Marian Centre (WA) Marian Centre PO Box 60 HILLARYS 6923

Phone: 9447 9819 NEWSLETTER 9402 2480

NO: 100 JUNE 2005

Year Of The Eucharist

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Having just returned from pilgrimage, we had the privilege of meeting Fr Gobbi in Rome. He had just received 7,000 faithful at the Shrine of Pompeii the previous day. He then detoured to Rome to meet us, as we prayed in earnest for Australia.

Fr Stefano Gobbi is an old man now, 75 years old. In 1997 he had a massive heart attack and can no longer travel to far-off places like Australia. But he wishes he still could, so when he knew a group of Australian pilgrims was coming to Rome he made a special effort to spend time with us.

Fr Gobbi‟s Message for Australia:

His message to us was so simple, yet precious and important. He spoke of the big battle which goes on in the world between Mary and her followers and Satan and those who follow him. I recorded his talk to us so let me quote some of it: ”Prayer!! The devil hates it. Through the media, TV, newspapers etc. he fills our minds with many things. Then we talk about what we have seen, heard and read. We talk and we talk and we wear ourselves out and we have no time to pray. This state of affairs affects the faithful, it affects Priests, it affects Religious consecrated to God.

Mary, on the other hand, gives us the grace to pray, she give us the desire to pray more. Being consecrated to Mary means to become like little children.” Fr Gobbi then repeated several times in English and Italian the word little, piccoli, little, piccoli. He truly wanted to emphasize this point. “Mary wants to mother us, wants us to be like little children, 2 months old, totally dependent on the mother for everything. As such little children our prayers will be simple, not complicated. The little one calls out Mama, mama, mama. Learn to pray with the voice of Mary, your voice totally in Mary becomes so powerful.

She calls for the rosary, such a powerful prayer, a prayer with Mary. The powerful despise the rosary; the proud ones are against it. Mary asks us to pray the rosary like little children. In the battle against Satan the rosary is the armour we must use. She wants to make us beautiful. When we are in God‟s grace we are so beautiful, our souls are a garden of light. The devil is a thief; he tries to take this away from us. He does this through sin, grave sin done with total consent takes away the grace of God.

His is insidious and clever. He convinces us that sin is not an evil, but is a means for us to express our liberty. The laws of God are being trampled on every day; he substitutes his own laws for thelaws of God; e.g. regarding sexuality, the 6th Commandment: self-abuse is okay, premarital sex, homosexuality, gay marriage. He turns humanity upside down. This has created its own chastisement; division, hate, violence, terrorism, war. This is the chastisement humanity has created for itself as a fruit of evil.

We must follow the commandments of God and, if we sin we must go to confession. Satan thinks he can destroy this great sacrament of Divine Mercy. The devil says to priests: „You are too busy, so many pastoral works, there is no time to sit in the confessional.‟ Thus fewer and fewer priests make themselves available for this sacrament. Then people say: „No-one goes to confession any more‟ and the sacrament is less and less practiced. Our Lady has set out to reverse this situation through the Marian Movement of Priests. Those who go to her cenacles all use this sacrament frequently. Our Lady will make virtues grow; she will transmit to you her own beauty. This is the fruit of the consecration. This is what she wants in us her little children, to give us her own beauty. Then we are to bring her beauty and her presence to others. This will obliterate the ugliness that Satan spreads in the world.”

This message of Fr Gobbi is very simple and basic, but If we put it into practice it will transform our lives. For example, in my own case, since I have severely reduced the amount of time I spend reading newspapers and watching television, I find my prayer life has grown a great deal. Mary is replacing the hunger for news with a hunger for prayer. Try it yourself.

“My Mother I love you. Love me too and give me a sip of the Will of God for my soul. Give me a blessing also that I might do all my actions under your maternal gaze. Amen. Fiat.”

May the Mother of God lead us all to do the Will of God on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Fr Hugh Thomas C.Ss.R Responsible for MMP WA

Thank you Fr Hugh for your opening letter. Your words inspire and challenge us to come ever closer to Our Heavenly Mother and we pray, through her intercession, to lead the whole world back to her Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus.

