SHORTS 27 • 26 • 25 • 24 • 23 • 22 • 21 • 20 • 19 • 18 • 17 • 16 • 15 • 14 • 13 • 12 • 11 • 10 • 9 • 8 • 7 • 6 • 5 • 4 • 3 • 2 • 1
July 28, 2026
“...because Satan is strong and seduces hearts”
• “Last night, Medjugorje was the victim of terrible acts of vandalism. The statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Blue Cross and on Apparition Hill were partially covered in black paint (notably the Virgin's face and hands) as well as satanic inscriptions. Furthermore, a large fire was lit on the outdoor altar (under the rotunda), causing significant damage.”
source: Dear Gospa
The Medjugorje parish office has published a statement on its website.
“It is with great sadness that we received the news of the act of vandalism that damaged the prayer areas in our parish. We immediately began cleaning and repairing the damage so that all areas would be properly prepared for the prayer again. We thank all those who, with their work and selfless help, participate in ensuring that the sanctuary remains a place of encounter with God, a place of peace, and a place where the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, is honored.
In a special way, we invite all faithful to respond to this event in the way that Our Lady has been teaching us for over forty years in Medjugorje: with prayer, fasting, and forgiveness. We pray for the conversion of the hearts of those who committed this act, that the Lord may touch them with His grace and lead them on the path of goodness. We also pray for peace in the hearts of all people. Our Lady constantly invites us to be carriers of peace. May this event encourage us to take her invitation even more seriously: not to return evil for evil, but to witness love, forgiveness, and hope with our lives. The shrine remains open to all pilgrims. The prayer program is taking place regularly, and all the spaces are being rapidly cleaned and prepared so that they can once again be a place of prayer and encounter with the Lord through the intercession of the Queen of Peace.
July 25, 2026
Medjugorje message, July 2026
• Dear children! While darkness and peacelessness rule in many hearts, you, little children, be prayer and my extended hands of love. Little children, place the Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it, so that it may be an encouragement for you to conversion and a new life; because Satan is strong and seduces hearts. Your hearts, through my maternal Heart, I desire to commend to the Heart of my Son Jesus, so that He, the Risen One, may reign in you and joy may begin to reign in you and around you. Thank you for having responded to my call. (With Ecclesiastical approval)
July 22, 2026
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalen
• Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Mary who was distracted with all the serving said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered: “Martha, Martha,” he said “you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.”
Luke 10 : 38-42
• Dear children! Today I call on you to read the Bible every day in your homes and let it be in a visible place so as always to encourage you to read it and to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Medjugorje Message, October 18, 1984
• The image above is detail from the Magdalen Reading by Rogier van der Weyden, housed at the National Gallery, London. Magdalen is modelled on Livina, the daughter of the painter Jan van Eyck. She entered the convent of St Agnes in Maaseik, Belgium, in 1449, eight years after her father’s death.
July 21, 2026
The spirit of curiosity
• During one of his morning Mass homilies, Pope Francis said children are curious and they find many bad things online. They should be helped not to become prisoners of this curiosity. He urged Christians to ask for the Holy Spirit who gives certainty against this unhealthy curiosity.
Pope Francis called on Christians to pray for the grace to be able discern between good and bad curiosities and to open one's heart to the Holy Spirit who gives certainty in life.
Celebrating his morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, the Pope described the interaction between Jesus and his disciples in the day’s Gospel as a healthy “dialogue between curiosity and certainty".
Noting that life is full of curiosities, the Pope stressed on being able to differentiate between good and bad ones. He said children’s inquisitiveness is healthy, because as they grow up they notice things they don’t understand and seek an explanation. This, he said, develops autonomy and is also a “contemplative curiosity", because children see, contemplate, do not understand and ask".
On the other hand, the Pope denounced gossip as bad curiosity, as it is being nosey about the life of others that ends up dirtying others, making people understand things that they do not have the right to know. This kind of bad curiosity "accompanies us all our lives” he said warning “it is a temptation that we will always have."
