Powerful Testimony Medjugorje by Timothy from Chicago, USA

I'm here in Medjugorje and I'm with what's your name  Timothy Timothy where are you from I'm from uh   Chicago born and raised mhm um so I've been here  for about 6 days how did you hear the first time   about Magan what did you think when you heard the  story um so I went on my first big pilgrimage last   year and I was in Lords and there was a young lady  I met there um Natalia and she really encouraged   me to come here to magor um and so after that and  after that experience that I had there I wanted   to pursue more of uh these beautiful feelings um  and coming into these sacred and special places   uh to continue like my faith formation yeah  um so very special things happened in Lords   when I was there uh what happened uh I'll tell you  because this is a testimony I keep a lot of this   kind of close in my heart and I haven't really  shared it with too many people I think of like   St Teresa theu and she would wrote in her uh the  story of a soul about the smiling statue when she   was healed I remember she said she didn't really  want to tell too many people other than her sister   because sometimes by talking about it it loses its  perfume as though it she put it um so there's a   lady back home her name is Andrea Vincent she's  a widow uh before I went on that Journey it was   my first time leaving the United States it was  a really big Journey for me I kind of shared   uh what I was feeling and my thoughts and she had  told me she had been to Lords UH 60 years prior um   she felt bad I guess she carried it with her for  you know these last 60 years that she didn't help   kind of people that were in need people that  were asking for help and money and stuff like   that so before I left she gave me uh some money  and she told me you'll know you'll know the holy   spirit will tell you when and what to do with this  money MH so I got to my last day in Lords I was up   in the upper church and I didn't know I wasn't  finding the opportunity and I'm running out of   time and it's uh I was that night I was going to  be prepared to head back home and so I'm in church   praying all a sudden this gentleman he came up  to me and I'll never forget like I noticed his   shoes there was something about his shoes it was  almost like and I had to test it a little bit I   kind of let it keep going like wow is this it you  know um so he he asked me he didn't really quite   get to asking me for help right away but he was  telling me a lot of his story he was telling me   about uh kind of some of the ways that um he has  had struggles in his life and so I let it keep   playing out almost as a way like for me to keep  testing like is this where I'm supposed to help um   I let him get through his story and at the end he  gets up and he goes and he's going to walk away I   was like wait stop and and I called him back and I  had handed him this money and he started to cry um   he got really emotional he couldn't believe like  that actually like helped him I'm sure a lot of   people um a lot of people who are in need we don't  help them I don't know if you ever been in this   position but if you're the one who all of a sudden  needs help from then all of a sudden all you see   is backs and no one's really there to help you um  so as he cried then I started to cry and in that   moment the Blessed Mother mhm you know there's  the statue mhm but it was almost like out of the   statue MH in like brilliant colors and she was  crying with us and like like you told me before   like I heard the voice and she's like this is it  this is I I am like true love this is true love   you know um so after the experience I get up and  I want to like you feel like you're coming down   from the mountain after you have an experience  like that and you witness something something   like that and I remember I like kind of wanted  I want you'll never guess what happened to me I   told was telling some lady in the church cuz I'm  like shaking and I had this experience you know   and she couldn't believe what I was saying but  then quickly it kind of pulled back as sometimes   it could be hard to tell when you have these kinds  of secret experiences in your life um and people   start to interpret and this was another thing that  St TZ said when she would tell the story like to   even to her other relatives those wanted to know  more and more and how did she look and you could   get lost in words in some ways this is it's more  of a feeling yeah inside so I was very blessed to   have that experience um like here I a lot of  people I've run into they've been telling me   their stories um of experiences they had even the  priest today when he was telling us about a story   he had when he was a younger man when he came  here and he's talking describing like the sun   and how he was looking at the sun and it became  the host and then there were drops of blood going   down to the Earth mhm and then it kind of uh like  the host it span yeah and it became the sun again   and you know after that he was kind of saying  like he didn't need more after that and I don't   feel like I need you know blessed are they who you  know believe and don't have to see right that kind   of a thing when you do get a little taste like  what happened to me in L it wasn't because I was   necessarily like looking to have that experience  right I mean we all want to have that experience   we all want to have our lady talk to us or have  you know Jesus or to see these great things and   signs and miracles um but our need and our want is  isn't necessarily going to make it happen I'm sure   some people kind of come to these kinds of places  and maybe feel discouragement because they don't   have um an apparition of their own or whatnot so  there was something here when I was walking kind   of out in the grass behind the church this was  uh one night where the sun was setting and there   are