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November 01, 2000

"Dear children! Today I desire to open my motherly heart to you and to call you all to pray for my intentions. I desire to renew prayer with you and to call you to fast which I desire to offer to my Son Jesus for the coming of a new time – a time of spring. In this Jubilee year many hearts have opened to me and the Church is being renewed in the Spirit. I rejoice with you and I thank God for this gift; and you, little children, I call to pray, pray, pray – until prayer becomes a joy for you. Thank you for having responded to my call." October 25, 2000

WHAT DOES HOLINESS HAVE TO DO WITH LIFE?

The feast of All Souls’ Day is casting more and more of a shadow on the feast of All Saints’ Day. Whether justified or not, that’s how it is. Piety, honouring and praying for the deceased are highly esteemed and without them the world would be remarkably poorer. Remembering the dead is something everyone can accept but the feast of All Saints’ is something that only has meaning for Christians who believe. The question is, to what extent and what? Jesus Christ specifically calls us to live a holy life. Writing to the Christian communities, St. Paul addresses them as ‘holy’.

What is valuable and important to us, we call ‘holy’, ‘holiness’. With the belief that God is our creator, we assume that we are valuable and important to Him, that a human being and his life are holy to Him. The more radically we become conscious of this - without planning to become holy - the more open we become for a holy life, which is uniquely perceivable in Jesus’ entire life and in the lives of well-known and lesser known holy women and men.

Fr. Ivan Landeka

N E W S

VISITS OF BISHOPS

Mgr. Joseph Das of the Indian bishopric of Berhampur visited Medjugorje from October 12th to 15th. On Sunday, October 15th, he celebrated holy mass for the English-speaking pilgrims and he also held the homily. This was his first visit to Medjugorje.

On October 26th, Mgr. Florencio Olvera Ochaoa, Bishop of Mexico, from the bishopric Tabasco, visited Medjugorje on his way to Dubrovnik. He was accompanied by Ante Luburic, Chancellor of the bishopric Mostar-Duvno. He said that it had been his ardent desire to visit Medjugorje, as a great number of his faithful come on pilgrimage here.

At the end of October, four bishops were in Medjugorje: Mgr. Leo Drona from the bishopric of San Jose from the Philippines, Mgr. Nestor Carino, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Mgr. Cirilo Almario, retired Bishop from the bishopric of Malolos of the Philippines and Mgr. Nicodemus Kirima, Archbishop of Nyeria, Kenya. These four bishops were part of a group of 700 American pilgrims, who were taking part in a pilgrimage to several Marian shrines throughout Europe. This pilgrimage was organized by an American organization and one of the Shrines they visited was Medjugorje.

SEMINAR FOR COUPLES

The Information Center “Mir” Medjugorje is organizing the 1st International Seminar for Couples from February 8th to February 11th, 2001, with the theme:

“COUPLES IN THE SCHOOL OF THE HOLY FAMILY”

February 8
(Thursday)
10.00 am – 4.00 pm Registration
4.00 pm Introduction of program
5.00 pm Holy Rosary
6.00 pm Holy Mass

THEME OF EACH DAY:

February 9 “Let Prayer Take the First Place in Your Families!” (Nov.1, 1984)
(Friday)
9.00 am Morning Prayer
2.00 pm Way of the Cross on Križevac
5.00 pm Rosary
6.00 pm Holy Mass
7.00 pm Veneration of the Holy Cross

February 10 “I desire you to awaken love in your families so that where there is unrest
(Saturday) and hatred, love will reign…!” (April 25, 1993)
9.00 am Morning Prayer
3.00 pm Testimonies
5.00 pm Rosary
6.00 pm Holy Mass
9.00 pm - 10.00 pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

February 11 “…dear children, let your family be a place where holiness is birthed. Help
(Sunday) everyone to live in holiness, but especially your own family!” (July 24, 1986)
9.00 am Morning Prayer Time for Commentaries, Opinions, Thoughts and Testimonies
2.00 pm Hill of Apparitions (Podbrdo)
The seminar will end with the celebration of Holy Mass at the evening program

Daily Schedule:
9.00 am Laudes in Latin
9.30 am Speech and Discussion
11.00 am Pause
12.00 am Prayer and Pause
3.00 pm Discussion
5.00 pm Evening Program (Rosary, Holy Mass and Healing Prayer)
9.00 pm - 10.00 pm Adoration (Saturday)

Speakers at the Seminar: Don Cosimo Cavaluzzo, couples from the ‘Cenacolo’ Community of Sister Elvira, Fr. Jozo Zovko, Fr. Slavko Barbaric and other witnesses.

Recommendations - Things to Bring With You:
1. Small headphones and small radio with fm frequency (can also be purchased here)
2. Bible and umbrella

All meetings will take place in the new building behind the Church. Costs of the Seminar: 15 $ per couple. You may make reservations by calling the Information Center at Tel: 00387-36- 651-988 or fax: 00387-36-651-888, or by E-mail medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr As the number of places is limited due to space, those who would like to participate in the seminar, should make reservations as soon as possible but no later than by the end of December. We ask all couples taking part to please make arrangements for their own accommodations.

FR. FILIP PAVIC HAS LEFT MEDJUGORJE AND TAKEN ON A NEW ASSIGNMENT

After 13 years of selfless and devoted service for God and the pilgrims, especially the English-speaking pilgrims, Fr. Filip Pavic has left Medjugorje and taken on a new assignment in the Franciscan province of Chicago, USA. On behalf of everyone who experienced Fr. Filip’s care and help during their pilgrimage to Medjugorje, we thank Fr. Filip wholeheartedly for all the good he has done. We promise to include him in our prayers that God may be with him in his continued work for his brothers and sisters.

IMPORTANT NEWS!!

Starting with the next issue of the Bulletin – that is Nr. 156 – the Bulletin will be published at the beginning of each month (around the 5th of each month) in seven languages, as usual.

To get the most up-to-date information during the course of the month, please contact us via Internet on our web-site under the title NAJNOVIJE VIJESTI (LATEST NEWS). For reasons of efficiency and fastness, we will publish it only in the Croatian language. You will find a summary of these news in seven languages in the monthly Bulletin at the beginning of each month.We believe that this change will be satisfactory to all those who are waiting for news and information from the Shrine and that it will also solidify our working together in distributing reliable information regarding the events taking place in 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 11/01/2000