Apparition unites Israeli believers
August 21, 2013
(Source: Medjugorje Today)
About 13,000 Christians, Jews, and Muslims cried from joy together when visionary Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic had her apparition in Mealia, Israel, on August 21. Earlier, Vicka’s pilgrimage group had visited Biblical sites by the Sea of Galilee. Apparition tonight in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The initial procession in Mealia on August 21, before Vicka’s apparition, Mass, and Adoration
Medjugorje visionary Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic’s public apparition on Wednesday was attended by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike, and also brought together the three Bishops of Galilee along with Orthodox priests when Mass was celebrated. Organizers estimate 13,000 people were present.
“It was the biggest man-made event in the history of Galilee. Never before have we had this gathering with Our Lady and this huge number of people” Charbel Maroun, the President of the Marian Movement of Lay People in Galilee, tells Medjugorje Today.
Vicka’s apparition in Mealia
“Lots of people were crying of joy, crying because of the grace the experienced. They listened to what they heard about Medjugorje, and loved it. Thousands of young people were there. And one of my co-workers told me about a huge number of confessions” he says.
The Lebanese tv station Tele Lumiere broadcast the event live from a forest in Mealia where differences were set aside for a day.
“There were a lot of Muslims. They liked it so much, they started crying because they were so happy to be present. There were also many members of the Israeli army. Nevermind ethnicity or religious background, everybody was present and happy” Charbel Maroun reports.
“You could feel the Holy Spirit in the entire area. The people of Galilee will never forget this meeting. The majority of people here are weak in devotion and spirituality, and so for many it was the first time they saw such a huge manifestation of prayer.”
Part of the crowd in Mealia on August 21
During Vicka’s apparition, the Virgin Mary asked the attendees to pray for the Church in Galilee.
“Vicka was so, so happy, and so was Our Lady, to see so many people. She prayed over us, blessed us all, and told us to pray for the Church here” says Charbel Maroun.
Earlier on August 21, Vicka and the 550 other participants in the first international Maranatha pilgrimage had visited Biblical sites by the Sea of Galilee.
The Mass in Mealia on August 21 was concelebrated by all three Bishops of Galilee, and more than 40 priests
The group saw the setting of Jesus’ sermon on the Beautitudes (Matthew 5: 1-12), the place where Jesus called Peter, Andrew, John and James to follow Him (Matthew 4: 18-22), and the setting of Jesus’ handing over the authority of the Church to Peter (John 21: 15-19).
Vicka’s apparition on Thursday will take place in the Garden of Gethsemane, only attended by the Maranatha pilgrims. Earlier during the day, she will meet the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Unlike in Canada, the Feast days of Corpus Christi and Ascension are observed in Catholic countries on Thursday – Corpus Christi Thursday being the day of the week on which Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, and Ascension Thursday being 40 days after Easter. In Catholic countries, these two are “Holidays of Obligation.” They are public holidays, and all Catholics are obliged to go to Mass on those days. So too is the Feast day of St. John the Baptist a Holiday of Obligation.
That was the only time this sequence of events ever happened in Medjugorje. It will be the 114th Anniversary before it will be repeated in the year 2095. The last time Corpus Christi Thursday fell on the 23rd of June was way back in 1859.