these three ladies and the sun was just it  was perfectly placed between these bushes and   the way they're looking at it and I started to  look at it and it almost seemed like you know   there's something about the sun here you know  um I could see what the miracle of the sun was   in FMA I almost could like a remembrance of it  or something like that but the sun was almost   like it was starting to like pulse and like get a  little bit bigger and smaller almost like it was   breathing but I realized again this wasn't for me  this was for these women so I kind of like St back   and uh let them have their moment um there's been  other people that have shared their story with me   here um I think in some ways it doesn't have to  be so significant like that right um it could   be just when you come to like Lords or magigoria  or if you go to other places I I hope to make it   to Fatam I hope to make it to the Cino and walk  that trail um I think when you put yourself on   a journey on a pilgrimage there's something about  a movement and you don't have to go far I mean it   could just be going to maybe a new church a church  you haven't visited before or kind of visiting you   know um background from there's one of the priest  there's a uh a painting that's in the hospital   nearby and he told us about it and he's like  you guys should make this little pilgrimage over   there when I went there it's a very very special  painting because the woman who painted it she got   it was a painting of Jesus Christ and she went to  sleep she did the eyes were the very last thing   she did on a painting and she wasn't happy with it  and so she erased the eyes and she went to sleep   that night and her husband woke her up in the  morning and told her how beautiful the painting   was and how beautiful the eyes were and she was  like wait I didn't do the eyes I didn't finish the   eyes so the eyes somehow miraculously was complete  and when you go see this painting now it's very   lifelike it's very moving so that pilgrimage is  maybe 20 minutes away so some kind of a movement   going to the sacred you have to begin somewhere  kind of like life I mean um I think one of the   interesting things for me here was when I went up  cross Mountain I think for different reasons the   different spaces and places here are very unique  but that one it's a difficult hike up that uh   Mountain um you know you first get here too we we  I think we by Nature we seek out you know we want   a nice flat path we want an easy road we don't  want to have to struggle so much and so when I   first got it it was one of the first things I  did and I was like I didn't really know what   to expect I didn't realize the struggle of what  it would be to go up uh kind of navigating and   it almost seemed impossible if you look too far  ahead it's like man I don't even know how that's   possible right so you really have to recalibrate  your spirit and this is where like praying the   rosary kind of goes up you get into prayer while  you're doing it and it really just becomes like   your next step your next two or three steps and  you have to stay in that place the entire way   up you know um remember a few times I would like  stop and like look around and I couldn't believe   how much progress I had made it almost didn't  like make sense it felt like it was faster than   what the experience really was going up right  um so there's some kind of a recalibration and   I think I think that particular Journey up cross  Mountain taught me a lot about life because we   almost have to look at life like this life is  full of you know struggles and hardships and   sufferings um it's probably why a lot of people  why they come here you know I've talked to some   some older women that have had some struggles in  their life uh there's a young lady an older lady   I met from Australia and she was telling me about  some of the hardship she's had with her family um yeah life could be  difficult you know we suffer a lot there's something about the comfort of  our Lady right our mother like you asked me   earlier what is what did she do for me when I  was here it's in some ways like she reorganized   my spirit I feel like she almost went into the  closet of my soul and like this a loving mother   would she kind of washed my clothes and folded  my my clothes and put everything away neatly   in me I feel re-calibrated going back out into  the life um there's another experience I had in   an Insight um as I've been thinking about  kind of Mary and Joseph here and this was   in St James Church it's this little boy um  and his parents his mother's pregnant with   child the fathers always watch him the they  obviously bring him into church quite a bit   cuz he's right at home when he gets there he  goes off and he's going up to different people   and showing them love in different ways and people  are like giving him the rosary like he's just very   comfortable in this album he's probably 2 years  old um but there was one moment when I was kind of   noticing him during mass he would like kind of he  would see his mother from afar and he would he'd   run like 20 ft into her arms with the greatest  look of joy and then he' kind of walk away and   then he'd turn back and then he would run again  into his mother's arms it's like there something   about that that was Illuminating kind of um what  it must have been like with our lady and her baby   Jesus you know and that love that they share so  you know father Leon one of the things I didn't   really realize I guess he had said our lady one of  the things that she asked for us people who get to   visit here is not just to pray you know one set  of the Mysteries but to play pray three mysteries   every day so I've been doing that uh a bit why  I'm here when I go for my walks and visit the   different places I've been kind of getting into  you know praying multiple Mysteries and it deepens   your faith it deepens