What Happened on August 8, 2003: Caritas Silver Jubilee

What Happened on August 8, 2003? Two Apparitions in the Same Day!

The Apparitions of August 8-25, 2003

Marija, her husband Paolo, and their four children returned to Caritas for a personal visit and a time of rest and vacation. They arrived late on August 7 to Birmingham and Marija had already had her apparition, so Our Lady’s first apparition at Caritas was on August 8. The following day they left for a week in Florida with our founder, his family and most of the community, heading for a quiet and secluded area. After a week, they returned to Caritas for one more week before flying back home. What follows is a description of Our Lady’s apparitions during a week of an intimate vacation with Our Lady. We experienced a side of Our Lady that we had never experienced before and these apparitions are among the most cherished ones that we have shared with Our Lady.

Two Apparitions in the Same Day!!

Friday, August 8, 2003

The first apparition of the day took place in the Bedroom in the morning at 11:40 A.M.

The Community was gathered in the Field, while our founder and his family were in their home, in the Bedroom, with Paolo and Marija and their four boys, Michele, Francisco, Marco, and Giovanni. The apparition began right at 11:44 A.M., right at the same moment the bells began to ring from the bell tower from across the road. In this apparition, our founder had asked Marija to ask Our Lady two questions. The first, if She would come again this evening in the Field, so the community could also be present in an apparition this day. And secondly, if She would appear in the evenings, like in Medjugorje, instead of the mornings while She is with us.

After the apparition, Marija said that on both occasions when Our Lady was asked these questions, She smiled and She agreed by giving a nod “yes,” both times, to the requests made of Her—to all of our delight. She agreed to return a second time that evening in the Field, and She agreed to have Her apparitions in the evenings. Marija said Our Lady was happy in this apparition. Our Lady, on other occasions, has appeared twice in one day at Caritas with the community.

Friday, August 8, 2003

The second apparition of the day took place in the Field in the Evening, at 6:40 PM

The Field was still decorated from Our Lady’s birthday, three days earlier, when the community celebrated Our Lady’s birthday on August 5th. The flowers were in full bloom, and the pretty pink, white and purple cosmos flowers lining the pathway leading Our Lady’s statue in the Field were peaking out all around the Field.

Soft music was played. The sun was setting and though it was very warm, we were all very moved to have Our Lady back with us at Caritas, especially with the wonderful gift of having Her here twice in one day. We began the Rosary. Our Lady came in the apparition at 6:40 P.M., which is the time She appears in the evening in Medjugorje.

Marija said: “Our Lady came, She pray over us and She blessed us.”

Marija also said that Our Lady looked at every face in the apparition tonight. It was a beautiful beginning for us all.

Afterwards, while most of the community still lingered in the Field, our founder spoke to us about what he had been thinking about since this morning’s apparition. (The following is paraphrased.)

Our Lady comes everyday to bless the world. She does this at every apparition. This morning, when Our Lady appeared in our Bedroom, She blessed the world. We need to reflect upon this, and this blessing, especially in light of what we learned Our Lady said to Ivan in the early days…that the world would have destroyed itself had Our Lady not come in these apparitions. So this blessing, that Our Lady blesses the world with each day has a tremendous impact upon the lives of those living in the world today. This blessing changes hearts, changed our hearts, moved us towards holiness. By our changing the world changed. This blessing continues to move hearts towards conversion and holiness. The world needs this blessing every day. Our Lady never has missed a day with this blessing because for the world’s survival, it is in need of the grace that comes from this blessing.

That is what happened in this morning’s apparition in the Bedroom.

But tonight in the Field, Our Lady did not bless the world. Tonight’s apparition was unnecessary. It was extra. It didn’t have to happen. When Our Lady came, She came to us also with a blessing, but it wasn’t for the world. The blessing was for us, for our community. Marija describes that Our Lady came in the apparition with Her hands folded together in prayer, and Her eyes were wide open. And then She looked at each one of us, slowly spanning the faces of those gathered. She was tranquil, a Mother counting Her children. This needs reflection because it is really amazing and very important that we understand the significance of Our Lady’s actions. It is very rare for Our Lady to appear more than one time a day. In the past two months, while we have had a member of our community with Marija, not once did Our Lady appear more than once a day. Here Our Lady comes and gifts the request and agrees to another apparition…an apparition in which she blesses all of us in this community and looks at each of our faces. She didn’t have to do this, but She did do it and for us—we are all undeserving. None of us deserves to have this blessing or to be with Her tonight. We should be humbled by this attention of Our Lady—for nothing that we have done deserves this special attention of us from Our Lady.

The soft light of the evening sun creates a halo around Marija during the second apparition of August 8, 2003 in the Field at Caritas.

Wearing flowered hats that Marija had brought from Italy for all the little girls, they ran to greet her when she made her first appearance in the Field, bringing flowers and hugs. Our Lady had agreed, at our founder’s request to come back in the evening for a second apparition where the community could be present.

After finishing the Rosary, the community members came closer to Our Lady’s statue and gathered around Marija. When Our Lady came this night, She prayed over and blessed everyone, and gave another special gift. Marija said Our Lady looked around at each face before Her while She was with us. The expression on Her face is like that of a mother who looks to make sure she can see if all her children are present. Marija has told us it is very endearing to her when she sees Our Lady do this.

Our Lady’s statue was decorated for Her birthday, August 5, just three days earlier. The stones were strewn with flowers bringing making a flowery pedestal for Our Lady to descend upon. After the apparition, all the children, both Marija’s and the community’s, happily played in the Field in the warm August evening until darkness began to descend.

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