July 28, 2005
In June of 1990, my mother went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. She had a profound conversion experience and brought the graces back home. For the last 15 years I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to make my own pilgrimage to Medjugorje in thanksgiving for my conversion and vocation. This June, I finally made it with a group of our friars and some 70 pilgrims, including my little brother!
We friars were invited to be present on an evening when one of the visionaries was going to have a daily apparition of Our Lady. I could think of nothing else all day. I tried to spiritually prepare, but the anticipation distracted me all day. We were so excited that we quickly ate dinner and arrived early at the home of the visionary. In the little chapel, before Our Lady came, we prayed the rosary with great focus and fervor. When the special moment came, I was stunned to see the expression of joy on the face of the visionary as he was seeing and conversing with our Blessed Mother. It was a powerful experience! Our Lady personally prayed over each of us friars!
Her message was a great conviction. She once told the visionaries that if they had the choice between having an apparition or going to Mass, they should go to Mass! She said that the Holy Mass should be the center of our lives. Thinking about my excitement at being present for the apparition, I asked myself, “What if I prepared for every Mass with an even greater expectation and concentration?!”
God bless you; let us pray for each other,
Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
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