The smile of his mother as she was dying (she was run over by a train) helped this man (a sculptor) regain his faith and now inspires his works.
An atheist in front of this crucifix said, "For as long as I stood in front of it, I felt the desire to embrace it."
Peppino Sacchi, sculptor from Bolzano, was interviewed by Fr. Slavko in October 1990.
God created woman in His own image, just as He did with man. It was a single image, though there is a clear distinction. “Male and female he created them,” says the book of Genesis. In the woman God put those parts of Himself which he drew from the deepest layers of His divine being: sensitivity, intuition, tenderness, the capacity to donate self in an unconditioned way without seeking advantage, fortitude and the wonder of a body able to lovingly receive and give life.
Mariana is an attractive, modern young woman, who works as an interior decorator in Mexico. In Medjugorje she told us: "I was very independent and active and, like all young people, I did what I wanted when I wanted, trying to get the most out of life.
He's a young long-haired man, tall and pleasant looking. Practically unnoticed, he made himself available for the Irish pilgrims all last summer. He accompanied them up Podbrdo and Krizevac. He prayed with them, spoke about himself and his conversion. When asked to sing during the evening adoration he happily conceded, but he never told the Franciscans in Medjugorje that music had been his vocation. When they found out, they asked him to tell them about his life, his rock and roll group, and his experience in Medjugorje. He thus replied to Fra Slavko's questions:
(Translated from the German-language Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost.)
For years there has been discussion of the phenomenon of the alleged "Marian apparitions" that took their origin in Medjugorje: Does the Mother of God really appear to the seers who originated in Medjugorje? Or are the experiences parapsychological fruits of the seers' unconscious? Are they a deceptive manipulation or even a trick of evil forces? According to reports, there are plans at the Vatican to have the Medjugorje phenomenon conclusively investigated by a commission. Regina Einig asked the chairman of the German Society for Mariology, professor of dogmatics and patristics at Lugano, Manfred Hauke, about the subject.
Seven years ago, Arthur reluctantly went to Medjugorje. A series of events took place that week which irreversibly changed his life. These events he shares with us in this testimony. It is the story of two mothers, the Mother in Heaven and his mother on Earth, the Rosary, with the melting of hearts, followed by conversion. Some of the events that took place seem very strange. However, the reader is not asked to accept or reject, but to understand that he shares these private revelations with us. The result is that Arthur is a very changed man. He no longer takes alcohol and has stopped gambling. His experiences suggest that we can be freed from whatever enslaves us through conversion to God.
Сваляне (1.6 MB )
By Fr. Paddy Byrne
For over 20 years, thousands of Irish people continue to make pilgrimage to a tiny village in a mountainous and remote part of Bosnia in search of something that, when discovered, is truly wonderful.
Medjugorje, for so many, is not just a place. It is a way of life.
It tells so many stories of human conversion, healing, forgiveness and most importantly brings God’s people to a place of peace. A peace celebrated by thousands of addicts who now live lives freed from the chains of addiction because of a spirituality that builds inner confidence and renews faith and hope in life.
Max Domej from Gebetsktion Wien spoke to Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Archbishop of Vienna, during his visit to Međugorje.
Both in Lourdes and Fatima the events first ceased and than Church had its decision about that. Its final decision. Sooner or later that will take place here as well, but in this case we let Mother of God with freedom of choice...I think that Medjugorje can continue well on their journey, with full trust that Church, Mother and Teacher, in this case, is going to continue to monitor their journey.
by Gianluca Barile for Petrus, www.papanews.it
VATICAN CITY - The alleged apparitions of Medjugorje continue to inspire debate and sustain polemics, within and without the Church. Thus the presence at New Year's of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, in the little Bosnia-Herzegovina locality, was only the most recent occasion to confirm the tension existing in the place where, since the 1980s, the Madonna is said to have appeared to six "seers".
Dear brothers and sisters here in the church and on the squares in front of the church, and in the yellow hall... We are all conscious of the fact that it is a big privilege to not have to celebrate the New Year with champagne. (laughter) Maybe later. (laughter and applause)
But now we are allowed to celebrate the beginning of the New Year with Mary and Joseph and with the child that is lying in the manger and with the shepherds.