A VOCATION HIGHER THAN ANGELS

When I was only nine years old, I used to go around telling everyone that I wanted to be a priest. At that time I wasn't even baptized yet (I was baptized at the age of eleven) but even then I had already fallen in love with Jesus. I used to go to the bookshop near my school to buy pictures of Jesus and I used to look at these pictures and talked to Jesus for ages. It never occurred to me then that there are no women Catholic Priests!

Unlike children of my age, I wasn't crazy of my favourite artistes. The people I adore and respect are neither artistes nor politicians but our unsung heroes - our priests. Why do I choose these unnoticed heroes to be my heroes? Because they do not live for themselves but for us. Because they live to serve us. I just couldn't think of any other nobler vocation than that.

We all want to make lots of money, to get married and have children, to enjoy ourselves and live a comfortable life. What is so unique about our priests is - they are NOT one of us. They do not preach to make money for themselves, their wife and children. In actual fact, they are paid very little for their noble vocation. Instead of busy making money for themselves, their wife and children, our priests give themselves entirely to God and to men. Whatever they do, they do it for our church, for us. They live the life of Christ and travel the path that he had travelled. And these heroes certainly deserve all the praises on earth! (Please click here to view the contents page of this blog)

OUR PRIESTS, OUR UNSUNG HEROES

The above photos were taken during the Eucharistic Procession in Lourdes on 4 June 2008. When I saw our heroes during the procession, I felt so proud of them. I immediately took out my camera and snapped as many photos as I could throughout the procession. In Malaysia, we don't get the chance to see so many priests.

Only those endowed with superhuman strength can accept the call to priesthood and the truth is - not many are endowed with this special gift from God. The priesthood is not a career option. It is a vocation which places on our priests the heavy demands of Christ's life and in living these demands they have truly become our heroes.

In the midst of this materialistic world where everyone is busy pursuing wealth and fame, these unsung heroes forgo all earthly treasures, career, marriage, and even themselves to lead us to the path of righteousness. How many of us can actually be like them? We all want to make a lot of money, to get married and to have children, to enjoy ourselves and to live a comfortable life. This is human nature and that's why the number of priests is declining. Our priests have therefore become a rare treasure today.

We tend to show great love and respect for our favourite artistes but we seem to have forgotten about our priests who have devoted their entire life serving God and serving us selflessly with great patience and endurance. How much love and respect have we shown to our priests? Who baptized you when you were born? Who feeds your soul and gives it strength to travel the journey of life? Who will prepare you for your last journey home to appear before God? Our Priests, of course. But have we ever expressed our gratitude to our priests? Many of us tend to take our priests for granted assuming that it is their duty to serve us. Perhaps it's time for us to learn the art of gratitude.

Let us pray for our Holy Father, our Bishops and all our priests in this special Year for Priests. Let us remember to be grateful to them for the sacrifices that they have made for us. (To view the contents page, please click here )

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

In Lourdes, I followed the Way of the Cross on Calvary Hill almost everyday to relive in spirit every step along Christ's path to Golgotha. Each time I went through the Way of the Cross I couldn't help feeling that I was going up Calvary with Jesus - accompanying Him on His last journey. There are altogether 15 monumental stations with larger than life bronze statues illustrating the various scenes of the Passion on Calvary Hill and this is something which is really unique to Lourdes. This 1500 metre Way of the Cross starts from the side of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and winds its way up the wooded hill with its highest point at the Twelfth Station (The Crucifixion) and then slopes downwards to the last station (The Resurrection) and back to the Basilica.

If I could go back in time and live in a different era than the present, I would choose to live during the time of Jesus so that I could accompany Jesus on His way to Calvary. That's why Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has become my favourite movie. I watch this movie to get the feel of Calvary. I prefer the Aramaic Version of this movie because Jesus' everyday language was Aramaic. (Nazareth and Capernaum, the towns where Jesus lived, were Aramaic speaking communities). I have watched this movie over and over again so many times that I have learnt quite a number of Aramaic words. This is the only movie which really depicts the emotion, pain and passion of the crucifixion of Jesus. Many commented that it was too bloody. This is because they failed to see the trauma that Jesus actually went through.

Jesus' sufferings actually began in the Garden of Gethsemane. According to Luke 22:44, "In his anguish he prayed with all the greater intensity, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground." This is a condition known as hemathidrosis where the tiny capillaries in the sweat glands break thus mixing blood with sweat. This could happen under great emotional stress like what Jesus experienced in Gethsemane. Therefore Jesus had already started bleeding in Gethsemane and the bleeding continued up to Calvary. Here I would like to list out the traumatic experiences that Jesus went through after the agony in the garden.