your faith when you start to  think about Jesus Christ through our Lady's Love   through A Mother's Love Somehow that strengthens  the connection that we have to uh Christ um yeah   it's just been a beautiful journey I mean I spent  a little time over by the blue crosses that was   very interesting for me to spend a little time  with my book doing some writing um very useful   because it's maybe not as hard of a hike so it  seems like some people who are maybe a little   more infirm or some of the uh more elderly people  gives them access to a place that is very tranquil   I believe some apparitions happened there as well  at a point in time so that was just a very restful   rest it was almost like so tranquil there that I  like took a nap for like a an hour I kind of wake   up and like wow where am I and I haven't felt this  kind of Peace in a long time so it's been a really   really rejuvenating um visit for me here I'm  I've been here for about six days I'm preparing   to head out tonight to go to my next destination  tonight I'm lucky to have met you yeah GL we made   it happen I'm really I'm happy to have thank  you I'm glad to this is the second time or the   first time did did you come last year after Lords  directly here or did you now the first time here   no last year um I spent a lot of time traveling  around France so it was to visit Lords and then   also I went to luu to visit the caramel with  st TZ spent the last portion of her life and to   go to the cathedral there where she had made her  first confession as a little girl and then the big   Basilica that was built in honor of this uh simple  Anonymous nun when she died you go there and you   realize man that was uh 30 years after she passed  away or so you know this big beautiful place very   special I went to alen Sal the the village where  she was born and grew up and that was very special   as well like I said I went to in elas France I  went to lont St odil so I stayed at the convent up   there for a few nights so it was mostly traveling  around France uh last year but LS is kind of the   centerpiece of that experience so having visited  that I've kind of realized like most people   go on vacations m like I don't want to go on  vacations anymore I want to go on pilgrimages um um I mean so what do we do when we go on vacations  right I mean we already kind of living a life that   leads us into like consumption consumerism um  wanting more and more and you know when you   go on a pilgrimage you're going to pursue the  faith you're going for Faith formation you're   beforehand you don't really know what's going to  happen you don't really know I mean I think when   you commit to going to a pilgrimage you almost  have to even question like why am I doing this   like even though I went to Lords before this  journey is I I'm starting to make the plans   and then you're starting to spend the money to  get the tickets lined up it's like man I didn't   really know I knew through some of your videos  what the testimony were and some of your walks   around like yeah this is a place I want to come  experience um to see to feel to have the feelings   um and I'm still understanding it uh it's really  neat the way the people from Ireland are called   here specifically in a special way I think  so I've been asking some uh Irish people why   that is you know why is there such a strong pull  for people from Ireland to come here um but yeah   pilgrimage why why is that PO what did this answer  what's that what did they answer uh they told me   so in Ireland a lot of the people I think their  grandparents in the generations prior were really   Catholic but something kind of happened there I  think a lot of people went away from the faith   um and some of it is like their politics  same things happened in United States you   know there's we forget the lessons of the past  um like even me this place is very interesting   the political you can feel the memory of like  a Socialist Communist background and I think in   those kind of systems if you study like marks  you kind of realize that there's no room for   God God has to be on the outside there has to  be dependence upon the government for all your   answers not God you know so God becomes a threat  um so I think a lot of that in very recent times   has been happening in Ireland but that from what  they told me a few of the people that I've talked   to is our lady is speaking to them because the  Irish people are going to have one of the great   roles in the future you know for kind of waking  the world back up to the what's important uh the   sacred the Divine um so yeah kind of learning  from that what is the sacred and divine for   you you're learning the sacred and divine is to  encounter the sacred and divine yeah I mean so   in our ordinary lives right um I mean I'm lucky I  I I was around my grandfather who was a saint so   I learned a lot from him about kind of putting  myself around the sacraments in the church my   mother kind of put me in a situation when I was  a little boy that I would see him singing and but   you know as I got into my 20s we go to school you  know a lot of times when we're in school um we go   away from that we go away from kind of uh the  church and the sacraments because this is what   Society tells us um you you go to the university  it's everything other than kind of uh the sacred   and the Divine like we were saying um yeah I was  very lucky to spend some time in sou Dakota with   the Lota sue people with Chief Dave bald eagle  and Morris and Bonita little Shield so he was a   holy man and when I seen it got to be around those  people they're very spiritual too you know the way   they would sing their song songs their prayer  songs and give thanks to the Creator there's   a prayer that they have OAS in which means All  My Relations I am related to all that is so I   remember one Warrior Amos he to he gave me some  advice he's like you go