154
October 18, 2000

"Dear Children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. May prayer become joy for you. Renew prayer in your families and form prayer groups. In this way, you will experience joy in prayer and togetherness. All those who pray and are members of prayer groups are open to God's will in their hearts and joyfully witness God's love. I am with you, I carry all of you in my heart and I bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call." September 25, 2000

WHAT DOES PRAYER HAVE TO DO WITH LIFE?

"In the camp, we prayed together frequently, and that was something very, very important …I have a great trust in God, from which emanates a basic optimism.” (Werner Wallert, hostage for many months on the island Jolo). We often think of prayer as being a separate part of our life, which hardly influences our daily life, our work, successes or failures, if at all. It seems to be much easier to pray only when difficulties arise, rather than when everything goes according to our wishes. But let us be honest: Is it too little, when we pray in times of distress? And what if this prayer brings forth optimism?

Fr. Ivan Landeka

N E W S

OCTOBER – THE MONTH OF OUR LADY

According to Catholic tradition, the month of October is dedicated to Our Lady and emphasis is put on praying the Holy Rosary during this month. So many times we have witnessed the strength and power of these prayers. For this reason, we are pleased that such a great number of pilgrims from all over the world come to Medjugorje during theses days. Especially numerous were the Croatian pilgrims who came for the Feast of the Queen of the Holy Rosary on October 7th, in order to honour Mary, the Queen of the Rosary. We would like to invite all and everyone in their communities, as well as the pilgrims in Medjugorje, to especially pray the Holy Rosary and thus to draw nearer to Jesus during the month of October.

TOGETHER WITH THE BISHOPS OF THE WORLD, THE HOLY FATHER DEDICATED THE THIRD MILLENNIUM TO OUR LADY

On Sunday, October 8, 2000, in the course of the Feast of the Great Jubilee, the Holy Father – together with all the bishops who were present - dedicated the future of the Church and of the world to the Mother of Christ. Kneeling in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, the Holy Father performed the consecration at the end of Holy Mass, which was attended by several thousand pilgrims from all over the world.

Many had been invited to attend this festive act, particularly those devoted to Our Lady and Marian prayer groups. On the occasion of the Feast of the Queen of the Rosary, just before the day of the dedication, the Holy Father prayed the glorious mysteries of the Rosary with those present. At the end, he emphasized among other things, “… In the course of the Big Jubilee 2000, we would like to express our thanks to the Church for the motherly care which Our Lady has always shown for her children, the pilgrims. There is no century and no people, in which She has not let Her presence be felt, by bringing light, hope and comfort to the faithful, particularly the small and poor …”

Among the numerous pilgrims and groups, were a great number of Medjugorje pilgrims, as well as the new parish priest from Medjugorje, Fr. Ivan Sesar.

THE FEAST DAY OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

The feast of St. Francis is celebrated in the entire Catholic world on October 4th, but that feast day is nevertheless celebrated in an especially solemn manner in the Franciscan communities. On October 3rd, the eve of the feast day, St. Francis´ passing away was celebrated after the evening mass in the church of St. James in Medjugorje. The Franciscans as well as members of FRAMA, the Franciscan youth organization, of Medjugorje, formed a candle light procession and walked across the church yard into church and up to the altar, where the passing away of the seraphic father Francis was celebrated. This is always celebrated on the eve of the feast day of St. Francis. After the rite, the FRAMA remained to sing some songs and they were joined by numerous pilgrims.

PRAYER FOR THE SICK ON THE FIRST FRIDAY

During the Big Jubilee year, the evening prayer program on the first Friday of every month is dedicated especially to the sick.

Therefore, on this first Friday, the parish church of St. James was filled with a great number of pilgrims, among whom were many sick. At the end of holy Mass, the priests administered the anointment for the sick to all who wanted to receive this Sacrament.

EIGHTH INTERNATIONAL MEETING FOR LEADERS OF CENTERS OF PEACE AND MEDJUGORJE PRAYER GROUPS

As we already mentioned in the previous Bulletin 149, the Medjugorje parish office is organizing the eighth meeting for leaders of centers of peace, charitable and prayer groups to take place in Medjugorje from February 26 - March 1, 2001. The theme of this year´s meeting is “PEACE AND RECONCILIATION”.