However, there is nothing to be frightened of but one must be careful. The Holy Father said there are many curiosities, for example, in the virtual world, with mobile phones and other things... He said children visit sites curious to see and they come across many ugly things. “There is no discipline in that curiosity,” the Pope warned and urged adults to help young people live in this world, so that the desire to know does not became a desire to be curious that makes them end up as prisoners of this curiosity.
On the other hand, the Pope regarded the curiosity of the apostles in the Gospel as healthy because they wanted to know what will happen and Jesus responded by giving them a certainty that "never deceives", promising them the Holy Spirit who will teach them everything and remind them of everything He has told them.
The Pope said it is the Holy Spirit who brings certainty in our life, but not like a bundle of certainties. In the measure we proceed in life and ask the Holy Spirit opening our hearts, he said, the Holy Spirit give us the certainty for that moment, the answer for that moment. The Holy Spirit is the companion on the journey of a Christian, the Pope said.
This talk between Jesus and his disciples, which is “dialogue of between human curiosity and certainty,” the Pope explained ends with this reference to the Holy Spirit, “the companion of memory” that leads to “fixed happiness” that does not move.
Pope Francis thus exhorted Christians to go where there is true joy with the Holy Spirit, who helps them not to make mistakes.
source: VATICAN NEWS
July 20, 2026
Feast of the prophet Saint Elijah
• Elijah, the patron saint of the Order of Carmelites, was one of the great prophets of Israel, but he did not leave behind any written records of his prophecies. His life and deeds are recorded in the Book of Kings, where we learn that he was a man of faith and courage who confronted the idolatry and corruption of his time. His name Elijah means ‘the Lord is my God’, and this is the message he embodied and proclaimed to the people of Israel.
The first Carmelites were originally hermit settlers on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Here, they built a chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A Rule of life was written for the hermits by St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, between 1206 and 1214.
source: carmelite.org
• The image is detail of St Elijah from the Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament painted by Dieric Bouts between 1464 and 1468. It is exibited at St Peter’s Church, Leuven, Belgium.
July 17, 2026
A local Saint
• In a wooded dell on the slopes of the Clent Hills is a small spring-well dedicated to Saint Kenelm, a local Saint and Martyr. In former times, this was a place of popular pilgrimage, and our own Cardinal Newman would walk there on the Saint’s feast day, 17th July. The boy Kenelm, known for his piety, was the son of the local King of Mercia, and therefore heir to the throne upon his death.
His jealous sister, Cwenthryth, persuaded her accomplice, Askobert, to take the boy hunting and murder him in the forest, where he buried the little body of his victim. However, locals noted a cow keeping guard at the mound, where a mysterious light glimmered; whilst in Rome, the Pope received a mysterious message about the boy’s martyrdom, delivered by a dove.
The boy’s body was found and taken to Winchcombe Abbey. A spring of water issued forth from the empty grave, and yet another during the journey to the abbey, where the body rested briefly. So shocked was Cwenthryth on hearing the news, that her eyes fell out of her head, onto the book she was reading. Both springs are flowing still and may be visited.
Fr Anton Guziel, parish priest, Oratory of St Philip Neri, Birmingham
July 16, 2026
The sacrifice on Carmel
• Elijah stepped out in front of all the people. “How long”, he said “do you mean to hobble first one one leg then on the other? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.”
1 Kings 18 : 21
• I have come to you with open arms in order to take you into my embrace, under my mantle. I cannot do so as long as your heart is filled with false glitters and false idols.
part message to Mirjana, August 2, 2005
July 13, 2026
A sword will pierce your heart...
• Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
Matthew 10 : 34-36
• The image of a sword marked with a cross is detail from the St Joseph panel of the Mèrode Altarpiece
July 12, 2026
The Medjugorje message...
• “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.”
