When I came, I was thinking that seven days was too much. What am I going to do for seven days?

The first day, when I went to Apparition Hill, it was raining, and we were still walking, and I would see a lot of people walking. Then something gave me peace when we reached Our Blessed Mother, the statue of Our Blessed Mother. I really felt so amazing, an inexplicable moment that I experienced there.

Then we were coming back, and the rain never stopped. I never felt like the drizzling was falling on us. I felt like it was falling away from me. It was such a blessing. 

On the second day, I was saying, “Six days is not enough for us. We need more days.” 

I’ve heard a lot of things about Medjugorje since 2005. I heard a lot of good things about this place, but I never had a conviction. Even when Marina talked about Medjugorje and she said, “Father, you’ve got to go. You’ve got to go.” I said, “Yes, yes, wait.” But I never gave her any word. 

One day, she was coming to the office, then I was coming from my home to the office. Something happened and we decided very quickly to go to Medjugorje. I was sitting in the conference room then said, “Okay, let us call Cimela.” 

We called you and you took the call on the first ring I think, and said, “Father! I was thinking about you! What’s going on?” 

“Okay, we’re ready to go.” 

Cimela: What’s crazy is when they called me, we didn’t have any pilgrims. We were going to cancel. We fasted, our whole team fasted because we didn’t have anybody signing up and we were like, “I guess we’re not going to do pilgrimages anymore.”

Then you guys called and said you wanted to bring your parish. And then I thought, “Wow, Our Lady is saying, ‘Don’t quit yet.’”

Fr. Xavier: Now I feel like I don’t want to go back. Or at least I want to stay another two weeks.

This is what I felt in Lourdes, this kind of peace…

I want to spend at least two weeks in Medjugorje and two weeks Lourdes.

Don’t doubt until you come here. First of all, you have to convince yourself by leaving. Come and experience and then you can decide whether you can come or not next time. Until then, don’t decide. Don’t doubt. 

This is such a peaceful place. 

Blessed Mother is always present whenever I celebrate any sacraments. I always imagine that Blessed Mother is present, especially when I celebrate Mass, I always picture that Blessed Mother is present with all the saints. 

During the pandemic, whenever the church was closed to the public and we were celebrating Mass without any people, but I kept all the regular Masses, like four Masses. I did all the four Masses.

But I was convinced in that moment that all of those people who were coming regularly to the Mass, their guardian angels and the saints are present in the church for the people who are regularly attending. So I kept all of them. I never missed any Masses during the pandemic.

From that moment, all the more I feel that Blessed Mother is present.

So today, of course, I feel that now, the presence of Blessed Mother who wants to come to us and be with us and tell us that person is a blessing, everyone. It’s not about our sin. It’s about the mercy He has for us.

When I was climbing Apparition Hill, I felt so much peace. I cannot explain it with words, but you have to live it. That’s the first moment that I got it, that opened my peace and opened my joy.

Then when we were in the Mass in the evening outside with all the priests, it was so beautiful looking at all the pilgrims. There’s many people. 

That brings my memory back to India, where Our Blessed Mother appeared and did the miracles. Now, millions and millions of people go there. I remember because I did my high school there. Since I was living there for four years in that place, I could see thousands and thousands of people who are Muslims and Hindus who are not believers of Christ, but they come to ask Our Blessed Mother to intercede for them. They come with great faith and conviction and Our Blessed Mother, and there are lot of miracles that happen. There are thousands and thousands of miracles that happen to Hindus and Muslims.

Those are not Catholics and those are not Christians, but they receive more miracles than any of the Catholics. That is Our Lady of Good Health. 

That brings that memory. I see that same conviction that people all over the world, from New Zealand to Australia, from South Korea, and I meet these people and see how much conviction, how much faith they have in Our Blessed Mother. They all come, not just like a tourist place to visit someone, but they come here to live their faith. That’s the most impressive thing that I encountered here.

That opens my happiness, the joy that’s felt in this place.

When I read Mirjana’s book [My Heart Will Triumph] I encountered that Our Blessed Mother appeared, there was joy for her, but at the same time, she and her family and the whole village went through such a great pain. But all people have understood it’s for a good cause. That’s what we have to stand for. If anything happens, we should know that it’s for a good cause, that God has allowed us to go through that pain or maybe tribulations, but we should not give up.

Our faith is not to give up, but to persevere, endure, any suffering, any pain in order to gain the Kingdom of God, the joy of our hope. 

Come and live. You yourself have to experience the joy. Everyone has to experience the joy and spread the joy and spread the peace. First of all you have to live that peace and joy. So come.