human motherhood
and fatherhood that dont reflect the divine
fatherhood and motherhood. I strongly feel
that these are the times in which God
desires giving Himself to souls through
Mary, the Church and the priestly ministry.
As a shepherd, what does your heart
feel?
On one part I feel all the suffering of
souls who live a life of sin, but I also see
how many feel hurt by the Church, or
rather, by men of the Church who may
have refused them because of their sins.
Jesus says that this is not a time for
judging, but for mercy. Confessionals have
become court houses instead of being
places of mercy, forgiveness and healing.
Not only at Medjugorje, but also here the
Lord has placed me in touch with wounded
souls whove distanced themselves from
God because they felt judged by God and
by the Church because of their irregular
states of life, such as divorce and
remarriage, or the deviated forms of
sexuality of a lot of young people.
I strongly perceive this suffering.
People come, lets say by chance, but
the Lord makes use of many things to make
souls come into contact with the priestly
ministry, and especially during celebrations
and evangelization souls are given to
experience the attraction of love.
I know because I went through it all
myself. I experienced refusal; I thought I
wasnt good enough for Gods love. Then,
the Lord made me touch my own
nothingness and I felt I wasnt being
judged but that He loved me the way I was.
Then I understood that only divine love
could give me new life if I surrendered
myself to Him with complete trust. In those
years my prayer was: I give my life over
to You
That was the beginning of my climb
back out of the abyss of sin and wounds.
It was the Lord who pulled me out. I am
aware of my own wretchedness and that
despite this I am loved. God uses me to
bring His mercy to others. I thank the Lord
for my negative experiences of sin, and
for my wounds, for through these I came
to know Gods love, and I am able to
understand souls and they feel understood.
It is not a human thing, but rather, it is the
heart of Jesus in my own heart that
comprehends them; it is Jesus Himself that
listens to them.
Priesthood thus reaches out to
everyone; those you see and those you
dont see. There is a universal dimension
to priesthood that touches also the souls
in Purgatory.
You have clearly been formed at the
school of Mary
I owe everything to her and I am ever
more aware of the fact. Through Mary I
discovered the true identity of Jesus, and
the powerful action of the Holy Spirit in
us. God entrusted Himself entirely to Mary
to come into the world, so it is only normal
that we should entrust ourselves to Mary
to reach God. There is no other way.
(Interviewed by P. Arpad C.)
7
Sped.Abb.Post.3/70, Aut.Trib.Mant.#13-8,11.86; Legal Dir. A.Lanzani; Printed by DIPRO Treviso
Life for sale
Life, procreation, maternity, free
choice
The one-time sacredness of
these themes has been branded by a sense
of banality; so often are they brought up,
treated with disdain and debased that
people have lost their fear of treading on
sacred ground. God, lifes Source and
greatest Advocate, has been removed from
any debate or discussion on the matter.
But life is a mystery and the fact that our
Creator has granted us to be transmitters
of life is an even greater mystery, worthy
of our amazement and admiration, of our
gratitude and joy.
Man, however, is not happy to just
receive, for he also wants to possess;
to hold power over the divine principle that
characterizes every living creature. Aided
by science that too often concentrates on
its discoveries rather than on the common
good, man wants to be master over life
for love of self.
Life cannot be trusted to the vote
Mid June in Italy a referendum was
held in an attempt to reverse laws that
restrict medically assisted procreation,
or IVF; and all of a sudden everyone
became experts: politicians, sociologist,
journalists, even entertainers. Some were
in favour, and some against a law that limits
excessive production of embryos to be
implanted in the wombs of women who
want children at all costs.
The mass media teemed with medical
and biological expressions, and smacked
with the arrogance of people who think
they know more than anybody else. No
doubt, all were motivated by good faith in
what they believed to be the truth. But thats
the point: where was the truth? or rather:
what deceiving ploys were being used to
impede people from seeing the true Good?
Definitely many, and not easy to
enumerate. On the other hand it doesnt
take much to understand who was behind
this manoeuvre to gain control of the
mystery of life. There is only one who
hates life more than anything else because
life is the highest expression of God: Satan,
Gods eternal enemy. Satan detests life
because one day when he arrogantly tried
to possess the keys he automatically shut
the doors on himself, dragging many
others with him into the abyss of perennial
death. Since then he wants to destroy life,
in all its forms, no matter the age.
At present it is the turn of embryos
who are being exterminated by the
billions. Once conceived they are denied
the right of a loving womb where they can
grow, develop and be born into the world.
Instead they are eliminated, or transformed
into guinea pigs for experiments, or
imprisoned in a cell of ice!
What about their souls? Each
embryo receives a soul at conception
but whos thinking about their souls? Are
we aware that once created the soul is
immortal? Whats happening to all these
souls made to undergo selective
procedures in totally artificial environ-
ments? How do they feel? But does anyone
really care how they feel, or do we care
only about the unrestrained desire of
couples who sadly cant have children and
are disposed to undergo even humiliating
therapy for the sake of experiencing the
joy of becoming parents?