Matthew 13 : 16
July 07, 2026
Wrapped in the mantle of justice*
• Forgiveness of sin is the Lord’s chief characteristic. All God asks is admission of sin and repentance. (Exodus 34 : 6-9)
• Come now, let us talk this over, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1 : 18)
* Baruch 5 : 2
July 06, 2026
Reaching out in faith
• While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.
Matthew 9 : 18-22
• Dear children! Listen, because I wish to speak to you and to invite you to have more faith and trust in God, who loves you immeasurably. (part message, August 25, 1996)
June 25, 2026
Medjugorje message, June 2026
• Dear children, Rejoice with me because the Most High permits me to be with you, to lead you to Him Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Rejoice, little children, and be joyful also in difficulties and you will have the strength, because you will be aware that you are transient and you will know to offer everything to God. That is why, do not forget: I am your Mother and I love you. Thank you for having responded to my call. (with ecclesiastical approval)
June 24, 2026
God exists
• A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. John 1 : 6-7
• A woman came, sent by God. Her name was Mary. She came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light so that everyone might believe through her.
• During his homily at Mass I attended, a priest mentioned it was the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham (September 24). He then went on to say that people ask why Our Lady appears in apparitions. He provided a simple explanation: “It is to show that God exists.”
His answer reminded me of the very early message of Our Lady at Medjugorje when she said: “I have come to tell the world that God exists.” It also reminded me of the series of dismissal blessings at Mass. There are four.
• Go forth, the Mass is ended.
• Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
• Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
• Go in peace.
The blessings invite us go and tell the world that God exists – to witness to our faith in him by our own lives.
Imagine the Son of Mary saying to his Mother: “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord”, or, “Go and tell the world that I exist”. Is this possible?
It was Mary who said to the servants at the Cana Wedding: “Do whatever he tells you”.
Miracles happen when servants listen and respond, and then new wine, new life, flows abundantly. Prayer is the water, the grace needed to fill empty vessels.
• When my wife returned from her first pilgrimage to Medjugorje, her first words to me when I met her at the airport were: “Don’t ever tell me there isn’t a God!
Three years later I made my first pilgrimage to Medjugorje. It changed my life. God exists. He spoke to my heart, loud and clear, and said, “My love for you is greater than your sins.”
June 22, 2026
Of splinters and planks
• Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye”, when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7 : 3-5
• Whenever I read this passage from today’s Gospel, I’m always reminded of how the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck made a reference to it in the Angel Musicians panel of the famous 15th century Ghent Altarpiece.
Five angels appear in the top corner of the panel, while St Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, is portrayed seated at an organ.
One of the major themes embedded in the panel is blindness. St Cecilia was blind and the five angels are also depicted as having impaired vision.
Observe the angel at the edge of the frame and see how the wooden surround – the plank – covers her left eye!
June 21, 2026
Father’s Day
• Today we celebrate fatherhood – a vocation that flows from the very heart of God.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen
June 20, 2026
Trust in Providence
• Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?
Matthew 6 : 26-27
June 18, 2026
A call to prayer
• A couple of days ago, during her apparition to the Medjugorje visionary Marija, Our Lady requested that the following day should be set aside for prayer. The day also happened to be scheduled for the World Cup 2026 football match between Croatia and England.
The result went in England’s favour, 4-2.
I’m sure that over the four-week duration of World Cup, there will be many prayers offered for a team’s success – and for players to be kept free from serious injury.
But does God really have a favourite national football team or even for any of its players? I would say that these prayers are heard but not answered by God in any direct response to those who petition him for their team’s success.
However, when the Argentine player Diego Maradona scored a controversial goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, he explained it was “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the [left] hand of God”.
A positive take on football fans offering prayers for their team’s success is that they are acknowledging a Higher Power and turning their hearts and minds to God in hope. Afterwards, if their team is successful, they may even express their gratidude to the Almighty with the words, “Thank God!”
