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With Our Lady coming to Caritas in just two short months, the anticipation of Her apparitions has placed a fervor in our hearts, and in the hearts of all those who are coming. We have heard from many of you who are traveling from as far as California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, to those in towns right here in Alabama, who are bringing friends, family members and loved ones to be in the presence of Our Lady, and striving with your whole hearts to do all that is possible to spread the word. Our excitement builds each time we receive an order for the May 1-5 Brochure or Poster. They have been going out by the hundreds. One family in Nashville, Tennessee has even rented a billboard to advertise May 1-5! All of this shows that you have taken the last Words of the Harvesters to heart and acted on it. You have chosen to do more, and the conversions that will take place because of your decision will make waves in Heaven! Already, within a short time of the announcement, over five hotels are booked up, and more reservations are coming in by the minute.

For those of you who are still uncertain about coming, or have run into roadblocks that may seem insurmountable at this time, we wanted to share a few stories that we have received either by phone or in the mail. One woman has shown an unbelievable amount of determination to be with Our Lady. In order to be here in May, she must take a plane from Honolulu, Hawaii to Las Vegas, Nevada (tickets are cheap to Las Vegas), and then, because of finances, she will be taking a bus from Las Vegas to Birmingham. When it was mentioned that it would be a difficult trip for her, she made it clear that this was a dream come true for her and that nothing would be too difficult to stop her from coming. Another group from Miami, Florida is only able to come for one day. Just to be with Our Lady, they will be chartering a bus, driving fourteen hours, staying for one apparition, and driving fourteen hours home. Another family from Puerto Rico has never been able to afford to go to Medjugorje, but with Marija coming in May, they have worked it out to be here for the apparitions. One of our Field Angels, who is 81 years-old, called to reserve four rooms for May for herself and her friends. She explained that this was also a dream come true for her and went on to explain that she had been the sole caretaker of her husband for several years. He died a month ago, after much suffering, but before he died he encouraged his wife to make the trip here to be with her loved ones and Our Lady.

And, for those of you who have been wanting to come but have been discouraged by someone or something, we encourage you to proceed with prayer and to know that the entire community prays daily for all those who wish to be here, in Our Lady’s presence. A woman from Huntsville, Alabama recently called because she is in a wheelchair. Her friends have discouraged her from coming because of her handicap. She told us of her predicament and asked what we would suggest. We told her to come no matter what, be with Our Lady, come to the Bedroom and to the Field. She began to cry, explaining that it took her several hours to gather the courage to even call. She was afraid we would also discourage her, but when she heard, “just come,” she felt a flood of grace come upon her. She made reservations for the full five days. We pray many of you who are still undecided will be encouraged by these stories, and in a special way, be encouraged by what follows. It was arranged for you.

Over the past two weeks, the founder of the Community of Caritas and his wife have been with Marija and her family, both at their home in Monza, Italy, and in Medjugorje. He has been able to share the excitement and stories of all those who will be here when Marija comes in May. He was also able to present this entire event before Our Lady, praying for Her intentions for May 1-5, and all those coming. During the first apparition in which he and his wife were present, they placed copies of the May 1-5 Brochure and Poster at the foot of Our Lady’s statue, which is where Marija kneels to receive Our Lady in Her apparition. He was also able to interview Marija. We are including this interview in order to share the importance of what you are able to be part of in May, and to prepare your hearts for Our Lady’s coming. This interview took place on February 24, 2004, the day before Marija received the monthly message to the world, in her home in Medjugorje. Our founder and his wife were also present when Marija received the monthly message to the world, given on February 25, 2004. That message is printed here, after the interview. It is incredible to see Our Lady’s words immediately after Marija’s interview. It is as if She was confirming Marija’s words with Her own. Please pause and pray before reading it as the words have the ability to penetrate your heart and place a fire in it. (Parts of Marija’s responses may not flow perfectly as she was answering in English.)

Q: Marija, why did Our Lady say that She is happy to see us in such large numbers when she is referring to those gathered?

A: Every time I receive Our Lady, when there are many numbers present in the apparitions, Our Lady blesses us and She asks, really from everyone of us, to be more near to Her and to be Her instruments. More people are with Her, the more Her plan is fulfilled.

A: Always we should be open for the graces Our Lady wishes to give us. Our Lady has said, “Pray for My intentions. The moment you pray for my intentions, it is then possible I can help you.” Then our hearts, our minds are open for the blessing of Our Lady, of the presence of Our Lady, and so in this way you become more open to receive grace from Our Lady and your soul is affected.

