March 23, 2011
The apparition that ended the Five Days of Prayer was in the Bedroom of Apparitions. All the pilgrims attending the event gathered in the Field for the last time, to pray the Rosary in preparation for Our Lady coming. It was quiet in the Field, reverent with anticipation of Our Lady’s coming, knowing this would be the last opportunity to be with Her. This day was dedicated to Thanksgiving, and everyone was encouraged to lift their hearts to Our Lady with deep gratitude for all the graces and blessings bestowed upon them in the apparitions.
After the apparition, Marija returned to the Field once more to relay what had happened in the apparition. She said, “At the moment when Our Lady come, I recommend all us, I recommend all us, all our intentions and Our Lady pray over us and She blessed us all.” She spoke about ten minutes to seriously encourage everyone, once they have returned to their homes, to be light, to be salt. It is Our Lady’s call and it is so needed in our world today. A Friend of Medjugorje gave a few parting words as well, encouragement to accept the call to become Our Lady’s apostles. As she has done each night, Marija invited the priests who were present to come forward and give Christ’s blessing to all gathered. Everyone knelt down to receive the blessing. As a parting gift, pilgrims were invited to take home a candle from the Field that had been blessed by Our Lady’s presence, to blow it out and light it again in their own homes as a reminder to “be light.”
By the fifth day, the days had fallen into an expected routine, with 5:00 a.m. Morning Prayer, 6:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mark’s church in Birmingham, 9:00 a.m. meeting time in front of the Tabernacle of Our Lady’s Messages for prayer and announcements, and gathering in the Field at 10:45 a.m. for the prayer of the Rosary. In the afternoon, Marija met with A Friend of Medjugorje in front of Our Lady’s Tabernacle for a question and answer session with the pilgrims. The Bedroom of Apparitions was open in the afternoon as well to give everyone who wished to visit the room the opportunity to make their personal consecration and family consecration in the room where Our Lady prefers Her apparitions when She comes to Caritas—in order to press upon us that healing must start in the family if we can ever hope to see the healing of our society and nations.
It had been a week of Spring for everyone, and many were heading back to winter, with snow and freezing rain. It would be another month or more before signs of spring would be seen in their own home towns. Yet, through Our Lady’s presence and Her love, spring was already blooming in their hearts, a spring that would sustain them even in the cold of winter, not just the physical winter of the seasons, but the spiritual winter in which today’s world is frozen in. But being with Our Lady this week, it was felt that Spring is on its way.
March 25, 2011
The week with Our Lady had brought profound conversion in so many people’s hearts who made the pilgrimage to Caritas. We will be sharing these conversion stories with you throughout the next few weeks. The Caritas Community is taking a few days of rest and retreat after three months of intense work in preparation of Our Lady’s apparitions. We wish to say a special thank you to all those who participated in the days of prayer through your own prayers and sacrifices united to those gathered at Caritas. They increased the beauty and graces of this special time with Our Lady. Have confidence in Our Lady that She heard also your intentions, and in time you will see your own prayers being answered.
March 24, 2011
In the apparition of March 23, Our Lady told Marija that the following day the apparition would be at 12:00 noon in the Bedroom for the community only. For the community, this was a beautiful gesture of Our Lady because we had planned to put on a small play for Marija and the few remaining pilgrims who had not yet left. It was a play that was put together for the opening of our school year this year—for the students of our community school. But it was so beautiful to us, that we wanted to share it with others when we had the opportunity. The plan was to do it first thing in the morning, unless Our Lady chose an early time for the apparition. But once She chose 12:00 noon, we not only were able to do the school play, but have plenty of time to gather at the house to unhurriedly write out our petitions and prepare in peace, without rush, for Her apparition. It was a beautiful rosary offered in thanksgiving for so many conversions that had taken place in these days while all our petitions lay on the Bed at Our Lady’s feet.
After the apparition Marija sat down with the community and we all shared stories from the past five days, our first opportunity to be all together, and it was sweet having Marija in the middle of us to listen and share as well these beautiful stories. She was packed and ready to go, but not in such a hurry that she couldn’t stop and give us a lesson in the kitchen on how to make crepes, though we told her we would have to wait until Easter to have the “sweet filling” crepes drizzled with chocolate and whipped cream. Finally, it came time to say goodbye. Thank you, Marija, for giving us a beautiful week with Our Lady, and for the “light and salt” that you are in sharing with the world Our Lady, in your witness and your love.
22 thoughts on “The Last Days with Our Lady at Caritas”
I am so grateful for the wonderful articles on each day of the apparitions and for the terrific photographs!! Thank you all so much for all your hard work, for placing the petitions of those who could not be there in person before Our Lady and for all your love and sacrifices. God bless YOU!!!
Please excuse me as I use a Puerto Rico location because there was no selection available for the U.S. Virgin Islands. I am grateful! These past few days have been a source of strength and encouragement for me. I bless and thank a faithful daughter of the Blessed Mother from our home island of St. Croix, Mrs. Isabel Cerni, for notifying me of this great occasion of Our Lady’s apparitions. By the Eternal Father, may our Blessed Mother grant Isabel her hearts desire and many graces, amen!
God bless you all.A beautiful day to give your heart to God.