The most beautiful prayer anyone can offer God is the Eucharist, which means ‘thanksgiving’.
King David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7: 8-28, is one that acknowledges the glory of God in all things, and asks only for his ‘right hand’ to bless the House of David.
June 14, 2026
Faith and football
• Earlier today, Ben Gannon-Doak featured as a star player in Scotland’s World Cup win against Haiti at the Boston Stadium. But being in the spotlight is not new to the young footballer.
At 16, he left Celtic for the bright lights of the Premier League with Liverpool. It was far from a seamless move south, though, with the boy from North Ayrshire discovering football can be a lonely place when injured and away from home. Then, he rediscovered God.
Brought up a Catholic, Gannon-Doak admits he “strayed away from it” for a while, before “hearing God call me, with an urge to get back into it”. “I just felt God calling me,” the 20-year-old revealed in a film for BBC Scotland's A View from the Terrace earlier this year. “I realised I started to feel a bit better and stronger and started coping better with things, and I just thought, ‘Oh, that's not a coincidence’. I think that’s the way it happened for me.”
With God on his side, Gannon-Doak – who received a Bible from his gran – feels “strong and grounded” but it’s something he practices in private. “I’m praying before games, I read the Bible on my own – I won’t really do that in the dressing room because there’s a lot of different faiths in football. It’s also just better to do it in private as you can really focus. A dressing room can be quite chaotic at times, but it's at the root of everything, including my football.”
source: BBC News
photo: MAGN IMAGES via Reuters/David Butler
June 14, 2026
Sheep without a shepherd
• When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’
Matthew 9 : 36
June 12, 2026
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Dear children, I invite you to open the door of your heart to Jesus as the flower opens itself to the sun. Jesus desires to fill your hearts with peace and love.
part Medjugorje message, January 25, 1995
• Most loving Jesus, when I consider your heart and see it full of mercy and tenderness, my own heart is filled with joy and confidence that I shall be so kindly welcomed by you.
June 09, 2026
Feast of Saint Colmcille
• Sometime around 560, the Irish abbot and missionary Saint Colmcille became involved in a quarrel with Saint Finnian of Movilla Abbey over a psalter. Colmcille copied the manuscript at the scriptorium under Saint Finnian, intending to keep the copy. Saint Finnian disputed his right to keep the copy. Thus, this dispute was about the ownership of the copy (whether it belonged to Saint Colmcille because he copied it or whether it belonged to Saint Finnian because he owned the original). King Diarmait mac Cerbaill gave the judgement, “To every cow belongs her calf, therefore to every book belongs its copy.” This was the first known case of copyright infringement to be tested by law.
Source: Wikipedia
• In the picture above, the first cottage on the left was built by my grandfather. The historic building was recently renovated and now serves as a holiday home known as Teach Neil Mhanais. Booking details can be found at booking.com
June 07, 2026
Follow Me with Your Heart
• On Monday, June 22nd, 2026, the premiere of the documentary film “Follow Me with Your Heart” will be held in Medjugorje.
The film tells the story of Fr. Slavko Barbarić, a priest whose life, spiritual work and closeness to people have left a deep mark on people all over the world. Through testimonies, archival footage and the memories of contemporaries, the film presents his legacy and the messages of faith, prayer and service that still inspire many today.
More details at MIR, the Medjugorje parish website.
June 06, 2026
Itching ears
• For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.
2 Timothy 4 : 3-4
June 05, 2026
Come and see...
• Medjugorje can be summarised with these words: Come and see, and experience peace and grace. All those who come as true pilgrims will find peace. Medjugorje has become the biggest place of conversion, even for those who come as tourists.
Medjugorje is a matter of heart – approach with your heart, not with your head. Then you will become a new creation, renewed by the Holy Spirit. Come and see – this is what Jesus said to his disciples, yet Jesus had no home.
Jesus is something like Utopia – no place – but in his heart there is room for everyone. And Our Lady is our Mother and Queen.