EXCERPTS FROM CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER‟S HOMILY AT JOHN PAUL II‟S FUNERAL MASS APRIL 8TH 2005

“„Follow me.‟ The Risen Lord says these words to Peter. They are his last words to this disciple, chosen to shepherd His flock. „Follow me‟ – this lapidary saying of Christ can be taken as the key to understanding the message which comes to us from the life of our late beloved Pope John Paul II. Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality – our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude.

These are the sentiments that inspire us, brothers and sisters in Christ, present here in St Peter‟s Square, in neighbouring streets and in various other locations within the city of Rome, where an immense crowd, silently praying, has gathered over the last few days. I greet all of you from my heart. In the name of the College of Cardinals, I also wish to express my respects to heads of state, heads of government and the delegations from various countries. How often, in his letters to priests and in his autobiographical books, has he spoken to us about his priesthood, to which he was ordained on November 1st, 1946. In these texts he interprets his priesthood with particular reference to three sayings of the Lord:

First: „It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.‟ (John 15:16) The second saying is: „A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep‟. (John 10:11) And then: „As the father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love‟. (John 15:9) In these three sayings we see the heart and soul of our Holy Father. He really went everywhere, untiringly, in order to bear fruit, fruit that lasts.

„Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way!‟ Is the title of his next-to-last book. „Rise, let us be on our way!‟ – with these words he roused us from a lethargic faith, from the sleep of the disciples of both yesterday and today. “Rise, let us be on our way!” He continues to say to us even today. The Holy Father was a priest to the last, for he offered his life to God for his flock and for the entire human family, in a daily self-oblation for the service of the Church, especially amid the sufferings of his final months. And in this way he became one with Christ, the Good Shepherd who loves his sheep. 2 Finally, „abide in my love‟: The Pope who tried to meet everyone, who had an ability to forgive and to open his heart to all, tells us once again today, with these words of the Lord, that by abiding in the love of Christ we learn, at the school of Christ, the art of true love.

Our Pope, and we all know this, never wanted to make his own life secure, to keep it for himself; he wanted to give of himself unreservedly, to the very last moment, for Christ and thus also for us. And thus he came to experience how everything which he had given over into the Lord‟s hands, came back to him in a new way. His love of words, of poetry, of literature, became an essential part of his pastoral mission and gave new vitality, new urgency, and new attractiveness to the preaching of the Gospel, even when it is a sign of contradiction.

Follow me! In October 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla once again heard the voice of the Lord. Once more there took place that dialogue with Peter reported in the Gospel of this Mass: „Simon, son of John, do you love me? Feed my sheep!‟ To the Lord‟s question, „Karol, do you love me?‟ The Archbishop of Krakow answered from the depths of his heart: „Lord you know everything: you know that I love You.‟ The love of Christ was the dominant force in the life of our beloved Holy Father. Anyone who ever saw him pray, who ever heard him preach, knows that. Thanks to his being profoundly rooted in Christ, he was able to bear a burden which transcends merely human abilities: that of being the shepherd of Christ‟s flock, his universal Church.

He interpreted for us the paschal mystery as a mystery of divine mercy. In his latest book, he wrote: The limit imposed upon evil „is ultimately Divine Mercy‟ („Memory and Identity‟, pp. 60-61). And reflecting on the assassination attempt, he said: „In sacrificing himself for us all, Christ gave a new meaning to suffering, opening up a new dimension, a new order: the order of love…It is this suffering which burns and consumes evil with the flame of love and draws forth even from sin a great flowering of good.‟ (pp. 189-190). Impelled by this vision, the Pope suffered and loved in communion with Christ, and that is why the message of his suffering and his silence proved so eloquent and so fruitful.