Q: So, being in the presence of Our Lady, even if loved ones are not with us, does it affect our loved ones and our family back home?

A: Yes. Our Lady always says, “You are instruments. I invite you, dear children,” and so Our Lady said that you will become more of an example for others, when you’re back with them. You bring blessings to them of the apparitions. To us, Our Lady gives graces in the apparitions, when we are present with Her. For our family, our loved ones, the people who are near to us in our family, who thought it may not be possible for them to come and be blessed by Our Lady in an apparition, they, too will receive blessings from those who pray for them in preparation for and during the apparition. And so, every blessing from Our Lady that we receive in the apparition is not only a grace for us, but also...our families will receive blessings and we are able to give these graces to other people.

Q: Our Lady said in 1984 that there are particular graces available during the moment of the apparition. Can you explain what some of these graces are?

A: I always say, the presence of Our Lady is a “big” grace for every one of us. Many times it is possible that we are tired, we don’t understand, we have unimportant problems, sicknesses, and we always are asking Our Lady only for help with these situations. But Our Lady desires to give us more, much more larger number of graces. Not only does Our Lady give the grace of blessing you, but also She grants many other gifts for those present, to be more open for God’s Word and more open for graces that She desires to give to us, not only these days, but also throughout all our life. Also, She desires to give the grace for us to give thanksgiving to God for Her presence in the apparitions. This is a great grace. Our Lady said pray. The moment when you pray, you become more open and your heart is more open, and it is then that She can intercede before God and help you with many other graces She wishes to give you.

Q: Marija, when everything in your day goes wrong and your crosses bear down real hard on you, what happens to those life burdens at the moment you see Our Lady?

A: Every time at the moment of the apparition, we, the visionaries, forget everything and we then become aware only of Our Lady and Her presence and more beautiful things are in our hearts. But in our mind, ‘we remember’ also those people who are present for the apparition near us, who are asking for graces. Every apparition I pray for these people present and in a special way, those who are physically sick, and those who are spiritually sick.

Q: So, if we are in the presence of Our Lady with you, can we experience the same grace of our life’s burden being lifted as you, and how do we do this?

A: Yes. Our Lady said pray. And I have seen, from the beginning, that Our Lady asks from us to be more open for prayer everyday, more open for sacrifice, for fasting and after, we will see the fruit of prayer in our personal conversion, and with our conversion, we help also other people to convert and to be near to God.

Q: So, we can experience, in a sense, the same thing you experience in the apparition in regards to our life burdens being lifted?

A: Yes. We have this experience in the beginning- Our Lady appeared and She became more important for us, and life’s problems, less important. Then, little by little Our Lady said, “I am not important. God needs to be in the center of your life.” In this way, Our Lady helped us to give our problems to God and instead of having problems, we have God.

A: Our Lady blesses us and I think the most beautiful thing is this blessing of Our Lady that is for everyone.

Q: In the early days, one priest said, we do not clearly understand the full significance of this daily blessing, but that it has some profound affect upon the whole world. Do you understand what he means by that?

A: I think Our Lady’s presence is the same for us. We do not understand it at the moment, but one day, God will give us the possibility to understand more.

Q: Marija, several of the visionaries on various occasions said that these are the last apparitions on earth. What did Our Lady say to you about this?

A: Our Lady said from the beginning that these are the last apparitions on earth in which we can hear Our Lady, touch Our Lady, speak with Our Lady, where we can pray with Our Lady, apparitions where it is possible that we ‘have’ Our Lady. In other apparitions- people have spiritual experiences- but not like us, the six visionaries of Medjugorje; where Our Lady speaks to us. This is really the last and special grace. Normally one person may see Our Lady (like Bernadette or St. Catherine of the Miraculous Medal who also touched Our Lady). But here, six visionaries are a number which is very credible. But this is the last where we can touch Our Lady, speak to Her, etc., in this way.

(On May 7, 1985, Our Lady said, “…No one in the world has had the grace which you, your brothers and sisters (the visionaries) have received…”)

A: Our Lady wants to help teach us and to help us understand everyday more and more that Her presence and God’s presence are to be always in our daily lives.

Q: Also, is it after the secrets are revealed, will there not be any need for the apparitions?

A: Our Lady is with us so She can give us knowledge of the secrets and to help us through the secrets. After the secrets are realized, Our Lady will not need to come anymore. Also, I always say that the secrets are a secret at this moment. It is not possible for me to speak of the secrets.