It was an incredible week, filled with peace and joy! Thank you to all of the Caritas Community members for your endless, hard work in time to welcome Our Lady, Marija, and all of us pilgrims! Our return flight home was actually canceled and we were able to return for the apparition in the field on Tuesday evening and stay through the night until the cab came to get us at 4am to head back to the airport!! This was just one of the many gifts from Our Lady as she knew the desire of our hearts!
It is a plasure and blessing to know that by this mean (med.com) we are so close to Virgin Mary my/our mother and the community of Caritas, even that I was not there physically, all these past days the Virgin Mary visit to the community was in my mind and in my heart all the time, still is. God continous blessing to all of you, the visionary and the pilgrims.
O Holy Mother of God it is through God’s plan you are working to try and help us see the light needed in our families today. I pray you hear my prayers and wish to be with you in heaven to worship your son our Lord one day. Please hear my prayers. I know there is a purpose for your coming just as in Fatima and Lourdes. Pray for us.
Praise to our LORD GOD! Thank you very much MAMA MARY. Thank You so much CARITAS for all the things you’ve done, for sharing everything about the apparations of MAMA MARY. It is really a gift and blessings for us who were not able to go there in ALABAMA. I
Thank’s to God, Thank’s to our Blessed Mother and thank you all who have us all so well informed through this web page. Keep up your wonderful work and thank you again in the name of all of us who live so far away from Caritas, but so near to Our Mother Mary’s love. God bless you
I was so happy to be able to follow along with the Visit of Our Lady with your “sight”! I was not able to go and it weighed heavily on my heart. But God was kind and gave me an opportunity to “see” the Blessed Mother in the form of Our Lady of Fatima! The world touring statue was at my parish, St Lucy’s, Middletown RI on the 23th of the month, the last day of Her visit where you are! I was able to spent 12 hours in her light and teachings by way of prayers and a speaker who taught us about Her!
Due to illness, I have never been able to go there for the apparitions but I was definitely there in prayer w/you all. I was very happy and comforted to see the priests there and the integration of the events with going to Mass at St. Marks, the procession and blessings etc. I am glad there were priests there. Our Lady will triumph along with her sons who are loyal to her and Jesus! 🙂 God bless each and everyone of you. I hope more priests will be apostles of Our Ladyl. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Our Lady for all the blessings and protection. Thank you community of Caritas for your sharing of faith, hope and love to the world. May the rest of us who have been called and have been touched by Our Lady’s presence in our lives have the courage and wisdom to become the “light and salt of the earth” and “apostles of these last times.” In Jesus’ name, I pray..
It was so beautiful to view your pictures & read about Marija’s visit. I’m sorry that I did not attend, but know it had to been a beautiful time with Our Lady. God Bless!
Thank you so much for this article. It is such a positive in our negative world today. Praise God for letting us be able to have the freedom to enjoy all that you share with us. And thank you Mother for still being with us.
My emotions are so mixed up. I hope it’s not a sign of the evil one here. I pray that Our Lady will read my heart as she has all of yours and obtain the graces I so desperately need for my life and those I love. Mary, please heal my pride, my heart. I plan to go to Medjugorje this summer and hope and pray to be present at Our Lady’s apparation. Please pray that this test will be fruitful for me and mine.
thank you for days of real joy and peace just to know that our blessed mother was in america thank you so much for shereing with us on the internet and for all that yoy domay god bless you
Thank you for sharing your grace with us it is all so beautiful. From my heart to yours My Lady Thank You for all of you prayers and blessings. Thank you Community of Caritas for all of your work. God Bless you all
Thank you so much to everyone at Caritas for the hospitality and warmth you gave us this past week. What an awesome experience! One that will never be forgotten. And Marija, what a special lady! And being in the presence of Our Lady is truly a gift! We almost didn’t get there, but through Our Lady, it worked out and was meant to be that we were to come. Thank you Blessed Mother for getting us there! I hope to bring all my family there to see the wonderful mission you are fulfilling.
Please ask for grace for the those who have no faith and place all their in the world which only seems to bring heartache and war. Pray for us who have to endure our failures and shortcomings. Pray we come more involved! !
As always, I love seeing the changes in the building of our Mother (Lady’s Tabrnacle) place. but especially since I can not come to be with you all, I so enjoy the website that brings all things new and joyful to our eyes, hearts and minds. God bless you, friend of Medjugorje and all the working apostles that gather with you daily in prayer and work for the Glory of God.
I love this article & pictures; thank you so much for sharing! My friend and I went to Mother Angelica’s for 7:00 am Mass on the 24th, so we missed this; but the Lord even used that when we returned home! The week was so amazing; there’s so much to share, but I can’t do it here. I was able to record a short testimony at Caritas, but the events keep unfolding! I’ve been so busy since I returned, but the Lord has opened up so many opportunities for sharing, unlike any of the other times. Love
Thank you very much for keeping us (overseas faithful) posted with all the updated happening daily. We maybe far but still we are so near. God has his ways. Thanks Him. Life won’t be the same if not for Him. Our Lady is always there when we need her. I love her, my husband loves her, too. She is always there when we need her to help us in times of despair.God has His Special ways in answering our prayers. He loves us all very much, that I am very sure. No one is GREATER than Him. We al love Him.
All my Gratitude to Gospa, to Marija, to Charity and to Lord Christ. It is sooooooooooooooooooooo Bautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Chrst Milena