The reason I wanted to come here is to walk the path of Mary. I actually asked Mary the direction that she wants me to go, where she wants me, where I can best serve Mary and serve God. 

There’s no question that Mary has been here on numerous occasions, as she has in a multitude of areas. I do believe that the apparitions of Mary here formulate our future and how we are to move forward. If we don’t move forward in the direction that is provided, then we are due a great calamity.

I grew up in the faith. I branched off after I got out of high school and walked the way of the world. I spent 32 years in the military. But I believed myself to be still on that path, even at that time, although I wasn’t faithful to the church.

Following the faith, there’s no question that life became better. I won’t say it’s not difficult. Life remains difficult, but better, substantially better. That doesn’t mean that the path will be free of hardship.

I lost a daughter about six years ago. That in itself has drawn me closer to my faith life. She herself was in the military. In fact, when she did enlist, she went through the officer corps and found herself in Afghanistan seeing a lot of horrific things of man’s inhumanity that caused her to have PTSD. She succumbed to that battle with PTSD. 

I have four other kids. Honestly, we haven’t gotten to in-depth conversation about me coming to Medjugorje to follow Mary. I anticipate that the conversations will come when I get home. 

I have experienced things in my life that have been really traumatic prior to this. Everything that has happened to me that has been so devastating, I have found willingness to accept what’s transpired, learn from it, and know, always know, that something good will come of each event that has been so horrific.

As I relate that back to my daughter’s passing, I still seek what is good to come of the devastating event. Yet I know that there will be good. I know that good is there. 

Who better knows about losing a child than Mary, in the death of Her Son and all the good that has come from that?

Those are the things that give me comfort. 

As long as I know the direction, I will walk. 

As you walk in your faith, you meet others that, as your journeys intersect, will help guide you and move you forward.

I teach consecration to Jesus through Mary utilizing the 33 Days to Morning Glory book from Father Michael Gaitley. I have been instructing that book for a few years.

That’s one of the things I perceive that was to come of the death of my daughter. 

And we look at it as a fruit. We can understand the devastation of it. And we can wallow in the self-pity, the remorse, but if we do that, we do not grow.

But if we look at it to improve, good can grow from this.