6/23/15 Letter to Center for Peace-West from Fr. Marinko Šakota,
Pastor for St. James Church in Medjugorje
Dear Medjugorje Friends in Portland, Oregon – Center for Peace-West
Dear brothers and sisters!
I would like to greet all of you from the bottom of my heart. These greetings are sent by me from Medjugorje, where Our Lady, Queen of Peace, has been coming and talking for 34 years now. It is a great joy to know that you follow Our Lady in her motherly school of peace.
We are all Our Lady’s children, children of Mother who loves us immensely and who wants us to grow in holiness, as it was told in her message of 25th, January 2015. Holiness does not appear at once. It is a way, a growth. On that path all of us get tired sometimes, we fall asleep, other things become important and the main goal gets forgotten by us. That is why Our Lady wakes us up and calls in her message: “I call you, my dear children, to start a walk of holiness and love with enthusiasm. It is the reason I came here among you.”
I believe that the Holy Mass, that you are about to celebrate on the very day of the Anniversary, will be for you just about that: new enthusiasm in achieving your own peace and offering peace to others as Our Lady’s active and tireless children.
All of you in prayer group Center for Peace are unique. Each of you has its own point of view and perception of life, but it is important to reconsider Our Lady’s reflections because she calls us to be together with love and forgiveness for those who love with humanly love, not with immense God’s love.
You must wonder how the things are going in Medjugorje. We did not give up the prayer program given and started by Our Lady. That and that kind of prayer program sends us a message not about relying on ourselves, but about living with God and His word. This is what Our Lady says in her message: “I call you today, live your vocation in prayer.” Visionaries are doing fine, thanks be to God. They are witnesses of what Our Lady tells us. We are all grateful to have them among us. Lately, there have been many writings and comments on Medjugorje and its status – being recognized or not. It is important to highlight Father Slavko Barbaric’s words: “There is everything recognized in Medjugorje – Eucharist, Fasting, Confession, Adoration, Bible… The question is if we all recognize Medjugorje.” That is the reason of Our Lady’s coming to us, to remind us to live that.
My dear friends, I support your work and your efforts in spreading the messages of Our Lady, Queen of Peace. I wish that peace and love grow and find a place in as many as possible human hearts. I want for you to find a greater excitement in your hearts for cooperation with Mother, who loves us even when we are weak and in sin, who encourages us and never leaves us alone.
We should thank to Our Lord for our dear Pope Francis. Let’s offer him support in prayer and through activities in our working and living places. At the end, let’s recall Our Lady’s message who encourages us: “Dear children, let the hope for a better tomorrow be always in your heart.”
Peace and all the best,
Fra Marinko Šakota, Parish Priest