Fr Tomislav Pervan OFM
June 04, 2026
I desire to lead you...
• The call for election of new leaders, and changes in government is often an outcome of a dissatisfied spirit among groups of people. Unhappy with the current state of affairs and administration, change is called for. Let someone else take the lead and do better.
But in reality, so often the new regime fails to satisfy all of the people all of the time, and eventually another switch at the top is demanded.
Following leaders can seem at times to be akin to the blind leading the blind – and the pit is often close by.
St Thomas Aquinas believed the best form of government was monarchy, because it best served the common good. He argued that the goal of any ruler should be the unity of peace.
In the Book of Wisdom (4:20), kings and governors are reminded that their sovereignty and power is a gift from God, but those who act in ungodly fashion “will come trembling to the reckoning of their sins, and their crimes, confronting them, will accuse them”.
So we should pray for our leaders, of all kinds and persuasion.
Our Lady at Medjugorje invites us to pray for her intentions and plans. She is a monarch that calls for unity of peace in hearts and in the world. She is the Queen of Peace
With her Medjugorje messages Our Lady has been conducting a long-running campaign for change – for 45 years. She also recognises the difficulties that we find ourselves in and presents a solution for our needs. She too wants to lead us to a better future. She also makes promises; if we listen and respond to her messages, then she will lead us to a place in our life where we can live in peace.
She is a leader who asks for our mandate, our ‘yes’. If we decide for Our Lady and her plan of salvation then she promises to lead us. As to where and how, allow Our Lady to voice some of her manifesto:
• I wish to lead you further in love...
• I wish to lead you daily more and more in prayer...
• I desire to lead you on the way of holiness...
• I want to lead you all along the way of conversion...
• I am here, dear children, to help you and to lead you to heaven...
• Be of just and innocent heart that I may lead you to your Father...
• I wish to renew you and lead you with my heart to the heart of Jesus...
• Give your hand to me, your mother, and permit me to lead you...
• I come to you today to lead you on the way of humility and meekness...
• I am with you, to lead you towards what your heart yearns for...
• I desire to lead you to the joy of your life...
June 02, 2026
The Five Stones
In the five decades of the Rosary, I see the five smooth stones of the prophet David.
There is nothing you cannot conquer.
This is the weapon against your Goliath, against your enemy.
Yes, you can defend your Jerusalem and your Israel.
Can you believe that you are Our Lady’s David?
Do not be afraid.
Today Our Lady places the Rosary in your hand and the gift of prayer in your heart.
Fr Jozo Zovko OFM
May 30, 2026
Feast of Saint Joan of Arc
• It wasn’t until 1456 and 25 years after being burned at the stake that a posthumous retrial declared Joan innocent of the charges brought against her. Before then, the official line was that Joan was guilty, not only of heresy, but also of cross-dressing.
So producing a painting gloryfying the deeds of Joan before her posthumous trial carried risks. But the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck did so shortly after her execution in May, 1431. In fact, just 12 month’s after the Maid was put to death at Rouen, Jan unveiled her image to the public on May 6, 1432.
It’s unlikely that many who come to admire the famous Ghent Altarpiece would recognise Joan in her male attire in the Just Judges panel. Of the ten featured riders, Joan is the only figure with her head uncovered. Her hair is cut short. It was cropped in May 1428, at the same time when she was made to dress in men’s clothes to disguise her femininity before journeying to Chinon to meet with the dauphin Charles.
The figure of Joan is fashioned to represent her family’s coat of arms, “Azure, a bow or in fess, thereon three arrows crossed …, on a chief argent a lion passant gules.”
Azure is the blue coat, on which is a bow-or – the gold chain shaped as a bow. The three arrows are the three pointed segments of her collar, the fess. The chief is a charge that runs across the top edge of a shield, in this case the white, argent, fur trim of the blue mantle, while the lion passant gules refers to Joan’s shorn red mane. “En passant” (in passing) is also a pawn capture move in the game of chess and points to Joan’s capture at Compiègne on May 23, 1430.