Divine Mercy: the Holy Father found the purest reflection of God‟s mercy in the Mother of God, he, who at an early age had lost his own mother, loved his Divine Mother all the more. He heard the words of the crucified Lord as addressed personally to him: „Behold your Mother‟. And so he did as the beloved disciple did: „He took her into his own home.‟ (John 19:27) „Totus tuus‟. And from the Mother he learned to conform himself to Christ.”

Christ could not endure that His children should be fed by others. He nourishes us Himself with His own Body and Blood and in all ways makes us one with Himself. St John Chrysostom

PILGRIMS REPORT – MAY 2005

Our pilgrimage coincided with the recent passing of Pope John Paul II and the early period of Pope Benedict 16 – extraordinary times in history to say the least. After seeing the dignity and human response to Pope John Paul II‟s funeral, my interior joy of being Catholic reached a level, I‟m not so sure I can even repeat again in my lifetime. Finally, our Church as universal FAMILY was at its very best.

Fr D‟Ercole, who visited our country in October 2004 doing cenacles for MMP, shared wonderful moments with us in Rome (he had been in secretarial services to Pope John Paul II for 21 years). The depth and love he shows for our beloved Pope is in itself overwhelming, he asked us a question: “Did you hear how loudly this Pope spoke to the world at his death, the Pope that many had tried to retire as he had lost his human capacity to speak? Have you ever HEARD the gospel resonate in every corner of the world by a single voice? You will know the gift and privilege of living under the reign of Pope John Paul II only when we die.

Eight years ago, Fr D‟Ercole took a pair of rosary beads blessed by Pope John Paul II to a young 25 year old dying of acute leukaemia in Lausanne Switzerland. The young man experienced a heat and presence as he held the beads yet being close to death, within 7 days he was discharged from hospital. A similar incidence happened with a 21 year old with a tumour of the thyroid; both these two young people gave witness to European newspapers of the power of the rosary and the intercessory prayers of Pope John Paul II. On May 1st 2005, they spoke before 9,000 young people in the Shrine of Pompeii Italy with Fr D‟Ercole. 3 The Holy Father had prayed before the Blessed Sacrament and had told Fr D‟Ercole to tell their parents to „have Faith and Trust‟.

In a parish of the Ivory Coast, Africa, 300 Muslims came for baptism in the Catholic Church after the Holy Father‟s funeral. Currently, the office is accumulating countless testimonies, emails and faxes pouring in from all over the world. This is unprecedented in our church, as was his funeral, let us be encouraged to ask with confidence the assistance of Pope John Paul II. We shall have new updates in future newsletters.

Some months before his death a group of Cardinals asked the Holy Father about his retirement and illness. He answered: “Did Jesus stop halfway to Calvary or did he finish and complete his mission to Golgotha. When the Lord takes me off my cross, only then shall I come down.”

Let us take heart at the example of our Holy Father in accepting our crosses with love and fidelity, no matter how difficult. Yolanda Nardizzi

“SISTERS, THE GLASS IS INTACT!”

This is the joyful message on that Sunday morning (Jan 3rd 1993), Mr Giuseppe Grifa gave us, after having been broken by his own hands the window glasses. The story of the miraculous event, which we attribute through the intercession of the Servant of God, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, is simple and credible.

At 8.45am we went to the Sanctuary “Madonna delle Grazie”, to hear the Holy Mass, after which, in returning home at around 10.15am, we found out that the key was left inside the house. It was winter time and the temperature on that morning was very cold. So we called for help from our school driver, Giuseppe Grifa, and immediately he came. After having scrupulously learned the problem, he suggested to destroy the main door or any of the window glasses. The Superior, Sr Gaetanina, authorized him to break the glass window of the toilet room at the rear side of the house.

Anxiously but with firm decision, Mr Grifa broke three glasses of the said window, while the sisters encouraged him, saying: “Dai Giuseppe, it‟s very cold here outside, but you‟ll see Padre Pio will help us because we are praying his intercession!” After having broken the glasses, Mr Grifa entered in the house, opened the main door and let the sisters in, while the superior exclaimed, saying: “Let us thank Padre Pio!”

