110
February 10, 1999

EXCUSES

In Her message of January, Our Lady refers to a theme which occurs very frequently in human relationships of man to himself, to others and to God. She talks about excuses. Frankly, excuses are used frequently because also circumstances occur frequently when one has to find an excuse for certain actions and failures.

However, there is also a type of excuse which leads to a deceitful defence mechanism and covers up the true motives. Excuses are being used to disguise ignorance, inability, lack of will, lateness, unkept promises and much more. By talking in such a manner, we get ourselves into embarrassing situations and this is also the reason for many broken friendships, betrayed trust and loss of self-criticism.

In Christian spiritual and daily life, continuous excuses lead to a hypocritical way of life and a destroyed relationship with God. "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?"(Mt. 25:44) But we did not see you like this! How much is such an excuse worth for Jesus or a needy person?

Our Lady refers us to Holy Scripture and to prayer so that we do not succumb to those false excuses and so that they do not happen either in our personal, spiritual or working life. Reading and living Holy Scripture, sincere prayer and prayer from the heart are the best protection against the temptation to lead a futile life.

Fr. Ivan Landeka

N E W S

NUMBER OF HOLY COMMUNIONS AND CONCELEBRANTS

During the last month the least number of pilgrims were . During this time, 30.000 faithful received Holy Communion in the parish of Medjugorje and 644 priests from here and abroad concelebrated Holy Mass.

The largest groups of pilgrims came from Slovenia, Italy, Korea, Australia, England, Austria, the US, France, Poland and, of course, Croatia.

THE PRAYER - EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR

As we have already announced previously, the Prayer - Educational Seminar with the Theme "Pilgrimage - Part of Our Faith Walk" will be held from February 28 to March 5, 1999, at the Hotel 'Sunce' in Neum. The sixth Prayer - Educational Seminar will last six days instead of the usual five. The first four days, as has been the case so far, will be filled with prayer, lectures and exchange of experiences, while the fifth day will be completely dedicated to spiritual renewal. As in each previous year, this seminar will also end with a community pilgrimage to Medjugorje.

This is an opportunity for you, who are spreading the messages of Our Lady in your surroundings, and for us, who are working in Medjugorje, to meet with one another at least once a year in order to exchance our experiences and to enrich each other.

There are sill places available. Therefore, we ask you to register your participation in the Prayer-Educational Seminar as soon as possible, but no later than February 20th. You can register either per fax: 00387 88 651 444 or per e-mail: medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr (attention: Information Center) or directly at the Information Office of the Shrine.

There will be simultaneous translation for all languages. The price for lodging, transportation and the seminar is DM 315,-- per person for a double room (one day extra!). The supplement for a single room is DM 40,--. Payment is to be made to the organizer of the seminar upon arrival at the hotel. There is a possibility for a transfer from Split airport to the HOtel 'Sunce' in Neum. All who need transportation on February 28th should give details about their flight number and exact time of arrival to the Association "Medjugorje-Mir" in Split no later than February 20th. The transportation on the last day from Neum to Medjugorje will also be organized. Radio and earphones for the simulatenous translation should be brought along; these are also made available at the seminar.

FASTING AND PRAYER SEMINARS AT DOMUS PACIS

The humanitarian association "Help" in Split organized a seminar for a group of 50 young people from Dubrovnik in Domus Pacis from January 26 to 28, 1999, as part of a program for the prevention of drug addiction. The seminar lasted three days. It was guided by the Directors of the Association and Fr. Branimir Musa.

Domus Pacis is a house of prayer, where fasting and prayer seminars are being held. In this edition of the Press Bulletin, we publish the program for all the seminars, which will be held during 1999. People have shown a great interest in attending these fasting and prayer seminars so that the organizer has divided them according to their respective languages. Following are the dates for each language group, as well as the person whom you should contact, if you want to participate in a specific seminar.

Seminar for English-speaking persons:

May 16 - 21, 1999
Contact: Marija Paulic, Croatian MIR Center Florida; Fax: 305653 5953

Seminar for Italian-speaking persons:

February 21 - 28, 1999
Contact: Don Cosimo; Tel: 0039/0824 22 402

Seminar for French-speaking persons:

France:

January 31 - February 6, 1999
May 9 - 15, 1999
July 20 - 26, 1999
November 7 - 12, 1999
Contact: Assoc. Maria Source de Vie, Rollerville France; Lean - Taymond & Maryse Cayrel; Tel: 0033/2 35 30 28 43; Fax: 0033/2 35 30 33 75

Canada:

May 24 - 30, 1999
Contact: Julien Foy; Fax: 001/418424 0075

Belgium:

March 6 - 11, 1999
Contact: Marc Costermanns; Tel. and Fax: 0032/23 72 18 72

Seminars for German-speaking persons:

Austria:

February 15 - 20, 1999
November 15 - 20, 1999
Contact: Franz Gollowitsch, Oed 60, A-8311 Markt Hartmannsdorf; Tel: 0043/3114 5150; Fax: 0043/3114 5150-41

Germany:

March 14 - 19, 1999
Contact: Mathilde Holtmann, Erblandstr. 4, D-48369 Saerbeck; Tel: 0049/2574 1675; Fax: 0049/2572 7101

Seminar for Croatian-speaking persons:

March 28 - April 2, 1999 (Holy Week)
Applications at the Information Office: Tel:00387/88 651 988; Fax: 00387/88 651 444. The seminars start the first day at 4:00 pm and end on the last day at 12:00 noon. The price for lodging is DM 20,--. The seminars are being led by Fr.Slavko Barbari.

Published by: INFORMATIVNI CENTAR MIR - Svetiste Kraljice mira (Information Center MIR - Shrine of the Queen of Peace), 88266 Medjugorje, BiH, fax number: +387-88-651-444.
Director: fra Miljenko Stojic.
You can receive the latest issue of the Press Bulletin at any time on your own fax machine in the tone mode by dialing the
Robofax in our Information Center at +387 88 65 15 55.
E-mail: medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr; Internet: http://www.medjugorje.hr
Published every other Wednesday.

---

Last Modified 02/10/99