back home and and learn   your way learn the way of your people learn the  Heritage that was handed to you and so that always   stuck with me I think even when he said it I was  like man there's something about that you know   um so I went through a little period in my late  20s I think you know we all have to come to a   point of like conversion adult conversion even  if we're baptized and brought up in the church   it could become very passive for us and it's just  something we do as a matter of routine you know   going to church and taking communion maybe we  lose sense of the reverence um so when I I had   this conversion after a few years of you know kind  of doing the wrong things maybe being influenced   by some drugs walking the streets in the middle  of the night being around uh remember one time   I was with my father we're both in this period  together at one point it was 4 in the morning   on the west side of Chicago um going to look for  like the next fix all right and I heard this voice   in my ear I believe it was an angel my guardian  angel like why you know why why are you doing this   um it wasn't too long after that there was  a gentleman who kept reaching out to me he   kept trying to get me to commit come to church  with me come to church with me come to church   with me you know and I I finally did I finally  did I remember one of the readings was from the   book of Timothy that day and that moment is like  all these remembrances came back of my childhood   and those feelings I had when I would go to St  Williams church or my grandfather was and you   know at that point my grandfather who's a getting  to be about 90 um and so he started to need help   to get to church every week along with my grandma  Katy so it became part of my responsibility to   get them to church um and so that's a discipline  too you know some of us you know there's a lot of   Catholics who just go for Easter and Christmas  every year you know kind of go twice or go for   a family baptism so one of the lessons I learned  it wasn't always something I wanted to do right   maybe I was up late night the the night before or  wake up and had a headache or it was the middle   of the winter you wake up and it's still dark but  I knew that my grandparents were waiting on me I   knew that they were depending on me to get them to  church so somehow through that exercise every time   I would get there no matter some usually there  was the times that it was more difficult initially   like I don't want to do this but you would end up  there in the setting of church right I was like   man why was this so hard why wouldn't I want to  do this um yeah so it was a lesson it was a lesson   I learned uh and then after my grandfather and  grandmother they kind of passed on that lesson   was internalized in me and now I almost can't get  enough on weekends I have three churches in my   community that I go to regularly I recently joined  a choir I always sang cuz my grandfather was a   singer you know so those who sing pray twice you  know that old one of the great singings I think   um so I always sang with choirs you could sing  anywhere you don't have to be in a choir you could   always harmonize with people I've been doing a bit  of that with uh some of the music directors here   at St James Church um trying to understand the  songs are a little bit different here but over the   course of the week I've been kind of picking up  uh some of that lingu but yeah learning uh that's   part of like and going back to like the lot talk  about the Divine and the sacred you know songs   of praise songs of worship you know it really  prepares us to pray when we sing you know and when   you're saying the words and you're feeling the  words and you kind of bring that from deep down   it's a beautiful thing it's a beautiful thing to  sing in houses uh of the Lord um yeah I never want   to go away from that I got some rosaries while  I'm here when I for this new choir that I it's   the first time I officially joined the choir yeah  um and it's older people there's probably about   four older ladies uh one older gentleman and then  there's the organist Jeff um he learned it how to   play the organ from someone before him who's no  longer with us and he learned at Grassroots he's   not a professional musician but I've been watching  him play and it's almost like a whole body kind   of thing they have to do to play the organ um so  sometimes why we're singing I've only been doing   this with them for about a month now I almost  have to like stop and like look over like how   is this this beautiful we're creating like this  beautiful like prayer through song like it's I've   been feeling that here too kind of looking around  at some of the songs in St James it's a feeling   I've had here that something that's kind of worked  on me just this last week is yeah facing the Altar   and facing you know the priest and the Eucharist  and all that but also we should stop to take a   when we ask our brothers and sisters you know uh  to kind of pray for you my brothers and sisters   pray for me the Lord Our God that's very inspiring  for me to just kind of turn and look and see all   the people and see how everyone's in Silence  the look of adoration and people's the sense   of reverence you could read it on people's faces  um sacred and divine I mean you could we could   feel it through a brothers and sisters we're  very lucky to be part of this one Catholic and   Universal Church because you could go anywhere  in the world I mean I'm lucky that where I live   in Chicago and Michigan City Indiana that there's  churches all over us part of that is a legacy of   like these immigrants from you know 100 120 years  ago in Chicago if you you could walk kind of like   Rome you every two blocks there's another church  um so you could go there and you could kind of   feel different communities and different groups  of people singing sometimes