Q: So, is it also because so much is being given through these apparitions of the Blessed Mother that these manifestations of the real, physical presence of the Virgin Mary is sufficient to the end of the world, whether it be 100 years or 2000 years away?

A: Also because Our Lady gives everyday so many graces that we, everyday, are able to live more and more this presence of Our Lady.

On March 18, 1996, Our Lady said, “…My eyes and my heart will be here, even when I will no longer appear…” (Perhaps this means that Our Lady will be with us in a new way that She wasn’t before the apparitions began.)

Q: Vicka has also said very clearly that these are the last apparitions on earth. What would you say to those who try to re-qualify that Our Lady didn’t really mean this, that this is not really what Our Lady said?

A: I say always, for us, who accept Our Lady’s words, this is a big grace…for others, we must pray. Here, we receive many graces and so for other people to be close with Our Lady, to live Our Lady’s messages, we must pray more and more everyday for them that they become more and more closer to God. And through Our Lady, as with us, God will become the center of their life. Not only is holiness for priests, but also for mothers and fathers and others. In this way, holiness spreads as Our Lady invites us all here in Medjugorje.

Q: So, what do you say in regards to the importance of those who can come be in the presence of Our Lady in Alabama- for your visit and for Our Lady’s apparitions?

A: What I always say. To be ready to pray. Come and be ready to open your heart to Our Lady’s messages, and that Our Lady will help us all the more everyday.

Q: So, what would you tell people in preparation for the pilgrimage to Alabama, May 1-5?

A: To prepare through prayer and sacrifice. Make sure you give Our Lady many prayers each day before you come.

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In reflection of Marija’s interview and Our Lady’s desire for your presence, we print Our Lady’s monthly message given the next day.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace of Medjugorje’s February 25, 2004 Message to the World

Indeed, with Our Lady’s words above, and the words of Marija, we should all feel a certain fire in regards to May. In her interview, Marija mentions that the grace of Our Lady’s apparitions helps us to bring those around us nearer to God. She spoke about opening our heart to Our Lady, and letting this be a time of sacrifice, or “penance,” for all of us that we can use as we prepare for May. She spoke frequently about the blessings that come from being in Our Lady’s presence, and she mentioned the grace of conversion. All of these things were mentioned by Our Lady one day after Marija spoke of these same things.

All obstacles can be overcome by prayer if they are preventing you from coming and experiencing this grace at Caritas. No one should close their hearts and minds to the fact that these are THE LAST APPARITIONS ON EARTH, but rather reflect in prayer that we have the invitation to be part of them. The magnitude of this plan is incomprehensible. Our Lady has said, “…These days while I am with you are days of grace …(June 25, 1991),” and “…Thank God for the gift of my being with you, because I am telling you: this is a great grace… (July 25, 1992),” and on November 8, 1984 “…If you knew how great are the graces God is granting you, you would be praying without ceasing…” And yet, we’re asked to be a part of it! Our Lady, Herself, calls us and invites us during these, Her last apparitions on earth. Pray for all to respond and many hearts to open to Our Lady’s invitation.

Our Lady has been appearing so long in Medjugorje that to some it doesn’t even raise an eyebrow any longer. Is this something that should shake us to our very souls, or is this just our Mother helping us a little and everything will be fine…? One statement we have from Our Lady is so strong it should literally stun us:

The visionaries have all been asked about this message. Marija was asked again just days ago. In response to the question that Our Lady said that these were Her last apparitions on earth, the other visionaries answered:

“I do not know why this apparition is our Blessed Mother’s last apparition on earth…Her words were very simple. She said this is Her last apparition on earth. She said after the secrets are realized She won’t need to come again.”1

Vicka:

“Yes, the Blessed Mother said that it is the last apparition ever…She says She won’t need to come again after the secrets are realized.”2

Vicka was once asked by the founder of Caritas to get a fuller meaning about this statement. After being asked this question in different forms, five times, Vicka strongly said, “Our Lady said these are Her last apparitions on earth!!”

If this is the case, surely we are in the midst of a grand design by God that is profound, and we should do everything Our Lady asks. The following are Our Lady’s own words about Her call.

So out of Love for Our Lady during this Lent, we encourage you to prayer and sacrifice for hearts to open, that a grace be available to countless souls to receive the urge to come and be in Our Lady’s presence in May. The course not only for our family, but our nation and the world, rests in the response of many of you. How serious is our responsibility? Our Lady says:

Yet the passage of daily life and its hurried pace or preoccupations obscure the messages, and many do not recognize what is taking place with Our Lady’s apparitions and Her messages. Indeed these messages are so profound that Our Lady says:

Many of us think we understand the messages, but Our Lady indicates that many understand them through our intelligence, not with our heart.