Daily program:

Monday, February 26, 2001
08:30 Morning prayer
09:00 Lecture: “The Message of Peace and Reconciliation”, Dr. Fr. Božo Lujic
10:00 Intermission
10:30 Meeting and Discussion with the lecturer
12:00 Lunch
15:00 Meeting with the Franciscans
17:00 Evening Prayer Program in Church

Tuesday, February 27, 2001
08:30 Morning prayer
09:00 Lecture: “Medjugorje in the Service of the Church and the World - 20 years”, Dr. Fr. Ljudevit Rupcic
10:00 Intermission
10:30 Meeting and Discussion with the lecturer
12:00 Lunch
15:00 Departure for Podbrdo (Hill of Apparitions)
17:00 Evening Prayer Program in Church

Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Ash Wednesday: Day of Prayer: Fr. Slavko Barbaric and Fr. Jozo Zovko
09:00 Lectures, Prayers, Discussions
12:00 Lunch (bread and water)
14:00 Departure for Križevac (Cross Mountain)
17:00 Evening Prayer Program in Church
21:00 – 22:00 Adoration

Thursday, March 1, 2001
08:30 Morning Prayer
09:00 Exchange of Experiences of the Participants
11:00 Holy Mass - Fr. Ivan Sesar, parish priest
… Joint Lunch

Lecturers for this seminar:

Dr. Fr. Božo Lujic - born 1946 in Osjecak, Odžak. In 1966, he entered the Franciscan Order, Province of Bosna Srebrena. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1974. He completed his study of theology in 1974 at the Franciscan School of Theology in Sarajevo, and in 1977 obtained his Masters´ Degree at the Theology Faculty in Ljubljana. In 1982, he obtained his doctorate at the same Faculty on the theme “Experience of God and Man in the Book of Jeremiah.” He continued special biblical studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome where he obtained his licentiate in Biblical Science, after which he studied for a short time at the Franciscan Studium Biblicum in Jerusalem. He also received a diploma in German language and literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo in 1984. Since 1977, he teaches biblical theology and exegesis at the Franciscan School of Theology in Sarajevo. Since 1993, he lectures at the Catechetical Institute, as well as at the Institute for Theological Culture of the Laity of the Theological Faculty in Zagreb and at the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Zagreb.

Dr. Fr. Ljudevit Rupcic - born 1920 in Hardomilje, Ljubuški, he entered the Franciscan Order in the Province of Hercegovina in 1939 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1946. He completed his study of theology in 1947 at the Theological Faculty in Zagreb. He obtained his doctorate in 1958 and was tenured at the same Faculty in 1971. From 1958 to 1988, he taught New Testament exegesis at the Franciscan School of Theology in Sarajevo and for some time also at the Theological Faculty in Zagreb. Under the Yugo-communistic regime, he was imprisoned in 1945 and in 1947 and from 1952 till 1956. He was a member of the Theological Commission for the Bishops´ Conference of ex-Yugoslavia. He translated the New Testament from the original languages into the Croatian language. His translation has undergone numerous editions. He has published many books, studies and articles in Croatian, German, Italian, French and English and has conducted many lectures at numerous congresses and symposia in Europe and America.

The Eighth Meeting for Leaders of Medjugorje Centers of Peace, prayer groups and charitable organizations, connected to Medjugorje, will be held in the new hall in Medjugorje.

As the number of places is limited by the space, and every year the number of participants increases, we ask you to register your participation at this seminar as soon as possible and no later than the end of December, 2000. You can register either by fax (00387 36) 651 444 or 651 300 (for Marija Dugandžic), or by e-mail: medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr (for Marija Dugandžic), or also in person at the Information Office of the Shrine, or by way of telephone at 00387 36 651 988.

Simultaneous translation will be organized for all language groups. The fee for the seminar is 120 DM per person. Included in the fee are all expenses for the organization and the work of the seminar (speakers, translation of texts, simultaneous translation and the joint lunch on the last day). Upon paying the fee at the beginning of the seminar, each participant will receive accreditation that enables him to participate in the work of the seminar. Every person must personally arrange for his own lodging in Medjugorje. We believe this won´t be a problem for you since you have been coming to Medjugorje for many years and have friends and acquaintances there. Radio and earphones for simultaneous translation should be brought along, but they can also be obtained during the seminar.

We are looking forward to your reservation and to meeting you on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Our Lady´s apparitions in the parish of Medjugorje!

Published by: INFORMATIVNI CENTAR MIR - Svetiste Kraljice Mira (Information Center MIR - Shrine of the Queen of Peace), 88266 Medjugorje.
Director: fra Miljenko Stojic.
Information Office: 00387-36-651-988
Parish Office: 00387-36-650-206; 650-310; 651-333
Fax: 00387-36-651-444
Radio: 00387-36-651-100; fax 651-300
E-mail: medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr; Internet: http://www.medjugorje.hr
Automatic Message: 060-325-325. By calling this number you can hear the latest message of Our Lady in Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, as well as also the meditation and the news from Medjugorje which is updated every Wednesday.

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Last Modified 10/17/2000