1. He was being struck repeatedly across the face.

2. He was flogged with the flagrum which tore into the flesh of his back. This could shred the skin and cause massive bleeding.

3. A crown of thorns was pressed on his scalp.

4. He was struck across the head driving the thorns deeper and deeper into the scalp.

5. The wooden beam (between 110-125 pounds) crushed on Him and His bleeding wounds during his walk to crucifixion.

6. Jesus was nailed to the cross.

7. The legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, through the pericardium and into the heart of Jesus.

Just look at the wounds on the body of Jesus. How much blood do you think would gush out from these wounds? Do you think that Jesus is as bloodless as you see in the paintings? The depictions of Christ's sufferings and crucifixion in these paintings have somewhat become too decorative and bloodless that we tend to forget the real emotion and pain that Jesus had gone through. We know that Jesus was crucified but we don't see the horror of the crucifixion. Mel Gibson had therefore done a good job for it is in "The Passion of the Christ" that we can really see the actual sufferings of Christ and the horror of the crucifixion. (To view the contents page of this blog, please click here )

LOURDES AND ST' BERNADETTE

The statue of Bernadette Soubirous in front of the museum dedicated to her, namely, the Museum of Saint Bernadette.

Who was Bernadette Soubirous? Born on 7 January 1844 in the Boly Mill, she was the daughter of Francois Soubirous, a miller, and Louise Casterot, a laundress. In 1856, there was a famine in Lourdes and the Soubirous family had to live in extreme poverty when Francois Soubirous was left without a stable job. Penniless and homeless, they had to take refuge in a damp, unhealthy, and tiny old prison cell known as The Cachot. Although this tiny chamber was unfit for human habitation, the Soubirous family lived there from the winter of 1857 to the autumn of 1858 because they were allowed to stay there free of charge. Bernadette did not attend school very often because she had to assist her family. In September 1857, she was sent to Bartres to help Marie Lague, her former nurse, who was looking for someone to babysit her 2-year-old son and tend the flock. Life in Bartres was very harsh for Bernadette as she had to do almost everything and was not given proper meals most of the time. On 21 January 1858, Bernadette was only too glad to return to the insanitary dungeon to be reunited with her family and to prepare for her first Holy Communion. After returning to the Cachot, she attended the hospice school run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers and was put in a pauper's class.

From 11 February to 16 July 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous on 18 occassions at the Grotto of Massabielle. Following these apparitions were numerous miraculous healings associated with the Grotto. To this day, miracles are still happening there and that is why Lourdes has become one of the popular pilgrimage sites of the world. Although Lourdes is only a small town, it has the second largest number of hotels in France because more than 6 million pilgrims visit this place of miracles every year.

The spring which appeared when Bernadette dug in the ground following Our Lady's instructions now produces 5000 litres of water per hour. Every year, millions of pilgrims, especially the sick and handicapped, flock to Lourdes to drink water from the miraculous spring in the Grotto and wash in it. Many claimed to have been healed after drinking water from the spring or bathing in it. The spring water is simply pure water and there is nothing magical in it but since it was first discovered by Bernadette, the Mother of God has used this water as an instrument of healing as a sign of God's presence in this place of holiness. Although not every sick or handicapped pilgrim who visit Lourdes would experience a miraculous healing, those who have been there would understand the value of suffering and live life with dignity and fortitude.

As the Mother of God's chosen one, Bernadette could have made herself a millionaire with the apparitions. There were people who offered to make her rich if only she would go to Paris with them and give talks about the apparitions. She could also ask for donations to start her own hotel and restaurant business in Lourdes and make big bucks out of the pilgrims. Money should not be a problem for her because of her position as the renowned visionary of Lourdes. Needless to say, if she were to ask for donations in the name of Jesus and Mary, the pilgrims would gladly give her anything she asked for after having witnessed so many miracles associated with the apparitions. With lots of donations pouring in, she could build a megachurch and purchase a lake house in no time. She could even ask for more and more donations until she became one of the richest women in France. However, instead of taking advantage of Jesus and Mary and busy making money out of the apparitions, Bernadette Soubirous left Lourdes forever in July 1866 "to hide" and become a nun. She joined the Sisters of Charity in Nevers and devoted her entire life to God and humanity in the belief that the world would soon forget her. Why did she go to Nevers to hide when she could easily make huge money from the pilgrim boom and live a comfortable life in Lourdes? Only a real saint could make such a selfless choice. 