Our Lady says to understand, we must “pray,” then we will understand all. The more we pray and understand about Our Lady’s plans, the more in awe we will be of the magnitude of these plans and the daily possibility to be part of them.

How Peter and the apostles must have longed for Jesus to walk with them again daily after His Ascension, even with having the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Yet, they had Him for three years, physically, 24 hours daily upon the earth.

It will be no different for us than with Peter, whether we experience one apparition or one hundred apparitions with Marija, or none at all. Human nature teaches us the fact when one realizes one no longer has something, especially what will never come back to man, that there will be deep regrets of letting such a wondrous opportunity of love pass.

“... LITTLE CHILDREN, BE THOSE THAT DRAW SOULS TO GOD...”BY DOING MORE FOR MAY!

Drawing souls to Our Lady draws them to God. To have Our Lady’s words fresh after Marija’s interview, (page 5), for the purpose of helping more people understand the great blessing to be in Our Lady’s presence in May, is not only consoling, but confirming to everyone to do all that is possible to draw more to Our Lady. She will lead them to God. Our Lady could not be coming in these apparitions to the world if Jesus, Himself, did not bless them.

Although this is Marija’s 7th visit to Caritas, with apparitions in the Bedroom and the Field, her visits are always cherished. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity even if you’ve attended before. Since Our Lady first appeared in the Bedroom in 1988, and in the Field on November 24 of that year, it was Our Lady’s messages and actions which spoke of Her intentions for the Bedroom and the Field, and Her asking for a community to be established.

Therefore, being that the Medjugorje apparitions are the last, as Marija clarified in the interview, we want to make Our Lady’s apparitions available to as many as possible, during this time of grace. With every visit, we have grown more experienced in evangelizing the event. Several thousand people everyday are being informed of Our Lady’s apparitions and receiving information up until May. This is by far the most advanced and largest effort to spread and evangelize this event with Marija and Our Lady, to as many as possible. One project alone will directly inform 3,000 people per day. The next 60 days calculates out to 180,000 people. Of course, only a small portion of those numbers will be moved enough by grace to come. But with your prayers, more will be touched in their hearts to come. Therefore, we ask that when you attend Mass, go to Adoration, or pray the Rosary, through sacrifice and penance, that you win the graces strong enough for more souls to be set afire to come and be blessed by Our Lady. Pray also for Her intentions for coming in May with many graces.

On February 26, 2004, the founder and his wife were with Marija at the Oasis of Peace in Medjugorje for Our Lady’s apparition. Several people had fasted not only on Ash Wednesday, but also on Thursday, for the apparition that night. After Marija prayed the Rosary in preparation for Our Lady’s apparition, Our Lady appeared very suddenly, and the apparition lasted twice as long as normal. Marija, afterwards, was transformed into joy. She spoke of Our Lady and the apparition for fifteen minutes. She said Our Lady came with such an expression; already smiling as She appeared. Marija said, “Our Lady must be so happy because we fasted.” It was very obvious that Our Lady’s joy passed through Marija to all those present. As this example shows, your prayers, sacrifices and offerings from the heart will make a difference in Our Lady’s apparitions in May.

We have built a large over-all program to help you to spread information about May, as well as our operations initiating several projects for May. Our presses are running on a tight daily schedule, eating paper by the pallets. We are supporting several “fronts” to propagate these materials, and we cannot afford any loss of time. Materials such as paper, many supplies, etc., must continue to be purchased to keep answering the orders of people everywhere to spread posters, brochures, etc.. We recently were short $4,000.00 to buy paper to continue printing to meet the demands of all those requesting materials about May. We didn’t know what to do but pray. That day a $4,000.00 donation was in our mail! Without this individual being inspired to donate, our program would have been crippled. We report to you at present, that we do not have enough donations coming in to cover expenses. Your Field Angel donation continues and maintains our present work, but May 1-5 is an expense above regular Field Angels. So we ask you, in this time of sacrifice, to offer a meal or entertainment up in order to make a donation for May. We do not want to cut back, but we can only achieve what has been put into action if you respond. This plea is urgent and necessary. For you especially in convents, we plead for your prayers for people to come forth to donate.

Thank you and know that by your sacrificial giving, grace is never denied from Heaven, for no sacrifice is without grace. It is our hope that we can reach souls who are on the wrong path for eternity, and let Our Lady change their direction.

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