"This place [Medjugorje] is wide open with God's Divine Mercy. And you see the peace. And the peace that you see is the Blessed Mother's presence... She is present... Please come here. This is where you’ll experience the two most critical pieces of the culmination of salvation history. Again, I don’t think we have any idea, at all, the time we are living in and the importance of what is happening and what God and Mary are doing right here.”
Father Chris Alar, MIC
There is a power in your ministry, this apostolate. It's a remarkable thing for me, to pray for you, for this apostolate, for my upcoming pilgrimage and for the holiness of priests.
I am overwhelmed with the power that I encounter as I pray about all this. It brings me to my knees in humility and a desire to surrender in ways that I don't even know how to express at this moment, it's so powerful and beautiful..."
Fr. Rob Elford
Testimonies of Medjugorje
Fr. Scott Brossart, SOLT Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
I can’t thank you enough for all you have done for me and for this Apostolate for Priestly Consecration to Our Blessed Mother. Without you and without this Apostolate, I would never have received the tremendous graces that God and Our Blessed Mother have been pouring into my heart and life during my last several pilgrimages with you.
...Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for your own yes to the Lord and to Our Blessed Mother.
The Apostolate for Priestly Consecration – Fr. Scott Brossart, SOLT, continues his thoughts above, with this deeper reflection:
I wanted to share with you a few thoughts I have on the Apostolate for Priestly Consecration. What does it mean to me and how important is it for these times?
First of all, Our Lord tells us that we need to read the signs of our times. Our Lady, according to the formally approved apparitions of the Catholic Church, has appeared within our own century to warn us of the spiritual dangers of our times and to plead with her children to turn back to God in conversion and to make reparations for the sins of the world. Without God, there is no peace.
This is the central message of Our Lady of Medjugorje… to return to God and enter into a life of prayer and living the Gospel and Sacramental life in our daily lives. She asks us to live five spiritual stones:
1) PRAYER with the heart the daily Rosary
2) EUCHARIST Receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament every Sunday and to go to daily
Mass whenever possible.
3) HOLY SCRIPTURE Read Holy Scripture, especially the Gospels every day.
4) FASTING Fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays5) CONFESSION Go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a Month. Go frequently and regularly.
Although Medjugorje has not been formally approved by the Catholic Church, the Holy Father has sent a papal envoy (or an official representative) to Medjugorje to care for the spiritual and pastoral needs of pilgrims and has allowed official church pilgrimages to take place in Medjugorje.
But WHY IS THE APOSTOLATE OF PRIESTLY CONSECRATION SO IMPORTANT? Without priests there are no sacraments, especially the living presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. There would also be no forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament of Confession.
Our Lady desires to form priests after her own heart who would be renewed in their priesthood and truly seek to lay down their lives for souls and who would draw souls closer to her Son. She desires to deepen their prayer life and help them to come closer to her Son in the Eucharist and bring others closer to Him in return. There is also a special grace given in Medjugorje for priests to hear confessions and this also has been recognized as a spiritual fruit of this place. But even more than this, she desires that priests be consecrated in a special way to her so that she can confer special graces upon them and their priestly ministry.
For example, during the most recent pilgrimage to Medjugorje with the Apostolate for Priestly Consecration there was a laicized priest who joined us, unbeknownst to us. During this pilgrimage he made an announcement that his heart has been moved to begin seeking to return to the priesthood. This is a concrete fruit of this apostolate and how amazing it truly is and this was only the third pilgrimage given so far.
But there has also been abundant fruit given to me. Without this apostolate under Janet Moore’s direction, I and many other priests who could have never afforded to go to Medjugorje are given the gift of going there for free. The Apostolate pays for each and every priest who desires to go and who cannot afford to go on their own. Wow. That in itself is an amazing gift for me and for so many other priests. I personally have been touched by the graces in Medjugorje and I would never have received the tremendous graces that God and Our Blessed Mother have been pouring into my heart and life during my last several pilgrimages with Janet Moore and this Apostolate.
Without your support and contributions to this much needed apostolate, this would never happen so I thank you! I thank you from the depths of my heart for myself and for each and every priest or bishop who will be given the opportunity to be touched directly by the graces given to us as priests in Medjugorje and to become more devoted to Our Blessed Mother through our priestly consecration to her as her priestly sons. May she form us after the likeness of her own Priestly Son’s Heart, Jesus Christ. I also personally want to thank Janet Moore for starting this Apostolate of Priestly Consecration. Without her own “fiat” or yes to the Lord and to what Our Blessed Mother is asking of her, this Apostolate would not exist in this world nor in these much needed times.