Bernadette remained in Nevers until she died at the age of 35 on 16 April 1879 after a prolonged, deteriorating, painful, and fatal illness. In September 1878, her pulmonary tuberculosis had developed into tuberculosis of the knee with cavities on the bone and that was the time she had to endure the worst sufferings in her life. Worn out and weary through her sufferings, her asthma and bone decay have finally wasted her away. On 14 April 1878, she told Sister Leontine that she was crushed like a grain of wheat. Although many miraculous healings were reported following the apparitions, it seemed that the miracles of Lourdes were not intended for her. As what the Mother of God said to her, "I cannot promise you happiness in this life but in the next." This was how Bernadette, who remained brave and cheerful till the end, summarised her entire life, "I am happier in my bed of pain than any queen on her throne. To obey is to love. Suffering in silence for Christ is joy. To love sincerely is to offer up everything, above all suffering!"

Bernadette's body was placed in a double oak coffin of lead and oak and sealed in the presence of witnesses on 19 April 1879. She was buried in a damp grave for 30 years. When her body was exhumed for the first time on 22 September 1909, her body was found to be well-preserved and incorrupt even though the rosary which she held in her hands had turned rusty. When she was exhumed again for the second time on 3 April 1919, pathologists Doctor Comte and Doctor Talon came to similar conclusions as their predecessors. On 18 April 1925, her body was exhumed for the third time and according to the autopsy report, her internal organs were in perfect condition. Even her liver was amazingly well-preserved! It should be noted that the liver is an organ which is most subjected to decay. Today, Bernadette's miraculously preserved body lies in a bronze and crystal casket in the Chapel of Saint Gildard's Convent in Nevers where millions of pilgrims come to venerate her every year. Beatified on 14 June 1925, she was canonized by Pope Pius XI on 8 December 1933. Her feast day is celebrated on 16 April. 

Lourdes is not just about apparitions and miraculous cures. Those who go there on with great expectations for miracles and healings are most likely to feel disheartened. In reality, Lourdes is a humble place for prayers and penance. To this effect, Bernadette had truly answered Our Lady's call by living a life of humble prayers, penance, and sufferings. What really makes me adore her so much is the fact that she had rather walk in the footsteps of Jesus than to pursue wealth and make huge profits out of the apparitions. Abusing the name of Jesus and the Gospels to make boatloads of money is something I find unacceptable and, of course, scary. In a world full of greed, she is a rarity. The message from Our Lady to Bernadette was clear and simple- poverty, prayer, and penance were the keys to the Kingdom of God.

You may also like to read The Message of Lourdes, Beware of Greedy, Selfish and Money-Hungry Pastors and IF YOU WANT TO GET RICH QUICK, START A CHURCH.  To view the content page of this blog, please click here. 

SAYING GOODBYE TO MEDJUGORJE

Even when I was packing the night before I left Medjugorje my heart was filled with sadness. I was rather reluctant to pack that night. In my heart I regretted very much for not buying the statue of Jesus that day. I really liked it very much. It was quite a big one, about 2 feet, and I was wondering how I could take it home without breaking it. I have already bought a statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje and two statues would be too heavy for my hand luggage. And the two Krizevac Crosses, the blue cross, the wooden cross, the metal cross and all the other breakable souvenirs ... I had to bring them home with great care too! And the books that I bought at the bookshop near St' James Church - there were so many of them (but of course they are unbreakable and much easier to handle). That's why I said that Medjugorje is a shopper's paradise. There are so many things to buy that you can never finish buying all the things that you want to buy.

I can never forget the day I said goodbye to Medugorje. It was one of the saddest days in my life. I had an early breakfast that day and left for Sarajevo at about 8.00 a.m. On the way to the airport I took some photos with my camera. As you can see in this blog, these photos are nothing glamorous but they are very precious to me because they make up a part of my Medjugorje trip. And it was in Medjugorje that I discovered the meaning and purpose of life.

As my car was approaching the airport, I knew that I could never escape the fact that it was time to go home. In my heart, I was praying to our Lady of Medjugorje asking her to take me to Medjugorje again and again and again in the future. And I asked her to let me know what I could do for Medjugorje (Please click here to view the contents page of this blog).

MEDJUGORJE PHOTOS

Medjugorje is a peaceful and amazing place - a special place where heaven touches the earth. There is beauty everywhere and the presence of God can be felt wherever you go. It is a place of prayer and reconciliation where everyone is kind, friendly, honest, and helpful. In this article, I would like to share my Medjugorje photos and postcards with my readers so that they can see for themselves what it means to stay in Medjugorje. To view more photos of Medjugorje, please click on the links (in blue) below the photos.

St. James Church and its surroundings. St. James Church is the Parish Church of Medjugorje and a popular tourist destination.