Then, while the sisters gathered in the refectory taking something hot, Mr Grifa returned to that room to temporarily fix the window with masking tape and cardboard. Instantly, a bright light attracted him directly to that window. With fear and rubbing his eyes, he reached the window and found out the entire glass intact. With hesitation, he touched it with his left hand; it wasn‟t a dream, it was real. The glass was completely repaired, without any trace. Shocked, he immediately announced the fact to the sisters, saying: “Sisters, the glass is intact!”

…it was useless to say: “Let‟s see and verify it is true!” The truth won over every doubt.

“Let us give thanks to the Lord because through the intercession of the venerable padre Pio, has permitted to visit us in such tangible and miraculous way! San Giovanni Rotondo, Jan 3rd 1997 (signed) Suore Dell’Immacolata di Santa Chiara

Padre Pio‟s constant activities and miracles: As a consequence of the famous “Miracle of the Glass” the water from a tap which is in a small basin in this room, directly under the famous glass, is given and distributed worldwide. The graces and miracles received are countless, with hundreds of photographs kept as evidence in this room. The sisters take pilgrims through in their droves, giving the pilgrims renewed confidence in the greatness of God‟s Mercy.

REPORT FROM MEDJUGORJE

Dear Children of Medjugorje! Praised be Jesus and Mary!

Ivan Dragivevic, (one of the six visionaries), was on a mission in the United States on April 2nd. The next day, Divine Mercy Sunday, he went to Bangor, Maine, to give a talk and he found that everyone there was deeply affected by the death of the Holy Father. 4 Ivan told the audience in Maine that the day before, Saturday, April 2nd, he was in a parish in New Hampshire. Because of the time difference with Europe, he received his apparition just a few hours after the death of the Pope. He explained that when the Blessed Mother appeared to him, she was alone as usual. But then the Holy Father himself appeared at the left side of Our Lady.

He was dressed in a long white robe and a cape of gold! Ivan said that he looked very young and both the Holy Father and Our Lady had great joy. Our Lady said to Ivan: “He is my son, he is with me!” Ivan reported to the group that after that apparition he was so overwhelmed he could hardly sleep! Those present during the apparition reported that they had never seen Ivan so happy.

Because of her great love for Pope John Paul II, Vicka went to Rome to attend the Holy Father‟s funeral (leaving her two children at home with Mario). She had met him several times in the past bringing sick and crippled pilgrims from her country for his blessing. The Holy Father also blessed her when she went to Rome as a newlywed with her husband, Mario, just after they were married in Medjugorje.

I want to point out something beautiful: Just before he passed from this earth, on Saturday evening, the Holy Father suddenly turned toward St Peter‟s Square and blessed the crowd gathered there. And when he had said “Amen,” he breathed his last. This “Amen” was actually his last word! How wonderful! And this blessing is the gift he left to each one of us. We‟ll always be supported by the intercession of Jesus‟ powerful vicar, John Paul the Great! He is our hero! From Heaven, he‟ll be a powerful intercessor and he‟ll help the plans of the Queen of Peace.

On May 13th, “Children of Medjugorje” will joyfully celebrate our saint for the year, Our Lady of Fatima! A friend of mine from Fatima has just brought something interesting to my attention. After a dialogue with the Blessed Mother Sr Lucia noted in her memoirs a revelation that touches the vocation of Pope John Paul II and that cannot help but make us love him even more. Our Lady had said to Sr Lucia that she would come for her either on a first Saturday of the month, or on a 13th of the month. Mary in fact came to take Lucia with her on the 13th of February. Our Lady also specified to Lucia that, a short time after Lucia‟s death, she would also come for the Holy Father. And, that is exactly what happened! Pope John Paul II left this world about seven weeks after Sr Lucia. This fact is still little known outside of Portugal, but it is worth being underlined. Indeed, it brings to the surface the Divine tie that united these two beautiful souls and to what point their vocations joined themselves in Mary‟s plans for the world.