it's in Oregon the   lady here she plays a violin very nicely um I mean  music is a really good entry point into uh feeling   the sacred and the Divine so s cilia you know  pray for us um yeah beautiful what you say yeah   you talked about confession can you explain people  you're an expert of confession we talked before   what would you tell people who are scared to go to  confession think it's a dark hole Middle Ages the   priest chastisement you call it yeah I I felt that  way for a long time myself um again my grandfather   Harry he uh I always notice he went to confession  that was always a big part of his Catholic   experience and the way he practiced his faith um  part of it is yeah I think we hear the Protestant   voices sometimes it kind of question you don't  need to confess to another man for forgiveness   you can just go directly to the source you know  the kind of the Protestant motifs um it's a little   bit scary too to go and to confess our sins to say  to ask for forgiveness you know when you think of   like the confessional and you're getting on your  knees in a dark place yeah that could be a little   bit intimidating um over the course of the last  year I began to want to like work on this and make   this a part of my experience it's a Sacrament  right we only have so many sacraments and the   sacraments are all sacred and divine and very  beautiful so Our Lady of Fatima once a month first   Saturdays going to confessions it seems to be a  good Cadence for how often it do it cuz that was   another thing okay I want to go to confession how  often do I go to confession so then I discovered   once a month seems to be a really nice way to do  that um so going into confession I I always like   I was telling you earlier I always want to like  I would go in it's like I want to make the best   confession ever and I get in there and sometimes  it could be very easy to talk about like other   people or it could you know be about feelings  or not things that are sins I mean again I was   thinking like St terz of luu I had to think very  of very small little thing almost like a little   child like go there with one little tangible  thing to ask for forgiveness for that you know um   I remember very early on in the confessions when  I'd walk out of confession it was one of the most   amazing feelings you get like this great weight  has been lifted off of your shoulders um it just   feels good it feels good to be forgiven um it's  something I still work on when I go in I prepare   myself beforehand I get into prayer I examine  my conscience I've confessed here three times   over the last 6 days so every two days and you  know they feel connected you know and I asked   the priest how it better how do I make a good  confession father and you know they'll give you   guidance they'll coach you up in there and they'll  you know kind of give you some strategies and one   of the things one of the priests that stood  with me that he said was you know examine your   relationships that's a really good entry point  into getting um when we start to think deeply   about how we relate to it could be our relatives  it could be our parents it could be our brothers   or sisters it could be friends it could be even  just people that we see on the streets that are   in need you know did we choose to be charitable  you know maybe I didn't choose to be charitable   because I don't want to give that person money so  maybe I was a little bit greedy um so that could   be something that's Weighing on you know my mind  that I want to get off my shoulders it could be   you know uh the relationships in my family maybe  not telling them I love them enough um it could   be relationship to Jesus Christ even you know um  how do you pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ   and are you doing it the right way are you putting  yourself regularly in the sacraments you know um   you know a lot of people will go up and we talk  about this sacredness and kind of reverence and   you know the Divine the greatest thing we do is  kind of the sacrifice to the mass right it's the   Eucharist can you explain that I mean I'm still  learning about everything we should always be   learning we should always be continuing to to form  our faiths within us but yeah the greatest thing   so there's something in the United States right  now there's two uh priests that are really great   Bishop Baron and then uh father Mike schmidtz and  Bishop Baron had this idea three years ago to do   this UK aristic Revival and it's going on for 3  years and it's going to culminate in a national   Eucharistic Congress the first time in 80 years  in United States and it'll be in Indianapolis this   summer um and the the reason for this Eucharistic  Revival is because I guess they had done some uh   polling of Catholics many Catholics don't believe  that in the Eucharist the body and blood of Jesus   Christ is really present that he's really  present with us they think that it's symbolic um and if you don't believe that it's the real  presence of Jesus Christ you're missing the whole   point you're missing the whole point of the mass  can you explain very important here very important   so Jesus Christ is made present Among Us in the  real flesh and the real body it started with what   he said at the Last Supper do this in memory  of me in those times people probably didn't   you know at that last supper people they probably  didn't understand what he was saying even when he   talked about they will eat my flesh like what  is this crazy man talking about here we are   2,000 years later every single Mass both here in  magigoria and around the world and every Catholic   Church our priests with their hands are going  through the prayers and the transubstantiation   to make Jesus Christ really present Among Us you  know another this happened to me and Lords too I   I never really understood adoration I always  kind of uh noticed you