Of course, its a fundamental right
that of wanting to become parents even
vital. It certainly isnt the holy yearning
for motherhood that is being questioned
here, but the pretence to order life
according to tastes and whims, and the
indifference that is dished out to
defenceless souls who cant speak for
themselves. And to think that their destiny
was entrusted to a majority vote in a
referendum!
The Church spoke out; she didnt keep
silent, but urged Italians not even to go
and vote, since abstention was to say no
one has the right to manipulate the life of
someone else!
The slogan launched by the Catholic
majority prior to the vote was: La Vita
non si Vota (which runs something like:
Life cannot be trusted to the vote). Life is
a gift of God, not something that depends
on the outcome of a referendum after
months and months of subtle and not so
subtle propaganda which intended
confusing and bending minds to accept the
concept that death is life!
Pope Benedict XVI said recently at a
Diocesan Convention in Rome: Even in
the begetting of children marriage reflects
its divine model, Gods love for man. In
man and woman, fatherhood and
motherhood, like the body and like love,
cannot be limited to the biological: life is
entirely given only when, by birth, love and
meaning are also given, which make it
possible to say yes to this life. From this
point it becomes clear how contrary to
human love, to the profound vocation of
the man and the woman, are the systematic
closure of a union to the gift of life and
even more, the suppression or manipulation
of newborn life.
Thanks to scientific contribution the
lives of us all have been bettered,
particularly sufferers of certain penalizing
sicknesses. It is our duty to support
scientific research with prayer, so it may
be illuminated by Gods wisdom. After all,
He is the maker of our bodies, and who
better than Him is able to help us?
Stefania Consoli
Benedict XVI
Mary, a living tabernacle
In this special Year of the Eucharist
Mary helps us appreciate more and more
the great sacrament of the Eucharist.
Meditating the mystery of the Visitation,
the Pope said: In a way we can say - and
all the more in this Year of the Eucharist -
that her journey was the first ever
Eucharistic procession. The living
tabernacle of God made man, Mary is the
Ark of the Covenant in which the Lord
visited and redeemed his people. The
presence of Jesus fills her with the Holy
Spirit. Dear brothers and sisters let us
follow and imitate Mary, a profoundly
Eucharistic soul and our whole life will be
a Magnificat.
Echo is a free publication. Donations are
gratefully accepted; without them we
cannot continue to distribute the
Message to Marys little children around
the world.
* Request for Rosary beads, medals:
Alejandro Arias, Manzana j Casa 6/A, Barrio
Jardín, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia
NEW! - Go to our web page to enrol in
our Mailing List to receive an automatic
message advising you of each new
publication. A link will take you directly to
the pdf electronic version of Echo of
Mary to download and print.
Important! If you opt to download and print
the electronic edition from our web
pages, you can help us cut back costs by
renouncing the paper edition. Follow the
instructions at our web site:
www.ecodimaria.net
May the Lord, God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
bless us. Amen.
3 July 2005 - St. Thomas the Apostle
FROM THE MAIL
+ Theresia A. Missanga, Eritrea: On behalf
of the Parish Priest and the Childrens Rosary
group I thank you for the Echo of Mary which
is a sweet smelling fragrance to our hearts
and community. Thanks also because we
have received donations of rosary beads, etc.,
which we see as an answer from our Blessed
Mother. (Cathedral BVM Rosary, POB 1263,
Asmara, Eritrea, Africa)
+ Donaldson Andemario, Ghana: Our sincere
thanks and gratitude for the gifts and prayers
for our Medjugorje prayer group. During our
meetings we pray for peace. Thanks to your
appeal we received Rosary beads from
donors in Ireland and China. We are grateful
to them and ask you to thank God for them
on our behalf. By Gods grace on June 18 I
shall take my vows in the Religious life... I
beg your prayers.
1. International Postal Orders payable to
Echo of Mary. (See mailing address below.)
2. PERSONAL CHEQUES payable to Echo
of Mary Assoc. (see mailing address below)
3. If convenient, pay into one of our bank
accounts, specifying payment for Echo of
Mary Association:
- Italy: Banca Agricola Mantovana (BAM),
Ag. Belfiore, Mantova. Bank coordinates:
IBAN: IT 02 Z 05024 11506 000004754018
- Britain: Royal Bank of Scotland, 26
George St., Oban, Argyll, PA34 5SA. Acc.
no. 8326 0400 154351
Mailing Address: Echo of Mary Association
P.O. Box 27, I-31030 Bessica TV, Italy.
Internet: www.ecodimaria.net
EMAIL: info@ecodimaria.net
Ph/fax: +31 (0)423-470331
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