• More on the Ghent Altarpiece at this link.
• The above image is detail from the Just Judges panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, sourced from the website: closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be
May 29, 2026
The Holy Trinity and a ‘Da Vinci Code’
• The picture above shows detail from a page in a Holy Book featured in a painting of the Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci.
Closeup, the black and red writing appears to be an indistinguishable script, although some individual letters are recognisable but not any words.
What can be recognised is a string of five consecutive letters from the latin alphabet – m n o p q – that suggests the sequence is there for a reason... a code of some kind.
The code is a reference to the Most Holy Trinity whose feast is celebrated this Sunday.
To find out more and how the the code is deciphered, go to THIS LINK.
May 28, 2026
What are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit?
• The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are:
(1) Wisdom; (2) Understanding; (3) Counsel; (4) Fortitude; (5) Knowledge; (6) Piety; (7) Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11 : 2-3).
(from the Penny Catechism (A Catechism of Christian Doctrine)
May 25, 2026
Medjugorje message, May 2026
• Dear children, May this time be for you a time of prayer and fasting. Return, little children, in love to God who is your peace. I am with you, little children, and I love you with my motherly tenderness. Thank you for having responded to my call.
(with Ecclesiastical approval)
May 18, 2026
Medjugorje... a place of repentance
• Our Lady made her first appearance at Medjugorje on June 24, 1981. It was no coincidence that it happened on the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, sent by God “as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him” (John 1 : 7).
John claimed his mission was to baptise with water and that Jesus would follow him to baptise with the Holy Spirit. (John 1 : 33)
What prompts a person to repent of their sins? It can only be the action of the Holy Spirit, which explains why Medjugorje is such a powerful place of repentance, and often referred to as “The Confessional of the World”.
At Medjugorje, the first of the Mysteries of Light stations on the path leading towards the bronze sculpture of the Risen Christ, illustrates the Baptism of Christ. Pictured in the mosaic are Jesus, John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb of God, and among the crowd, John the Evangelist, a disciple of the Baptist who asked Jesus, “Where do you live?” Jesus replied, “Come and see”.
Jesus’ invitation to “come and see” was often repeated by Fr Slavko Barbarić when people questioned him about the Medjugorje phenomenon.
The Holy Spirit is generally symbolised as a dove, declared by the Baptist in John’s gospel: “I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him” (1 : 32). It was John who also pointed out Jesus to his disciples as the Lamb of God.
In today’s Mass reading from Acts (19 : 1-8) St Paul states: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him – in other words, Jesus…” – the sacrificial lamb of God, “the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit” (John 1 : 33).
The picture above doesn’t show the dove that appears on the mosaic. The Holy Spirit is never seen at Medjugorje, but instead is witnessed in the lives and actions of repentant pilgrims.
“ I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God: what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above. The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.” (John 3 : 4-8)
May 17, 2026
He prayed for us
• “I pray for them...for those whom you have given me” (John 17:9). There is something deeply moving about knowing someone has prayed for us. A parent lifting a child to God, a friend interceding in a time of need, even a stranger speaking our name before the throne of grace – it touches the heart. How much more, this extraordinary truth: Jesus prayed for us. On the night before He gave His life, He ascended to the Father and continues to intercede for us.
In this prayer, Jesus united us to the Father through the very “hour” that lay ahead – His death on the Cross – which He called His glory. He asked that we might truly know God and keep His word, not by our own strength, but by the Spirit of Truth. And through His self-offering, we are held secure.
Because Jesus prayed for us, we now pray for one another. Today, carry someone before the Lord. Ask for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit into their lives, that the gifts of the Spirit may take root and bear fruit, and that they may be transformed in Christ Jesus – because He first prayed for us.