know growing up or in   church You' be like old ladies in adoration right  um it didn't didn't really like hit me I didn't   really grasp the significance or the beauty of  spending time in adoration there was a moment   in Lords I think I was in the the rosary the big  Rosary Church which I think is down in the bottom   um and there was just a moment sitting there in  adoration when the Eucharist was displayed in the monstrance man how beautiful is it to sit quietly  in the presence of Jesus Christ um it's a just a   beautiful beautiful thing uh and probably most  Catholics we probably don't do enough of that   we probably you know it's one thing to go through  the mass and everything but outside of the mass we   should probably try to spend a little bit of time  in adoration we should probably spend a little bit   of time not even actively in prayer just being  quiet spending time with Jesus you know this is   a very important way that nourishes our soul that  I think most Catholics kind of um it's beyond us   I mean unless someone teaches us right I think a  lot of us don't have great teachers this is where   you know we could read books but I think you know  coming to places like this going on pilgrimage um   this is Faith formation coming to places like  this this is Faith formation seeing I've seen   more people walking around with either wearing  their rosaries which I thought I was one of the   only people who do this everyone does it here and  everyone's got a Rosary in their hand and it's   just a very interesting way to it's only going  to be in places like this where our lady's doing   like her work right um and why here you you know  I know everyone always questions like why why are   these specific places I think this is a place this  was a communist place right this was a war torn   country for a long time even very recently one of  the ladies in one of the shops is telling me the   90s there was a lot of conflicts here between kind  of the Muslims and the Catholics and the different   groups and ethnicities um and we're dealing with  this a little bit right now in our own politics   in the United States where there people forget  the lessons that we learned you know go back and   read some of the things that John Paul 2 had to  say about communism read some of the things that   uh that happened uh over the last 80 to 100 years  years and the influence communism has had in our   world it again it takes people away from God  um so she appeared to these young children The   Visionaries right she always appears to the young  innocent children it's very amazing uh how and why   that happens and then in a place like this that  has this kind of History here like yeah why not   here why wouldn't our lady do work here right  um and now you know one of the priests and one   one of his homes he said he was telling us the  people the pilgrims like you the pilgrims You're   The Apparition so some ways like she be our lady  begins her work in these places and then people   come from all over the world I mean that's the  most amazing thing it's the most amazing thing   um yeah a bit of this uh same thing in Lords  like sometimes people like to compare these Mar   and Apparition sites and yeah this one is still  active the church hasn't made in an official site   yet uh some of the Visionaries are still having  messages from our lady so it's very interesting   but Lords yeah same bernardet Subaru is no longer  alive but it's still an active place too because   there's still Miracles happening there there's  still conversions happening there there's still   people being healed here and that's happening  here as well so you can't come to a place like   this and hear people's stories and testimonies  and just see people on their knees and see the   reverence in their face for the sacred and  the Divine without it moving in your spirit   without it moving in your soul right um man even  though I had that Lord's experience there was a   point where you know as I said was I was planning  this trip here it's like you have to you you'll   always get to the question why why am I doing  this you know man it's always so worth it like   don't wait I mean especially if you're healthy  do it but even if you're not healthy I've seen   people here that uh I've seen a gentleman today  had about four of his family members helping him   get up Apparition Hill and yeah he couldn't even  walk on his own um I seen going up cross Mountain   uh the other day there was a gentleman had an  infant child in his arm all the way to the top   um yeah you can't come to a place like this and  not be moved I mean yeah this is our lady's work   this is what she's doing uh she's moving people  what is the work she's doing here the work she's   doing here is she's preparing us she's I think uh  father Leon said it really well I I really enjoyed   his little talks that he gives right before Mass  he kind of really will ground us as pilgrims into   what the experience and he kind of focuses on  us and what we should be focused on but one of   the things he said that stood out to me is like  this isn't like some Mediterranean holiday you're   in spiritual boot camp and Mary's our general  so I mean I think we people all over the world   feel that's you know we're getting to a point in  time where something's happening you know we're   getting to the point with the threat of wars and  you know people questioning the the global warming   and just all the different struggles and violence  um you know Christ will come again this is what   we believe right and our lady the way she keeps  working in Apparition she's the one who's going to   crush the head of the serpent she has a very very  important role to play in the very end so I think   when she she does her her work in these little  places it's a way of kind of forming the people of   God it's a way of kind of giving us an opportunity  to feel her love one but also