Pope John Paul II, after the attempt on his life in St Peter‟s Square, May 13th 1981, became “The Pope of Fatima”, the “Pope of Mary‟s Victory”, as he is also the “Pope of Divine Mercy”. What beauty! What joy it gives us to receive these small winks form Heaven! They encourage and reassure us on the stony path of this life. They remind us that no matter what the powers of darkness are planning, our Heavenly Mother is indeed the Queen of the world, she is in control and she is fulfilling her plan! Whether it is hidden or public, each „YES” to her is infinitely precious for the coming victory of her Immaculate Heart. (Sr Emmanuel) April 9th, 2005

OUR LADY OF ALL NATIONS

Dear members of the Marian Movement of Priests,

My name is Sean Tobin and I‟m writing to you from Rome to share with you about the apparitions of the Lady of All Nations and the experience of the 7th International Day of Prayer held in her honour in Amsterdam this year from May 6th to 9th. Originally from Perth, I am a member of the Family of Mary, a new missionary community in the church founded by Fr Paul Maria Sigl, who some of you I‟m sure would remember from his trips to Australia. For the past decade the Family of Mary has been responsible for the Shrine of the Lady of All Nations in Amsterdam and the promulgation of its message throughout the world. Through Fr Paul and those souls who have been inspired by Our Lady, the message has also been promoted in Australia and many of you would be familiar with the image and prayer given to the visionary Ida Pedeman between the years 1945-1959.

These series of apparitions, which were officially approved by the Church on May 31st 2002, continue to have a vital importance for the church and the world in our time. In 56 messages Our Lady prophesized the moral degeneration and many of the evils that would afflict humanity in the second half of the last century, imploring mankind to return to its creator and in particular the cross of her Son,”…The cross must be planted in the centre of the world once again. Only then will humanity find true peace.” 5 She gave an image in which she stands in front of the cross of her son and a short prayer invoking the Holy Spirit which she promised would have an immense power for the world, “…by means of this prayer and title she will save the world from a major calamity…you do not know how great and important this prayer is before God.” The distribution of this image and prayer will prepare a new Marian dogma “Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate” introducing a new time of the Holy Spirit and peace over the earth. It was a great joy to see that Australia was also represented by a pilgrimage group of 33 faithful who included the prayer-day along with 8,000 other pilgrims from 102 countries.

The pilgrims were able to see the powerful way in which The Lady of all Nations is working in testimonies where individuals gave witness to heartrending conversion experiences and healings obtained through her motherly intercession. Courageous lay people gave heart to the timid in telling of their efforts to spread the message and prayer-card in their daily lives and how they experienced the promise of Our Lady to the visionary Ida Pederman, “You are afraid? But I am helping you! You will find the spreading will happen as if by itself.”

On the spirit of ecumenism, for the first time not only diverse nations were present at the prayer-day but also individuals of different faiths and religions. Orthodox and Protestant Christians, Jews, and Hindus gave testimony to their love for Mary and joined the faithful in praying the prayer of The Lady of All Nations in their mother tongue. There are numerous testimonies of healings and conversions received through the simple giving of a prayer-card.

Prayer cards and material of the Lady of All Nations can be obtained from Beverley in Perth on 9293 8203. Website of The Lady of All Nations: www.de-vrouwe.org or write to Marian Centre, PO Box 60, Hillarys 6923. (Please note change of postcode to 6923)

FR MICHAEL GAUGHRAN – MMP RESPONSIBLE FOR ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD Some years ago, I was a Chaplain in a ladies‟ prison in England. One day I told the girls all about the Marian Movement of Priests. “What did you make of that?” I said when I had finished. One of them replied “I am so relieved somebody‟s doing something about the situation. Heaven is doing something about it.”

If it wasn‟t for what Our Lady has been saying and doing in these times, I think we would have reason to be very depressed, indeed, because the situation around us is really pretty terrible. Our Lady says, “We have gone back to being pagan after 2,000 years of evangelization.” Not everybody! There are saints around today. Big ones, too. But there is an awful lot of distress and great wrong around us, and if we had no indication that anything was being done, well, we could feel very hurt and rather pessimistic. But what we are talking about tonight is: “Lift up your hearts, be optimistic!”