Fr Ian, OSA
May 14, 2026
A glorious mystery
• Was the Mother of Jesus present when he ascended into Heaven from Mount Olivet? The apostles were there but none of the four gospels make it clear if Mary was among them.
The Italian sculptor Carmelo Puzzolo, who made the fifteen Rosary stations erected on Apparition Hill, included Mary in the Ascension scene. She is seen placed as the central figure with John and Peter either side.
However, there is somewhat of a mystery about the number of figures in the lineup. Not including Mary, there are twelve, But Judas Iscariot had earlier commited suicide, so that should leave eleven apostles. The twelfth figure can’t be Matthias, chosen to be the apostle to replace Judas. He wasn’t elected until after the Ascension.
Two of the figures have their back to the viewer. Could these represent the two angels who were also present at acene. If so that would leave only ten disciples accounted for.
May 12, 2026
Pope Leo meets with Medjugorje bishop
• Today, Pope Leo received Bishop Petar Palić of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina in which Medjugorje is located.
Bishop Palić, who has led the diocese since 2020, is also apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan and vice president of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the May 11 audience, Pope Leo and Bishop Palić “discussed the pastoral situation in the dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan, as well as the current sociopolitical challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the episcopal conference’s news agency said in a statement.
Source: catholic culture.org
May 01, 2026
Crossing the sea
• He who calls us, came here below, to give us the means of getting there. He chose the wood that would enable us to cross the sea – indeed, no-one can cross the ocean of this world, who is not borne by the Cross of Christ. Even the blind can cling to this Cross. If you can’t see where you are going very well, don’t let go of it, it will guide you by itself. So then, brethren, this is what I should like to impress on your hearts, if you want to live in a spirit of devotion, a Christian spirit, cling to Christ just as he became for us, so as to rejoin him as he is now and as he has always been. This is why he came down to us, for he became man that he might take up the weak, enabling them to cross the sea and disembark into the homeland, where a ship is no longer needed, because there is no more ocean to cross.
St Augustine of Hippo
April 29, 2026
When darkness descends, seek the Light
I, the light, have come into the world,
so that whoever believes in me
need not stay in the dark any more.
John 8 : 12
• Before starting from my inn in the morning of May 26th or 27th, I sat down on my bed and began to sob violently. My servant, who had acted as my nurse, asked what ailed me. I could only answer, “I have a work to do in England.” I was aching to get home; yet for want of a vessel I was kept at Palermo for three weeks. I began to visit the Churches, and they calmed my impatience, though I did not attend any services. I knew nothing of the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament there. At last I got off in an orange boat, bound for Marseilles. Then it was that I wrote the lines, “Lead, Kindly Light”, which have since become well known. We were becalmed a whole week in the Straits of Bonifacio. I was writing verses the whole time of my passage.
St John Henry Newman
April 25, 2026
Medjugorje message, April 2026
• Dear children, I am praying for you and encourage you to a new life, a life in joy and prayer. May the Holy Spirit fill you, little children, with joy so that you may be like a spring of pure and drinkable water; that you, little children, may be in God and with God, missionaries of love and peace. Your life is short here on earth and that is why I am with you to lead you towards Heaven. Thank you for having responded to my call. (with Ecclesiastical approval)
April 24, 2026
Feast of the Conversion of St Augustine of Hippo
• Now when deep reflection had drawn up out of the secret depths of my soul all my misery and had heaped it up before the sight of my heart, there arose a mighty storm, accompanied by a mighty rain of tears. That I might give way fully to my tears and lamentations, I stole away from Alypius, for it seemed to me that solitude was more appropriate for the business of weeping.
I went far enough away that I could feel that even his presence was no restraint upon me. This was the way I felt at the time, and he realised it. I suppose I had said something before I started up and he noticed that the sound of my voice was choked with weeping. And so he stayed alone, where we had been sitting together, greatly astonished.