Fr. Darrin May - Diocese of Wichita
In September 2021, I had the pleasure of going on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Janet Moore arranged and led the pilgrimage from Wichita to Medjugorje. Medjugorje is a place of alleged Marian apparitions. It is not my intention to make a formal statement about the apparitions and I submit myself entirely to the Catholic Church’s discernment. I am writing about my own personal experience which was very positive.
I’ve been on several pilgrimages including Fatima, Lourdes, Rome and the Holy Land but the pilgrimage to Medjugorje was different. Why? That is a difficult question to answer. We did meet 4 of the 6 visionaries and were present at one of the apparitions. One might ask if those were the highlights and the answer for me was surprising, no.
So what were the highlights? It was experiencing the fruit of Medjugorje. Following are a few personal “fruits”:
1st – Medjugorje has been called the confessional of the world. This has intrigued me for some time. It was with joy that I was able to hear confessions there. The experience was beautiful! The pilgrims were devout and truly open to the Holy Spirit. After speaking with another priest, who was from Switzerland, we were both amazed at our experiences in the confessional.
2nd – was the humility of Mirjana. She is one of the visionaries but it was her humility that was so impressive to me. When we arrived at her home which is also a hostel for pilgrims, she was waiting tables in the cafeteria. Mirjana was scheduled to talk to our group but she thought she was only going to say hi. When she met us and found out about the misunderstanding, she was truly embarrassed and ended up talking with us for about 45 minutes or so. Her humility during the conversation was tangible to me and she may well be the most humble person I have ever met. I’ve seen plenty of false humility and hers was truly authentic and moving.
3rd – was the joy of being a priest. It is true that there are many joys of being a priest but typically the joys are tied more in what we do as priests than just being a priest. This is very difficult for me to explain but in Medjugorje, it was the joy of just being a priest. It was there that I truly experienced the love of the priesthood without any judgements or agendas. I found there an authentic love for the priesthood and what a priest really is.
It is in gratitude to Our Lady that I say Thank You for the opportunity to go on the pilgrimage. I am deeply grateful to Janet Moore for inviting me to go and then making the pilgrimage possible. Also, the group of pilgrims that went were amazing and each one was a blessing for me...
I’ve been on several pilgrimages including Fatima, Lourdes, Rome and the Holy Land but the pilgrimage to Medjugorje was different. Why? That is a difficult question to answer. We did meet 4 of the 6 visionaries and were present at one of the apparitions. One might ask if those were the highlights and the answer for me was surprising, no.
So what were the highlights? It was experiencing the fruit of Medjugorje. Following are a few personal “fruits”:
1st – Medjugorje has been called the confessional of the world. This has intrigued me for some time. It was with joy that I was able to hear confessions there. The experience was beautiful! The pilgrims were devout and truly open to the Holy Spirit. After speaking with another priest, who was from Switzerland, we were both amazed at our experiences in the confessional.
2nd – was the humility of Mirjana. She is one of the visionaries but it was her humility that was so impressive to me. When we arrived at her home which is also a hostel for pilgrims, she was waiting tables in the cafeteria. Mirjana was scheduled to talk to our group but she thought she was only going to say hi. When she met us and found out about the misunderstanding, she was truly embarrassed and ended up talking with us for about 45 minutes or so. Her humility during the conversation was tangible to me and she may well be the most humble person I have ever met. I’ve seen plenty of false humility and hers was truly authentic and moving.
3rd – was the joy of being a priest. It is true that there are many joys of being a priest but typically the joys are tied more in what we do as priests than just being a priest. This is very difficult for me to explain but in Medjugorje, it was the joy of just being a priest. It was there that I truly experienced the love of the priesthood without any judgements or agendas. I found there an authentic love for the priesthood and what a priest really is.
It is in gratitude to Our Lady that I say Thank You for the opportunity to go on the pilgrimage. I am deeply grateful to Janet Moore for inviting me to go and then making the pilgrimage possible. Also, the group of pilgrims that went were amazing and each one was a blessing for me...