Our Blessed Mother has come to our help, and you and I have a great privilege. I have always thought of it as one of the greatest privileges of my life to be associated with this great work of hers. Sometimes people say to me “Oh isn‟t it wonderful that you are going around spreading devotion to Our Lady.” Well, I suppose, in a way I am, but it‟s not really a devotion that I‟m talking about.

A devotion is when you have certain prayers which you say regularly or at certain times and that‟s marvelous, and good, and she loves it. But that is not what the Marian Movement of Priests is all about. I‟m sure you all form part of it, with your Cenacles. It is an enormous work undertaken by Our Blessed Lady, in which she is asking for our help. It‟s an enormous work of hers and she wants our help, and it is in that context that I want to describe it.

We‟re here at her invitation. Have no doubt about that. You have answered her invitation to consecrate yourselves to her. She says, “Not everybody even understands what I‟m talking about when I say this, it takes a special grace,” and so, I presume we have all received that grace, and have answered her, and that is a very great gift indeed. Talk given at St Anthony’s Church, Glenhuntly – Victoria

Jesus Christ found a way by which He could ascend into Heaven and yet remain here on earth. He instituted the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist, that He might stay with us and be our Companion St John Vianney 6 SLAVES OF HABITS AND TRADITIONS

One morning, while working on my regular and daily occupations, I met a man whom I knew. I saw that he was nervous and I asked “How are you?”. He answered me “I am really fed up with this snow and this ice!” I responded “Why are you annoyed with the snow? We usually see so little of it in our region!”, and he said “How not to be annoyed? The newspapers did not arrive yet, and it‟s almost midday! I read the newspaper every morning, and this morning they did not arrive! How can the day start well?” Someone else told me that the day started badly because he was in a hurry, and he did not manage to drink his coffee, without which he couldn‟t function very well…

This is our reality: The things of this world and the practices without which we cannot live determine our temper, the day and the time that is passing. We are unable to live without certain things, unimportant in themselves. We became slaves. And when we speak about slavery today, we should not think of prison cells, camps, jails and colonization of peoples and groups.

Contemporary slavery, it is the slavery of the heart and the spirit. Our heart and our spirit are imprisoned. We live in our personal dungeons. We are tied by all kinds of attachments and bound by our own habits and traditions. We are slaves of reputation, work, false friendships, interests, money, freedom, we become modern slaves.

When Jesus announces to His contemporaries that He has come to make them free in Spirit and in Truth, they rebel by saying that, being sons of Abraham, they are nobody‟s slaves. (Cf: Jn 8,31-42) However, once again the thoughts of Jesus were not their thoughts. Jesus speaks about slavery to sin, of the blind slavery to the law, which neglects the heart and the needs for the concrete person. Jesus advances towards the cross and death to make us free, to overcome sin, and to announce the time of the fullness of life.

Each one of us can recognize his own prison and dungeon. Very close to us, a voice announces freedom. The way of the freedom, which is not limited by systems or the world politics, is to leave sin and human chains. The poet sings: “You are created for flying, my soul!” True freedom does not consist in the absence of walls and bars. Freedom is lived in the heart. At our time, certain prisoners are freer than those who live in freedom. There is no freedom without God, because the free will is an inalienable gift that comes from God.

Confessionals, in particular in Medjugorje, are today places of freedom, which give witness of the victory of the mercy of God over the sin of men. The words of the priest “Your sins are forgiven, go in peace,” mean: “God renewed you in Spirit and in Truth, go and live free of any sin and any attachment!” Fr Mario Knezovic (Medjugorje News March 26th 2005)

By adoring and partaking of Christ’s beauty, goodness and purity in this Divine Sacrament, you yourself will become beautiful, good and pure. St Francis de Sales

JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IS OUR BEST FRIEND

Let the Most Holy Eucharist therefore be the starting point of our meditations on the mysteries, virtues, and truths of our religion. The Eucharist is the focal point; the truths of religion are the rays.