I flung myself down under a fig tree – how I know not – and gave free course to my tears. The streams of my eyes gushed out an acceptable sacrifice to thee. And, not indeed in these words, but to this effect, I cried to thee: "And thou, O Lord, how long? How long, O Lord? Wilt thou be angry forever? Oh, remember not against us our former iniquities." For I felt that I was still enthralled by them. I sent up these sorrowful cries: "How long, how long? Tomorrow and tomorrow? Why not now? Why not this very hour make an end to my uncleanness?"
I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when suddenly I heard the voice of a boy or a girl I know not which--coming from the neighboring house, chanting over and over again, "Pick it up, read it; pick it up, read it."
Immediately I ceased weeping and began most earnestly to think whether it was usual for children in some kind of game to sing such a song, but I could not remember ever having heard the like. So, damming the torrent of my tears, I got to my feet, for I could not but think that this was a divine command to open the Bible and read the first passage I should light upon.
For I had heard how Anthony, accidentally coming into church while the gospel was being read, received the admonition as if what was read had been addressed to him: "Go and sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me." By such an oracle he was forthwith converted to thee.
So I quickly returned to the bench where Alypius was sitting, for there I had put down the apostle's book when I had left there. I snatched it up, opened it, and in silence read the paragraph on which my eyes first fell: "Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof."
I wanted to read no further, nor did I need to. Forinstantly, as the sentence ended, there was infused in my heart something like the light of full certainty and all the gloom of doubt vanished away.
St Augustine, Confessions
Translation: Albert C. Outler
April 23, 2026
Medjugorje charter flights from Derry...
• City of Derry Airport has partnered with Marian Pilgrimages to offer charter flights direct to Mostar, the nearest airport to Medjugorje.
The first flight took off yesterday with additional charters booked for April 29 and May 6.
The service is certain to boost interest in travelling to Medjugorje among people across the North West of Ireland.
April 21, 2026
Grapes among thorns
• Don't gather grapes from thorns; after all it's impossible for grapes to be produced from thorns. But haven’t you noticed a vine shoot getting into a hedge as it grows, and entwining itself in the thorns, and putting forth buds among the thorns, and producing bunches of grapes?
You’re hungry, and you're walking past, and you see a bunch hanging among the thorns; you don’t do anything, you don’t pick it. You’re hungry and you want to pick it. Pick it then; stretch out your hand carefully and attentively; beware of the thorns, pick the fruit.
In the same way too, when a bad or worthless man speaks the teaching of Christ to you, listen to it, accept it, don’t ignore it. If he’s a bad man, the thorns are his; if he says good things, it’s that bunch hanging among the thorns, it isn’t growing from the thorns.
So then, if you’re hungry, pick it, but watch out for the thorns. You see, if you begin to imitate his deeds while gladly listening to him, you have been careless in stretching out your hand; you’ve encountered the thorns before reaching the fruit. You emerge wounded, you emerge scratched and torn.
The fruit coming from the grape is now no use to you, but the thorns, springing from their own proper root, are doing you damage. Notice, I mean, to avoid being misled, where you've picked the fruit from; it’s a vine branch.
Keep your eyes on the branch, and see how it belongs to the vine, comes from the vine, proceeds from the vine, but encounters the thorns. So the vine doesn’t have to draw back its branches, does it?
In the same way too the doctrine of Christ, as it has grown and made progress, has entwined itself with good trees, entwined itself with bad thorns. It is spoken by the good, spoken by the bad. It’s for you to notice where the fruit comes from, where what feeds you springs from, and where what pricks you springs from. They are mixed together in public appearance, but distinct from each other in their roots.
St Augustine, (sermon 340A.1O)
April 19, 2026
The sacrifice of atonement
• Be purified of sins and in Jesus, my Son, recognise the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the entire world. May He be the meaning of your life...
part message given to Mirjana, March 2, 2008
• Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. It is related to the idea of atonement…
Source: Wikipedia