The statue of the Queen of Peace at the site of the first Marian apparitions on Podbrdo Hill. Also known as Apparition Hill, this is where the Medjugorje events started.

The Krizevac Cross on Mount Krizevac (also known as Cross Mountain), a place of quiet prayer and peace. 

Do you know that Medjugorje has the best postcards in the world? I have brought home more than 100 Medjugorje postcards with me. These postcards are made from high quality materials that can last forever. Here, I would like to share my beautiful Medjugorje postcard album with my readers. 

My beautiful Medjugorje postcard album

Medjugorje has some of the best postcard designs

Medjugorje postcards are not only memorable but also visually appealing

Every postcard tells a story straight to the point

The postcards are also very inspirational

... with lots of colorful designs

Memories of Medjugorje that I will cherish for years

Amazing Medjugorje

Postcards from Medjugorje - a reflection of peace, faith, and hope

Beautiful postcards of hope in God

Really, Medjugorje has the best postcards in the world

Thanks for reading. I hope you like the photos and postcards. You may also like to read ARE THE MEDJUGORJE APPARITIONS AUTHENTIC?; THE APPARITIONS OF OUR LADY AT MEDJUGORJE and THE MIRACLES OF MEDJUGORJE. To view the content page of this blog, please click here. There is a list of my articles on Medjugorje on this page.

ARE THE MEDJUGORJE APPARITIONS AUTHENTIC?

Bride of Christ

My story of Medjugorje actually began way back in the year 2007. A friend of mine who is a priest invited me to visit this place in one of his emails. When I first heard of his invitation I thought that it must be a joke that he should invite me to visit such a place. What am I going to do there? I must admit that although I was baptized at the age of eleven, I didn't really focus much on religion. Time could be one of the limiting factors. I didn't have the time to pray. I have never stopped studying since the day I started schooling at the age of seven. After having completed my STPM (Form 6 examination) I started with the LL.B. followed by a degree in TESL and then an MA in English Literature. Maybe the invitation came at the right time. I had just submitted my MA thesis a few weeks earlier and was wondering what I should do for my Ph.D. thesis. I had more time to think and do some research on Medjugorje during this interval. I pondered for weeks whether I should visit this distant land. It must have been God's will that I accidentally bumped into Randall Sullivan's The Miracle Detective in one of the bookshops. I found this book very interesting. I read this book over and over again. I also read about Medjugorje on the internet. I began to understand Medjugorje more than I ever did. But still why should I go there?

One day, I prayed to the Mother of God asking her to help me make up my mind about Medjugorje. That night, I held her statue on my bed and talked to her for awhile before I put it back on the altar and went to sleep. Whether it was a coincidence or not, I felt a strong electric jolt running through every nerve of my body. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. I started praying and calling out to Our Lady telling her that "I want to live". After some time, the electric jolt stopped. For a few days, I kept thinking about what happened that night wondering what it meant. I have never had such an experience before. I did read about Rita Claus' case before but I didn't really pay any particular attention to it. When I reread The Miracle Detective again, I began to wonder whether the electric jolt that she experienced before her healing could be the same as what I experienced that night. Was it a message from Our Lady that she has invited me to Medjugorje? Well, I made up my mind at that very instant. Yes, I would go to Medjugorje. It was already April 2007 and I was only left with less than 2 months to prepare for this journey. I looked forward to go to Medjugorje with great excitement. I began to love Medjugorje.

It was about 11.30 pm when I boarded the plane at the KLIA Airport. The German guy beside me was very friendly and he had so much to talk about. When the plane finally took off I suddenly felt tears in my eyes. Yes, I was going to Medjugorje after all. I didn't want the German guy to see me crying as I myself didn't know how those tears got to be there. I looked out of the window and told the German guy that I wanted to see the plane take off. My new German friend told me that he couldn't sleep during the flight and could talk all night. I enjoyed his company very much. And he always offered me his food even though I couldn't finish mine. It was a wonderful flight and I enjoyed every moment of it including the transits in Frankfurt and Munich as well. The flight attendants were very friendly. The Germans are very courteous people.

I arrived at Sarajevo after 9.00 pm. It was already dark. On the way to Medjugorje the roads were very dark. There were no lights. It will take some time for this country to recover after the war. It was already past midnight when I arrived at Medjugorje. The first thing I saw was St' James Church in the dark.

In Medjugorje, I attended mass twice daily at St. James Church. English mass is at 10 am on weekdays and 12 noon on Sundays. Croatian rosary is at 6.00 pm followed by Croatian mass at 7.00 pm. The days I spent in Medjugorje were full of excitement. There were so many things to see and to do. I just couldn't have enough time to do all the things that I wanted to do there. I didn't even have enough time to do my shopping. And Medjugorje is truly a shopper's paradise!