It is not difficult to find a relation between the birth of Jesus in the stable and His sacramental birth on the altar and in our hearts.

Who does not see that the hidden life of Nazareth is continued in the divine Host of the tabernacle, and that the Passion of the Man-God on Calvary is renewed in the Holy Sacrifice at every moment of the day and night and all over the world? Is not Our Lord as meek and humble in His Sacrament as during His mortal life? Is He not always the Good Shepherd, the Divine Consoler, our bosom Friend?

HAPPY IS THE SOUL THAT KNOWS HOW TO FIND JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST AND IN THE EUCHARIST ALL THINGS! (From “Come to Me in the Blessed Sacrament)

7 POPE GRANTS PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST Don‟t miss opportunity to gain Indulgence:

“A Plenary Indulgence is granted to all faithful and to each individual faithful under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin), each and every time they participate attentively and piously in a sacred function or a devotional exercise undertaken in honour of the Blessed Sacrament, solemnly exposed and conserved in the tabernacle. For example:

A Plenary Indulgence is also granted, under the aforesaid conditions, to the clergy, to members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and to other faithful who are by law obliged to recite the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as to those who customarily recite the Divine Office out of pure devotion, each and every time they recite – at the end of the day, in company or in private – Vespers and Night Prayers before the Lord present in the Tabernacle.

The faithful who, through illness or other just cause, are unable to visit the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist in a church or oratory, may obtain a Plenary Indulgence in their own homes, or wherever they may be because of their ailment, if, … with the intention of observing the three usual conditions as soon as possible, they make the visit spiritually and with the heart‟s desire, … and recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a pious invocation to Jesus in the Sacrament.

If they are unable to do even this, they will receive a Plenary Indulgence if they unite themselves with interior desire to those who practice the normal conditions laid down for Indulgences, and offer the merciful God the illnesses and discomforts of their lives.”

FROM PARENT TO CHILD I gave you life, but I cannot live it for you; I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn; I can give you direction, but I cannot be there to lead you; I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it;

I can take you to Church, but I cannot make you believe; I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you; I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside; I can offer you advice, but I cannot take it for you;

I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you; I can teach you, of course, to share, but I cannot make you unselfish; I can teach you to respect, but I cannot force you to show honour; I can advise you about friends, but I cannot choose them for you;

I can advise you about sex, but I cannot make you pure; I can tell you about the facts of life, but I cannot build your reputation; I can tell you about drugs, but I cannot say no for you;

I can tell you about lofty goals, but I cannot achieve them for you; I can teach you about kindness, but I cannot force you to be gracious; I can warn you about sins, but I cannot make your morals;

I can love you as a child, but I cannot make you love God; I can teach you about Jesus, but I cannot make Jesus your Lord; I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you Eternal Life. “If your children stray and you cannot tell them about God, tell God about your children”

8 A GESTURE OF FORGIVENESS

A young man had fallen into bad ways. Indeed he went so far that he finally ended up in prison. There he had time to reflect. This brought him round to a new way of thinking and he determined to start a new life, once he had served his sentence. Yet he knew that he had deeply hurt his parents and brought shame on them by his behaviour. He was afraid to return home, but where else could he begin a new life if not from home?

And so he wrote this letter to his parents: “I know what I have done to you and I beg your forgiveness for every thing.” Then he told them the date of his release and added that he would be traveling that same day by train to his home village. He asked them to hang a white linen cloth on the lime tree in front of their house if they felt able to forgive him. He would be able to see the tree form the train and would either get out or journey on, depending on the response…

He was so frightened, he scarcely dared to look, as the train slowly drew within sight of his parent‟s house. But at last he plucked up the courage, and could scarcely believe his eyes. For the big tree was covered all over with white cloths! (From “The Medjugorje Sentinel”)

FATHER GOBBI‟S MEDITATIONS given as talks to the bishops and priests at the annual retreat at Collevalenza, Italy are still available from the Marian Centre, PO Box 60, Hillarys 6923. This wonderful booklet translated into English gives an extraordinary insight into the spirit of Our Lady‟s guidance coupled with extracts from our late Pope John Paul II Encyclicals to the church. It is a must at a suggested donation of $2.00 per copy plus postage.