to be able to kind   of form our faith in a deeper way that prepares  us It prepares us for end times you know and also   gives us the ability to kind of help pass this on  to those around us and to give encouragement to   others to you know those who are down or maybe  those who are afraid you know you always ask   people what's their favorite scripture one in  mine that I've thought about a lot lately that   like comes up over and over throughout the New  Testament is Be not Afraid you know 365 times in   the Bible for every day times yeah that's amazing  because it blocks us from God I see it people   don't give testimony they're afraid but they're  blocking something maybe somebody had to listen to   their story sometimes it feel so sad but but you  don't judge because I had the the fear I didn't do   things you know but I sometimes he sad because man  she had a story I love to listen I got listen love   to listen to your story so no fear for you yeah  no fear I mean times we still may feel fear but   by putting ourselves in the sacraments you open  yourself up to Grace you know ask our lady for her   Graces as uh in my travels in France last year  I was very lucky to visit the uh the Chapel of   the miraculous metal wow back in Paris in Paris um  experience that experience is very special um that   church and there's another church nearby called  notam de VTO also very special but St Katherine   labor in her kind of visitations with me I think  she you have it in the hand no I do have it in   my hand to show it to people get that one at your  priest and where it always have it all especially   in these times with you yeah keep on going just  to very simple prayer oh Mary con received without   sin pray for us who have recourse to thee so in  the metal our lady has her hands out and there's   these colors that kind of come out of her hands  and I think in one of her third V visitation   with Mary I think um she asked Katherine Le asked  our lady like she could see like the colored gems   in her hands but there's a few that the light  wasn't coming out of so she asks her her mother   like what is that or why is and our ladies said  basically those are Graces that no one has asked   me for MH so The Graces are there we just have to  ask for them um yeah don't forget that please ask   our God wants a relationship like between a woman  and a man communication communication he wants to   be loved be Delight in him that's what I learned  lately Delight in him just be not even thaning   just be wow God's so nice to be with you and then  naturally comes to thank you first down not yeah   I mean before this showing God you know sh God  yeah yeah before this visit over here I was over   by that statue where Jesus uh is wounded yeah  it's um it's something I've spent a little bit   of time that the birds sing that seem sweeter  they sing sweeter in that area the sun shines a   little more warmly in that area but if you kind  of just it's one thing when you go up like when   I first went up it was like I don't know if I'm  going to see anything right we always doubt I it's   natural to want to doubt we want to see evidence  um I got up and I I saw it there I saw something   that I can't explain um beyond that though I've  I've continued to go back there and I just would   kind of sit off to the side and just kind of  take in watching the people kind of go up there and a a place like that where something special  is happening like that it deepens people's love   it gives them I was seeing people consoling Jesus  I was seeing them feeling his pain nothing more   than feeling the love of Christ very special  spot there there's so many special places here   in magoria I uh I think my in my spirit the last  week even though I know that I'm leaving tonight   uh I've been like internally I feel like my spirit  is trying to figure out man I want to stay could I   stay another week or another month I want to live  here you know it's uh but I know that's not going   to happen but I do hope I can make it back one  day in my lifetime um if I don't I'll take this   back with me back to where I'm from and I'll  tell the story cuz I remember that's something   you hear a lot when you read about magig I think  this is part of it is because it's still an active   place there's a lot of people that question  um the authenticity of it but if you come here   there's no way you cannot be moved by all the  people that are that are praying there's no way   that you could climb up you know Apparition Hill  and see the kinds of people that are you know   struggling their way up there regardless of what  their ailments are how old they are even or how   young they are um there's no way the people are  coming from around the world here to be with our   lady and to be with her son right and you're not  going there's no way your spirit won't be moved by   that by the witness of that um yeah so beautiful  yeah and coming back to your grandfather what did   he give you as an advice Catholic what is the  why was he Catholic did you talk to him yeah I   I did talk to him I mean and grandmother as well  both yeah grandmother as well I mean um they were   consistent influencer my life they were a witness  for me to see of people who held the church and   held particular my grandfather Harry with our  lady like the Blessed Mother as you would call   her I remember he would told me this is before  I kind of even realize the significance of it   I think back now and I remember the times he told  me about like Lords and Fatima particularly Fatima   for his generation I think was a really really  big one I remember he shared with me this book   I still have it to this day it shows some of the  pictures from Fatima and you could see like the   pilgrims looking up at the miracle of the sun  I mean yeah he uh all those things his he got   it from his mother you know he um he would tell  me stories when he was a little boy he get