Breakfast was early on Thursday, because \u00a0Father Dan from our group \u00a0would be the main celebrant at the English mass, and we wanted to get there\u00a0in time to get a seat up front. We arrived more than an hour\u00a0early, at which time worshippers\u00a0were entering the \u00a0church for the German mass. \u00a0Neither JoAnn nor I understands\u00a0German, but we went in \u00a0and stayed for the mass. I recalled\u00a0the \u00a0times in my childhood back in Queens\u00a0\u00a0when \u00a0we used to accompany our\u00a0grandmother to masses said in Italian, which we didn’t understand at that time. At the conclusion of the German mass, we remained in our seats for the English mass. Many in our group participated as readers, petitioners, and offertory collectors.<\/p>\n
After mass,\u00a0we walked\u00a0to the \u00a0bookshop I mentioned earlier that donates its proceeds to the Franciscan \u00a0priests. Soon it was time for us\u00a0to get back to our lodging. On most days, breakfast and dinner were provided and we were on our own for lunch. Today, \u00a0breakfast and lunch were the\u00a0provided \u00a0meals and we’d be on our own for dinner. \u00a0After a lunch of salad and chicken, \u00a0a\u00a0 group photo \u00a0was taken in the chapel. Next\u00a0we took a cab back to the church. We said two rosaries and then headed out\u00a0to share a\u00a0pizza. Wanting to stretch our legs, we wandered into \u00a0a few souvenir\u00a0shops and treated ourselves to\u00a0gelato cones.<\/p>\n
Near\u00a0the church, there is a huge outdoor \u00a0open \u00a0area with\u00a0an elevated\u00a0\u00a0altar \u00a0that is covered to protect it from the elements, \u00a0and\u00a0many hundreds of \u00a0uncovered \u00a0benches facing it. Even though the Catholic Church has not approved Medjugorje as an official pilgrimage site, the benches were filled with \u00a0hundreds of \u00a0priests and nuns, and \u00a0thousands of ordinary folks from all over the world,\u00a0\u00a0all there for the same reason: prayer. \u00a0We were told that the crowds are even bigger in the summer. As in sports arenas\u00a0back home, \u00a0there is a screen that enables all in the audience to see \u00a0what is happening on the altar.\u00a0We saw that the Blessed Sacrament was presented for adoration.<\/p>\n
We were on a bench at prayer when Mary, who was \u00a0next to me, \u00a0said the sun was spinning. What? I was doubtful, but I looked up and\u00a0saw that the sun, suddenly\u00a0surrounded by pink circles, seemed to be spinning, just as Mary had said.\u00a0 I can’t explain this \u00a0phenomenon. JoAnn said she had seen\u00a0the \u00a0sun spinning \u00a0in 2014.<\/p>\n
Back at our lodging,\u00a0Ivan told us that he was about to\u00a0drive\u00a0for nine hours to get to a town in Italy in which\u00a0he would be a teenager’s confirmation sponsor.\u00a0He told us that this would be his one hundred sixth sponsorship! Also, we had to be ready for an early breakfast, because we would be visiting Vicka, one of the other original visionaries.<\/p>\n
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Breakfast was early on Thursday, because \u00a0Father Dan from our group \u00a0would be the main celebrant at the English mass, and we wanted to get there\u00a0in time to get a seat up front. We arrived more than an hour\u00a0early, at which time worshippers\u00a0were entering the \u00a0church for the German mass. \u00a0Neither JoAnn nor I understands\u00a0German, … Continue reading Medjugorje Blog Day 5 \u2013 May 12, 2016<\/span>