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BY PRISCILLA GREEAR
Staff Writer
KENNESAW--Before a silent congregation at St. Catherine of Siena Church,
Medjugorje visionary Ivan Dragicevic knelt before a crucifix where at 6:40 p.m.
he reported receiving a message from the Mother of God.
“Tonight I have had the vision,” he said to the congregation which
filled the church Jan. 5. Dragicevic said Mary appeared to him wearing a crown,
gold dress and white veil.
“She came and she was very happy. She gathered us and said,
‘Praise you children’ and then she extended her arms over this
congregation and prayed for us,” Dragicevic said as Croatian Father
Giordano Belanich of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., translated for those
gathered.
Dragicevic was 16 when, in 1981, the Virgin Mary reportedly began appearing
to him and five other young people in the mountain village of Medjugorje in the
former Yugoslavia. Nearly 18 years later, the visionary says he continues to
receive visions and he travels around the world, spreading the message of faith
and peace.
Father Paul Burke, parochial vicar at St. Catherine’s, led the
congregation in reciting the rosary to begin the evening. Father Burke, who
traveled to Medjugorje in October and who plans two more trips this year, later
addressed those gathered, affirming Mary’s example and the significance of
Medjugorje.
“Mary worked no miracles, wrote no books, founded no religious orders.
She simply did what we are called to do--she accepted God’s will and
carried it out in her life with unwavering faith at all times,” he said.
“No matter what our problems are, we can look to Mary for an example and
understanding as we confront them. She will direct us to her son, Jesus, who
gives meaning to our world.”
Father Burke encouraged the congregation to put into practice the spiritual
guidance given at Medjugorje which he called “the essence of the spiritual
life.”
He later noted that many have had conversion experiences in Medjugorje,
including priests who have recognized their vocations while there. He believes
the reported apparitions, which are still being studied by the church, will
eventually be declared of supernatural origin.
Dragicevic then shared the message of Medjugorje, which he said is meant for
all people worldwide. He said that, while he was shocked when he first had
apparitions, he now views spreading the message as a difficult challenge to
fulfill, yet a great joy.
“The most important message is the message of peace, conversion,
prayer, fasting, strong faith, love and hope,” he said, and that Our Lady
challenges one to live for God. “She desires to take us by the hand and
lead us on the road to her Father.”
“She loves us so much and she’s calling us all to abandon sin that
we may open our hearts more toward peace and God. And this peace to which she
is calling us and to which we are called is a great gift. She’s asking us
to be more open to the power of the Holy Spirit and the key to that door is
prayer. Our Lady keeps asking us to return to God.”
He told the congregation to avoid criticizing and blaming others but instead
to pray for others and focus on improving themselves and living prayerful lives
instead of just talking about it. He said many Christians have abandoned prayer
which then leads to spiritual deadness.
“She desires that we would become people of prayer--prayer from the
heart, that we would pray from the heart to the God of love, that prayer would
be a living encounter with Jesus, that it would be a friendly conversation with
him, a moment of relaxation and that it would become joy--something that we
would want to do,” Dragicevic said.
Dragicevic told those gathered that Mary calls Catholics to the most
important form of prayer, the Eucharist. “Mass (should be) the center of
our lives. She’s also calling us to confession,” he said, adding that
prayer is a decision. While some say they lack enough time, “The problem
is love. When you love something you find the time for it,” he said.
Dragicevic said Our Lady calls families to read Scripture and spend quality
time together. She calls people to venerate the cross and to fast with bread
and water on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Following his testimony, individuals who heard his message described how
they have benefited from their Medjugorje experience.
Teddie Reichenbach, a Medjugorje pilgrim from St. Ann’s Church,
Marietta, said she has been an inactive Catholic and seeks a sense of
direction. She was inspired by the message.
“I need to work more on prayer,” she said. “I pray, but I
don’t think I pray like I should pray...It’s a new awakening kind of
to remind you that there is a purpose to your life.”
“The other message that I learned tonight is that you do really have to
help other people,” she continued. “The way he talked tonight I felt
that he really does see her.”
Croatian Mick Butorac of St. Theresa’s Church in Douglasville said that
Mary’s message of prayer affirms the religious traditions he was taught
prior to the Second Vatican Council.
“It’s kind of a thing that all Catholics need to do and somehow
we’ve forgotten about it,” he said. “We’ve also gotten away
from confession because a lot of times the priest will tell you to go once a
year and you need to go more. I think in a lot of ways in order to keep people
coming we’ve made it (Catholicism) more palatable, but I think
there’s a new momentum to get back to the fasting and prayer. I see that
in a lot of young priests.”
Genny Hoene, a member of the rosary group at Holy Family Church in Marietta,
has been to Medjugorje five times. She described the pilgrimage as intense
spiritual schooling where one hears talks by Franciscan priests and visionaries
and where one is encouraged to go to confession and climb the apparition hill.
“It gives you a deeper awareness of your faith and where your true
sense of values are,” she said.
Along with other pilgrims, Hoene, who believes Catholics lack understanding
of Marian theology, is helping to plan the “Mary, Mother of God”
conference to be held in February in Cumming.
“A lot of people have been influenced by their non-Catholic friends.
They think that we worship (Mary)--that’s the last thing from the truth.
She always leads us to her Son,” she said. “We’ve all been
inspired by the Blessed Mother and her message and we want to spread the good
news.”
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