his   mother would dress him all up and you would go  through the processions through the neighborhood   um I think when he was growing up the church  was a little more kind of uh present in the   neighborhood maybe than it is now um you know he  went through the change over too he came up with   the Latin mess and he lived through that period  where kind of the v in can to and things change   and that was a little bit difficult on him but he  didn't dwell on it he carried on he embraced it   out of obedience to the church um and I think it  was 2014 we we slightly changed the MK again and   to be a little more accurate to the original word  and at his Advanced stage at that point that was a   little bit difficult for him but you he embraced  it and he learned the new phrases instead of in   peace with you in peace be with your spirit you  know little changes but when these things become   ingrained you kind of become attached right but  he didn't hold on uh I see a lot of that now with   our church that I mean we're not Protestants  we shouldn't have these kinds of divisions or   arguments among each other of you know the trads  the tradition versus the uh the Vatican tours the   the Nova Ordo I mean get in where you fit in in  our church our church expresses itself in so many   beautiful ways I think right now the church in  Africa there's this priest I follow um and social   media and it's very he's in Malawi he he it's  very interesting the way the church expresses   itself there the way the people sing it it's such  a joyful expression um and very he calls it like   are African basilicas and the in the middle  of their communities they're using sticks and   logs and branches and creating a place and man how  lovely is that to see you know we have these big   beautiful basilicas in our churches but we also  have these very simple almost like Huts which is   also part of the Catholic faith um we could learn  the Latin mass and we could share that in common   but we could also go to meet like when I was  traveling around France last year I don't speak   French but I could still understand the movements  of the mass because I spent enough time with my   own faith formation back home that I understand  the order of the mass yeah and so same thing here   with the international Mass every night um you  could put the radio on and you could follow along   with in your translation but you don't even need  to do that you could kind you could understand the   movements of the mass and sometimes it's beautiful  to hear the mass in in other language these are   languages are beautiful um so many beautiful Lang  I mean there's there's no other Faith like ours I   mean we're the most inclusive religion absolutely  everyone is welcome yeah right yes anyone could   convert anyone could have a conversion of heart  yeah you know and come to believe amen yeah amen   that's we have to make it clear because the media  is projecting that we are total extremists and we   we are exclusive and it's a lie it's not the truth  we hate the sin and it sounds middle-age but it   means UNL and hate Creed that's what we hate and  we try to get it out of our Lives yeah and that's   the truth what it's really about we have to get  it back we had to have also to gain Crown P Christ   died in public so you have to stand up for Christ  in public as well that's what I write on Facebook   today he he wasn't dying in a little room not  offending anybody publicly visible for everybody   and the Earth was shaking the the holiest of holy  the the curtain split apart everything became   public visible know yeah all the creation reacted  all of creation reacted to it you know it's so   beautiful what you said and what do you take home  now from metoya leaving tonight um I take home a   profound sense of Peace you know uh you try to  always kind of keep that with you when you visit   sacred places whether it's your local church or a  local Shrine of some sort or if you get to visit   somewhere in the world particularly in migor  I think the feeling I'll take back from here   is just this deep sense of motherly love um a deep  sense of love for praying the rosary MH um a sense   of the Sacred and divine like we said earlier and  the way that plays out in our brothers and sisters   and those are the people next to us in the pews  in our churches those are the people that live   in our communities in our neighborhoods people  are praying quietly in their own Hearts you know   with their own Rosary or those who get together  in big groups and pray and sing together uh yeah   I'll take this story home with me I'll share  it with as many people as I can yeah and that's   why they should come to Mago to experience that  as well yeah I I can't imagine having come here   and after ask asking myself why I was coming here  your videos really helped a lot you know hearing   people's plain testimonies that kind of gave  me an idea of what this place is and then also   your walking tours kind of helped illuminate it  for me if I just went by what's on the media the   thing when we we look things up on the internet  is for any one thing we could find 50 different   um talking points um so I think in that way you're  not really going to with migor is you almost have   people will tell you you'll hear it from someone  people might give you a little encouragement or   you'll come across someone who yeah since people  back home when they knew that I was coming here I   was there and it was a lifechanging experience  nothing was ever the same again um now having   been here myself is going to be the same  message that I share with people when I go   back home wow yeah well what can I say thank you  for the beautiful interview thank thank you Tom

Channel: Tom Medjugorje

Views: 7,372

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Id: yC_FMgcvPoM

Length: 50min 58sec (3058 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 20 2024