THIS IS THE ONLY NOTICE BEFORE ANNUAL MMP RETREAT – 12TH, 13TH & 14TH AUGUST: Once more we have been blessed to have our retreat planned for August this year. The Marian Movement of Priests Retreat will occur on the Anniversary of the Fourth Apparition of Fatima 13th and on the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady‟s Assumption into Heaven - 15th August. The venue is the Sacred Heart College, Hocking Pde, Sorrento. To avoid disappointment return your application below as soon as possible as generally bookings fill fast. Our retreat Master will be Fr Timothy Deeter, supported by Rev Fr Hugh Thomas and others. There will be daily Mass (Fri 12th at 7:30pm, Sat 13th at 9:30am and Sun 14th at 11:30am. The latter to include family and friends of retreatants – at the Mass only). The programme also includes cenacles, rosaries, talks, witnessing etc. plus all night (rostered) Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday and Saturday nights. Accommodation twin share rooms with some singles available. Bring your own pillow, sheets and doona, blankets or sleeping bag. All meals supplied. Further enquiries phone John 9305 4081.

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APPLICATION FOR RETREAT 12th, 13th & 14th AUGUST 2005

NAME ...... TEL ......

ADDRESS......

ADDITIONAL NAMES 1 ...... 2 ...... 3 ......

Full Weekend Accommodation and Meals $90.00 per person No. of persons: Both nights Male------Female------Friday night only Male------Female------Saturday night only Male------Female------TOTAL $------(If one night only deduct $13.00)

Commuting only Retreat facilities and meals $70.00 per person

No of persons------TOTAL $------

Please make cheque/money order payable to Marian Centre WA and return with this completed application form to: Marian Centre WA, PO Box 60, Hillarys 6923. (Please note change of postcode) NO ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF APPLICATION IS MADE UNLESS WE ARE OVER BOOKED! OTHERWISE ACCEPTED OK.

9 MEETING GOD

There was once a boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long way to where God lived, so he packed his rucksack with biscuits several cans of coke, and he set off on his journey. When he had gone about three blocks he saw an elderly lady. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her, and opened his rucksack. He was about to take a drink from a can of coke when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he gave her a few biscuits. She gratefully accepted, and smiled at him. Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered her a can of coke as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted.

They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, without saying a word. As it began to grow dark, the boy realized that it was time to go home. He got up to leave, but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a big hug. She gave him the biggest smile ever.

When the boy arrived home, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked “What has made you so happy today?” He replied “I had lunch with God.” Before his mother could respond, he added “And you know what? She‟s got the most beautiful smile in the whole world.”

Meanwhile, the old lady also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked “Mother, what has made you so happy today?” She replied “I ate biscuits and drank coke with God in the park today.” And before her son could reply, she added “And you know what, he is much younger than I expected” Jack McArdle in „And That‟s the Gospel Truth‟

MESSAGE FROM OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE, MEDJUGORJE “Dear Children! 25th April 2005 Also today, I call you to renew prayer in your families. By prayer and the reading of Sacred Scripture, may the Holy Spirit, who will renew you, enter into your families. In this way, you will become teachers of the faith in your family. By prayer and your love, the world will set out on a better way and love will begin to rule in the world. Thank you for having responded to my call."

“Dear Children! 25th May 2005 Anew I call you to live my messages in humility. Especially witness them now when we are approaching the anniversary of my apparitions. Little children, be a sign to those who are far from God and His love. I am with you and bless you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.

If Undelivered Return to: S.A.G.

Marian Centre WA POSTAGE PO Box 60 SURFACE PAID HILLARYS WA 6923 MAIL HILLARYS WA 6025

MARIAN CENTRE NEWSLETTER NO: 100 JUNE 2005 Print Post Approved PP 635655/0013