Night 3: San Diego, California
The third stop on the “Medjugorje Evenings of Prayer” tour, with Medjugorje pastor, Fr. Zvonimir Pavicic, took us to San Diego, California. We began our long day of travel with the sunrise in Florida and ended with the sunset in California. On this leg of our journey, we were joined by Fr. Antonio Musa, a Franciscan friar from the same community as Fr. Zvonimir, but who serves as pastor of a Croatian parish in Chicago. These two young friars have been friends since childhood, so it was a wonderful reunion for them.
A delicious dinner at a coastal restaurants, with lovely parishioners from St. Charles Borromeo parish, where the event was held, brought our travel day to a close.
The following morning, Tuesday, October 29, we went on a tour of the Midway aircraft carrier, which is the most visited museum in the USA. Upon arrival, we were immediately taken to meet with the commanding officer of the Midway and had a few moments to chat with him.
As we explored the ship, we learned much from our two knowledgeable docents about the operation and daily life of the Midway, which was decommissioned almost 30 years earlier.
When we arrived at the church for the evening program of prayer, we were greeted with something quintessentially Californian – a taco food truck parked in the parking lot, with long lines of people waiting to get their tacos before the evening began.
As the congregation prayed the rosary together, six priests were stationed all throughout the church, hearing confessions.
Fr. Zvonimir’s talk was inspiring and moving, as it has been at every stop. As he spoke about the messages from the Queen of Peace, that same peace exuded from his voice and his very presence.
Fr. John Amsberry, the pastor of the parish, presided at Mass, and in his homily shared about how he has been to Medjugorje many times and how deeply touched he has been by it. He made the entire church laugh when he commented that his first trip to Medjugorje happened before either Fr. Antonio or Fr. Zvonimir were born. He jokingly called them “puppy priests”!
The evening of prayer ended with a time of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Fr. Antonio offered the reflections at adorations, while Fr. Zvonimir played the piano and sang the beautiful meditative songs which are a common feature of adoration in Medjugorje.
For dinner afterwards, we had to something else quintessentially Californian … getting hamburgers and fries at “In and Out Burger”. And of course we insisted that the priests wear the famous “In and Out Burger” hats!
Another Spirit-filled day was in the books!
Next stop: Portland, Oregon
