The third day of the 35th International Youth Prayer Meeting – Youth Festival, started in a slightly more pleasant atmosphere, due to the rain that refreshed Medjugorje at least a little during the night. Before the official start of the morning part of the program, the young people began to take their places on the area of the White Dome of the Church of St. James, where all Youth Festival programs are held, and it all started this morning with a prayer led by the Medjugorje parish priest Br. Zvonimir Pavičić, followed by the pleasant sounds of an international choir and an orchestra of almost 100 members under the direction of maestro Damir Bunoza.
The motto of this year’s meeting, “Mary has chosen the good part”, was an incentive and inspiration for Medjugorje parish vicar Br. Ivan Hrkać for today’s catechesis. In a profound, but also humorous way, he interpreted a passage from the Holy Scriptures that brings the event of Jesus’ visit to the house of Mary and Martha.
“The Lord wants to emphasize what you do and how you do what you do, what kind of heart you have in service,” said Brother Ivan. Both roles are important for Martha and Mary, but it is important to listen deeply to the Lord. “That’s why the Youth Festival is important, we live in a rush, it’s important to come and sit down. Slowing down one’s step, pausing next to Jesus, in prayer, in the Eucharist, all this means sitting near Jesus’ feet,” Fr. Ivan pointed out, among other things, in his catechesis, in which he spoke about the motto of this year’s Youth Festival and told the story of how the doors of our hearts can be opened, but only from the inside, and never from the outside by force.
“That’s why in these days it’s important to open the door of your heart so that the light of God’s word really enters our heart so that one day you and I will really hear these words instead of Mary, to say: Brother Ivan has truly chosen a part that will not be taken away from him “, said Br. Ivan Hrkać.
The first testimony was about the hands that help, and it is the testimony of a member of the humanitarian association based in the parish of Međugorje, namely “Mary’s Hands”.
Karlo Šego, a volunteer of the Association, said that “Mary’s Hands” was founded in 2016 with the aim of helping the poor, but also everyone who needs help. The visionary, Jakov Čolo, made himself available to the former parish priest Friar Marinko Šakota, who tasked Jakov to lead the Association. At the beginning, there was a small number of users of the Association, but over the time the number increased. Currently, the Association cares for 700 families in need. Volunteers make up the strength of the “Mary’s Hands” association, they are people who responded to Our Lady’s call and want to be her outstretched hands. Currently, there are 50 volunteers in the association who give their time selflessly to brothers and sisters in need.
Br. Zvonimir Pavičić also spoke to the young people about the Peace Centers in the world that convey the message of Medjugorje, and about their meaning and strength.
“Medjugorje has no borders, but these are the people who give everything so that Medjugorje reaches all corners of the world.” The purpose of the Centers is to announce the Gospel, to bring people to God, to prayer, to show how beautiful it is to be in God’s presence. That all the beautiful things that we live in Medjugorje, we live where we are right now,” Fr. Zvonimir said, among the other things.
Fr. Carlos Pinero Medina from Spain spoke to the young people this morning about the change in his life in Medjugorje 13 years ago.
“I thank God for the miracles he performs in our lives. God was great through his mother, and my mother told me: You chose a better part,” Father Carlos Pinero Medina said.
The afternoon program of the Youth Festival continued from 4 p.m. with testimonies. The first was Dario Bezik, one of the organizers of the pilgrimage to Medjugorje from Croatia, from Zagreb.
He was born completely blind, and he brings pilgrims to Medjugorje, although, as he says, he thought someone should guide him because of his blindness, now he brings many groups to Medjugorje, and he has climbed the Medjugorje prayer places countless times, and he also talked about his experience in Medjugorje, when annually he brings between 20 and 30 pilgrim groups to the Queen of Peace, for which he is very grateful to the Lord, as well as for the numerous graces he received.
Kyiv Auxiliary Bishop Oleksandr Yazlovetskiy also gave his testimony at the Youth Festival. He told the young people that they are not in Medjugorje by chance, but that the Blessed Virgin Mary wanted to see them, and that this place and this meeting with the Mother of God and her son will leave a mark in their lives, and perhaps through them in the lives of others, and then he remembered back in 2010, when he came here for the first time as a priest studying in Rome, when he came without a collar and other priestly marks and then explained why?
“At that time, I heard a lot about this place of apparitions of the Mother of God – both positive testimonies and criticism, especially criticism. Then I decided to see with my own eyes what was happening here and I came as a spy. I attended an apparition, I celebrated Holy Mass several times, I went to Adoration, I went to confession. In essence, nothing extraordinary, nothing special, but since then I have no longer doubted that the Mother of God is present here,” said Msgr. Yazlovetskiy, who then presented several examples of the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the war in Ukraine and thanked everyone for their prayers for peace in Ukraine, convinced that many were saved thanks to the prayers from Medjugorje.
The Holy Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. 707 priests concelebrated for him.
In his homily, he spoke about how “the world is wounded, that we all need healing, but unfortunately, many of us are separated from the source from which our life, our strength and our peace come.”
“Dear young people, you too have come from distant lands to Medjugorje, to this sanctuary of Mary, the Queen of Peace, seeking the source of true peace and all good, the peace that is the fruit of a personal encounter with Jesus and a fraternal encounter with others. The Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of believers is the one who called each of you to come out again to meet Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is obvious that we carry many internal wounds, our families are wounded, our communities are wounded, the world is wounded. Wars, insecurity, marginalization, forced migration, loss of the value of life and human dignity are deep wounds that make the world, humanity, bleed; we have lost peace and it seems that humanity has lost the direction that God has set out”, said Bishop Menjivar and emphasized that “for many years, Medjugorje has been a true school of peace and brotherhood for the whole world”.
“Mary, the Queen of Peace, gathered in this sanctuary through pastoral initiatives, such as the ‘International Youth Festival’, millions of her children, especially young people like you, and taught them where to find the source of true peace and the meaning of life. Usually, this encounter with Jesus through Mary begins with a strong urge of the heart to silence, to be recollected, to pray and to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. How many people returned to faith and sacraments in this sanctuary of Mary Queen of Peace? The sacrament of confession brings inner peace, because we are reconciled with God, with ourselves and with our brothers and sisters. How many people have returned home with the firm intention to improve their relationship with their loved ones, to re-establish a relationship with a friend from whom they had drifted apart, to fight an addiction or to get rid of bad attachments? Dear young friends, when you return home, may the joy and peace of knowing that you are loved and reconciled be noticed on your faces. Rediscover the immeasurable worth you have as human beings and as children of God. When you feel empty or lonely, go to Jesus. He can fill that void with his presence,” said Msgr. Menjivar and concluded his homily by inviting everyone to be “messengers of peace, brotherhood and mercy” after this encounter in Medjugorje finishes. After the Holy Mass, a prayer before the cross followed and meditation with candles.