Fr. Darrin May - Diocese of Wichita, KS
Hear from some priests from our past Medjugorje Pilgrimages:
I am writing to say thank you. First to God, for a wonderful Medjugorje experience. I left with that memory of the peace of the town and a sense of something authentic taking place there. I enjoyed particularly the 6 p.m. mass and the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 7 p.m. I thank Our Lady for her blessings and favours.
…Our Lady decided I should be among the lot of those who don’t get to see all that was planned for one reason or another. I intend to return but I cannot say when. I have not come back radically changed but my perspective certainly has and that will give rise to its own brand of ongoing conversion and deepening of prayer and charity.
I wish you all God’s blessings are we return to the world of the mundane and the ordinary. Yet, I pray, the Good Lord will cause to flourish many favours and blessings in that very ordinariness. And that Our Lady, who heard God’s voice in the ordinary circumstances of a neglected village, will help you become extraordinary Christians.
Fr. Martin Sirju - Vicar General Diocese of Port-of-Spain in the Caribbean
Fr. John Anthony Boughton, Vicar of CFRs, one of our Spiritual Directors in June 2022
Homily
Fr. Jim Blount, SOLT, Spiritual Director in October 2022 - Preparing us for our first Mass in Medjugorje
“…with profound joy and gratitude I thank you from the bottom of my heart for offering me this valuable and meaningful trip.
I really loved and received the healing and blessings of Mother Mary in my life.
Now on I will be the messenger of Queen of Peace …
… this pilgrimage changed my life.
[A few years before the pilgrimage, Father Praveen’s lungs were so severely damaged that the doctors had given up hope for him even to survive… But, then, Father Praveen recounts that Mother Mary of Medjugorje came to him while he was in ICU and she gave him a “second life”. He came in October 2022 to Medjugorje to thank Mary – but he still had frequent struggles with his lungs… until he climbed Mt. Krizevac on the last day of our pilgrimage! Now he writes:] …”I have received abundant blessings and am not worried of my health at all.”
“I …love to be there in Medjugorje along with you spending precious time in that holy place. Really I am passionately in love with Mother Mary Queen of Peace in Medjugorje. …I am longing and waiting to see you again and our Mother Mary.
Thank you so much ma’am for doing such a wonderful ministry and a salvation of human kind through Mary. God bless you abundantly madam.”
Fr. Praveen Nukathoti
The Apostolate of Priestly Consecration's 41st Anniversary Medjugorje Pilgrimage October 2022
Fr. Augustine Madanu
The Apostolate of Priestly Consecration's 41st Anniversary Medjugorje Pilgrimage October 2022
Fr. Praveen Nukathoti
Apostolate of Priestly Consecration's 3rd 40th Anniversary Medjugorje Pilgrimage in May 2022
Fr. Roger and Fr. Glenn
Apostolate of Priestly Consecration 40th Anniversary Pilgrimage May and June 2022
Fr. Tyler Mentzer
The Apostolate of Priestly Consecration's 41st Anniversary Medjugorje - Ireland Pilgrimage October 2022
Fr. John Aerts
Father Praveen's Incredible Testimony of Healing from the October 2022 pilgrimage - when he returned to India
Fr. Praveen Nukathoti
Fr. Jarrod Lies testimony from our May 2022 pilgrimage
Fr. Jerome from Nigeria's testimony from Medjugorje and Fr. Jozo Retreat May 2022
Thank you so much for your concern and sponsorship. What I have done for you is like a drop in the ocean. You are a great soul
who made it possible for us to visit Medugorje. It has a lot of spiritual benefits. I sent some of our photos to my younger sister
who is a nun. She is really impressed by all these photos and spiritual events. May God bless you abundantly.
Thank you ma'am. God bless you
It's my blessing and you are my precious gift given by Mother of Medjugorje... God continue to bless you abundantly and
be instrumental in the spreading the message of Queen of Peace to the entire world. Amen
Fr. Augustine Madanu
...thank you indefatigable servant in the Beloved and His Vineyard with Mary and Joseph and all the Angels and Saints and Poor Souls!
I think Jesus Mary and Joseph are very happy and pleased with your yes as they have brought so many firstly, ...and then from so many varied places! Alleluia, well done good and faithful servant of the Beloved Triune-Lamb!
I think Jesus Mary and Joseph are very happy and pleased with your yes as they have brought so many firstly, ...and then from so many varied places! Alleluia, well done good and faithful servant of the Beloved Triune-Lamb!
Fr. John F Aerts