Many of you would probably heard of the Risen Christ statue and about the liquid that oozes out from Christ's right knee. I saw it with my own eyes. Unexplainable, isn't it? We took turns that day to collect this miraculous liquid which is believed to have healing properties. The guy before me had already collected a small bottle of liquid and yet when it was my turn I could see more liquid oozing from Christ's knee. I used a tissue paper to absorb as much of the liquid as I can and now this tissue paper is in my Bible.

I climbed Podbrdo Hill once on a Sunday together with the other pilgrims whilst sayng the rosary. When I arrived at the top of the hill, some pilgrims were praying for a woman who was sick as she was kneeling down in front of the statue of Our Lady. I prayed together with them. My eyes were filled with tears even though I wasn't feeling sad at that moment. Although many people have contested the authenticity of the Medjugorje apparitions, I couldn't help feeling the intense presence of Our Lady in our midst right there on Podbrdo Hill that day. And it is probably this feeling that brings the pilgrims to Medjugorje year after year. They could feel her presence there. And it is this feeling that matters most irrespective of what people may say about the apparitions.

I managed to climb Krizevac Mountain twice during my stay in Medjugorje. During the first climb the weather was fine. There were lots of pilgrims on the mountain that day. I scribbled my name and the date on the lower part of the cross. I said the rosary together with the other pilgrims. I intended to climb Krizevac Mountain again before I left Medjugorje and during this second climb the weather wasn't so good. When I reached the summit there was not a soul to be seen. I saw Father Slavko's memorial and the image of this Croatian priest suddenly flashed so vividly in my mind that I couldn't help feeling that he was alive. A sense of great calm and peace descended upon me. He was there. I knew he was. I could feel his presence. Although I have never seen seen him before I have read a lot about him and my heart is always full of admiration for him. And it was indeed a great privilege that I got the chance to be alone with him on Mount Krizevac that day. I talked to him for a long long time.

After my conversation with Father Slavko, I knelt in front of the Krizevac Cross and said the rosary. There was peace and calm everywhere on Mount Krizevac at that moment. And in the midst of this great calm and peace I got my message - the message that would change my life forever. I descended Mount Krizevac a much different person. And my life would not be the same again. I was born again that day.

If circumstances would allow it, I would love to stay in Medjugorje forever. Truly this is a place of love and grace, a place of deep conversion, a place where heaven touches the earth. The Mother of God has invited me there to get closer to Her and to Her Son and my experiences in Medjugorje have taught how this could be done. When I returned from Medjugorje, I started saying the rosary every night and I could pray for hours, something I seldom did in the past. I have since learnt to say the Croatian rosary. It has been more than two years since I last said my rosary in English. I prefer to pray in Croatian and French now. Croatian is a beautiful language. I can even sing some Croatian songs now. Gospa majka moja, Kraljica mira ... And I've brought Medjugorje home with me.

My journey to this small distant village between two mountains will always remain as one of the most memorable events in my life. Truly, Medjugoje has changed my views and perceptions about life. Because of Medjugorje, I live my life all over again. I cried the day I left Medjugorje knowing that I will miss this place all my life.

So, after my journey to Medjugorje, what do I think of the apparitions? Are they authentic? Is the Gospa still appearing in Medjugorje today? One cannot deny the fact that the miraculous healings of Daniel Setka, Jozo Vasilj, Rita Claus, Diana Basile and Charlene Vance did in fact occur and they are real miracles of Medjugorje. These cannot be contested. Where does the liquid that oozes from the Risen Christ statue come from? No one can explain the mystery of this weeping statue. Is it a miracle? What else can it be? I don't deny the fact that something is really going on in Medjugorje. What about the electric jolt that I experienced the day I prayed to the Gospa asking her whether I should go to Medjugorje? Was it merely a coincidence? It has never happened before nor has it ever happened again after that night. My experience on Mount Krizevac ... I will not comment further on it here ... all I can say is I've promised to consecrate my virginity to the Lord that day. The wedding photo in my blog was taken in a ceremony to consecrate my virginity to the Lord 9 months after I returned from Medjugorje. One of the special graces of Medjugorje is when you leave this place your heart and life are changed forever. 

Thanks for reading. You may also like to read THE MIRACLES OF MEDJUGORJE; SUPERNATURAL EVENTS IN MEDJUGORJE; MEDJUGORJE'S IMPACT ON MY LIFE and IN MEDJUGORJE I FOUND THE MEANING OF EXISTENCE. To view more photos of Medjugorje, please click here. To view the content page of this blog, please click here.