Monthly Messages from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: September 2015

Our Lady's Monthly Message to the World on September 25th:

   "Dear children!  Also today I am praying to the Holy Spirit to fill your hearts with a strong faith.  Prayer and faith will fill your heart with love and joy and you will be a sign for those who are far from God.  Little children, encourage each other to prayer with the heart, so that prayer may fulfill your life; and each day, you, little children, will be, above all, witnesses of serving God in adoration and of your neighbor in need.  I am with you and intercede for all of you.  Thank you for having responded to my call."

Our Lady's Special Message to Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo on September 2nd:

   "Dear children!  My dear apostles of love, my carriers of truth, again I am calling you and gathering you around me to help me, to help all of my children who thirst for love and truth - who thirst for my Son.  I am a grace from the Heavenly Father, sent to help you to live the word of my Son.  Love one another.  I lived your earthly life.  I know that it is not always easy, but if you will love each other, you will pray with the heart, you will reach spiritual heights and the way to heaven will be opened for you.  I, your mother, am waiting for you there because I am there.  Be faithful to my Son and teach others faithfulness.  I am with you.  I will help you.  I will teach you faith that you may know how to transmit it to others in the right way.  I will teach you truth that you may know how to discern.  I will teach you love that you may come to know what real love is.  My children, my Son will make it so as to speak through your words and your actions.  Thank you."

Holy Relic Visitation: Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group, 9/19/2015

After a break of a few months, our prayer group at the Gruber-Lee Residence finally started up again last month. Our host and prayer leader, Dre, had a baby this past May - a boy; her first one - so the monthly meetings were on hiatus as she adjusted to the demanding schedule of having a newborn.  Now that she's used to the routine and baby is sleeping through the night, the prayer meetings are back on schedule and it feels great to be able to come together with our spiritual family for prayer and fellowship.

Our prayer meeting in the garage

of the Gruber-Lee Home.

So this month our meeting was well-attended.  Along with our core-group of regulars, we welcomed new guests - a cousin of mine and her little boy; a friend who returned after attending last month's meeting; and a long-time member, who we hadn't seen in months, also made a comeback with her two children, which was a joy for our core-group... and especially my cousin's son, who had new playmates to keep him company while the adults prayed.

Me and my future god-son,
our host's newborn son.

Tonight we offered the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and our Saint of the Month, who I shared about at the start of the meeting, helped to set the mood for the prayers; she was Bl. Maria Pierina de Micheli (d. 1945), the "Apostle of the Holy Face".  Her life and private revelations from Jesus and the Blessed Mother encourage all of us to look upon the imagery of the wounded face of Christ as a visible sign of God's immeasurable love for all mankind, as well as a need to make reparation for our sin and those of the entire world.  Most of my listeners must have found Bl. Maria Pierina's message inspirational because several asked for Holy Face Medals after. Fortunately, I had a small supply with me in my car.  I refer to them as my "spiritual seeds".  You can read more about the Holy Face devotion here and here.  

The rest of the meeting focused on praying with special emphasis for the conversion of sinners... for the healing and restoration of families... for the safety and protection of Pope Francis... and for all our personal needs.  As usual, the presence of the Holy Spirit was powerfully felt in our midst; easing the burdens in our hearts and filling us with that special peace that only God can give.  Afterwards, the food that we enjoyed during our potluck dinner was delicious - Pork Guisantes, Pancit Noodles, Fried Chicken, and Banana Cream Pie!!!  We all left the Gruber-Lee Home content; nourished in both soul and body.

A really bad dream...

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, 9/16, I had a terrible dream that was accompanied by an even stranger occurrence.  Even now, as I write this post, I can still clearly remember the details of it ... and it has me worried because the Pope featured prominently in it.

In my dream, I saw a person's left forearm - definitely a man's arm, but with no other physical features (face, torso, etc.) - and in his hand he held a photograph of a Pope.  The photo looked soiled and a little crumpled, as though it had been trampled on or exposed to the elements for a while.  At the same time, the surreal surroundings appeared very dark and gloomy, and the wind was blowing hard; I could tell because there was small debris flying by in the background.  It seemed as though the person holding the photo was in the middle of a brewing storm.

An illustrated representation of what I saw in my dream.

I looked at the photo in the man's hand, and although I recognized that it was a Pope, the picture was so worn it appeared a little blurred, which made it somewhat hard to determine whether it was Pope Francis, or the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, in the photograph ... but the strong impression I had was that it was the current Pontiff - Pope Francis.

As I continued watching the scene, I was suddenly struck with an overwhelming sense of dread.   So much so that my heart began racing and it escalated to an anxiety attack within the dream.  It was then that I heard a loud crashing sound and immediately awoke; still in a state of panic.  Right away I reached for a small crucifix that I keep on a side-table next to my bed and blessed myself several times with it; praying to our Lord to take away my fear ... and to protect me from any spiritual harm.

I listened for more noise but everything was quiet and still in my dark room.  My anxiety eventually subsided and I managed to fall back asleep, but it was just a few hours later, after my alarm clock went off, that I realized something weird had also happened in my home.

After I woke again and started getting ready for work, I saw that a large painting had fallen off my living room wall, which was probably the loud crash I had heard in my dream.  I have to admit that I was more than a bit unnerved when I saw the painting laying on the floor because it had been securely fastened to the wall.  It was just too coincidental and strange; as though the blustery wind in my dream had somehow blown through the inside of my home!

I pondered this entire experience all throughout yesterday and today, and I am still not 100% certain as to what it all means ... but based on the dark imagery in the dream, I am convinced that it signified something bad.  Now I am wondering if it could be a possible forewarning of something dangerous that may be in store for the Pope (or even the Pope Emeritus, too) in the near future.  I wouldn't have thought so, if not for the painting falling off my wall; the exclamation point (!) to the events of that early morning.

... but let me make it clear that I am not trying to make myself out to be some sort of prophet of doom by sharing this story.  The truth is - I have had a few dreams come true in the past, which is why I felt strongly compelled to share about this one because of its serious implications.  I love our Holy Father and my hope is that those who read this blog will be moved to offer a few prayers for his safety and protection, perhaps an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be ... and, more so, since he'll be coming to the United States in a few days and I'm sure there are many in this country who are not particularly fond of Pope Francis.  Someone who is fanatical and bold enough, may try to harm him, which has me deeply worried ... but I hope this experience proves to be nothing more than what it was - just a really bad dream.

Whatever the case, may God, through the intercession of Our Lady and the prayers of the Faithful, surround the Pope and the Church with Divine Protection; provide heavenly guidance to him during his period of papacy.  Please keep Pope Francis in your daily prayer.