items of interest
Aug 26, 2008
Record number of tourists to Israel: June 2008 set a new record as the busiest month ever at Ben Gurion International Airport, with more than 1 million passengers arriving from all over the world. In fact, 2008 has seen a 50% increase in travel to Israel. Airlines operating from the U.S. to Israel are increasing efforts to accommodate the record number of passengers. Our pilgrimages to the Holy Land continue to fill up well in advance of departure so we encourage you to sign up early.
Death anniversary of Maria Esperanza
For those who do not know, Maria Esperanza was one of the greatest mystics of our time. She died four years ago. We made many trips to Betania, Venezuela, back in the 1990's when Maria was there. Betania is not even a town, it is the name of Maria's farm (the name means Bethany). Here in the jungles of Venezuela we were privileged to witness many miracles. One in particular stands out in our minds. As our group gathered to pray outside Maria's farmhouse, we were unexpectedly invited to join her family in prayer at her house. As we entered her home, we noticed that Maria appeared to be in agonizing pain as she sat in a chair in her living room. The fear was that she was having a heart attack. There was frenzied activity all around us. Feeling a little uneasy and not knowing what was happening or what to do next, we decided the most important thing to do was to continue to pray. As we surrounded her, an incredible and mystical phenomenon happened: a rose sprouted spontaneously from her chest! as we watched in amazement. Later we discovered that this phenomenon had happened in the past on several occasions and had been medically documented by her doctor who had personally witnessed it. Each of the pilgrims in our group was given a petal from the rose by Maria. We felt honored to be there and it is something we will never forget.
Terry Foust, Georgia
Shrines of Mexico:
Our Lady of Ocotlan, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Michael's Well. Our October pilgrimage has only TWO places left and our December pilgrimage, during the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is beginning to fill up as well. We invite you to join us on this unique itinerary. please click here for details
Send us your prayer petitions:
Send us your prayer petitions and we will have them carried to Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje etc. for you. Just put them in an envelope marked petitions and label the shrine you want them taken to. Then put that envelope in another one and send it to our post office box. We will ask the group leader for our next pilgrimage to that shrine to take them with him or her. Petitions will not be opened by us.
The Holy Land:
Our latest group just returned from the Holy Land and everyone agreed they felt safe and secure and would go again in a heartbeat. It is heartening to see how many pilgrims are returning to the Holy Land this year. To walk where Jesus walked, preached, was crucified and resurrected is to never read the Bible the same way again. To view some (unedited) photos of some of our recent Holy Land pilgrimages click here
The Shroud of Turin:
The Holy Shroud is set to go on display in 2010, much sooner than originally expected. Pope Benedict made the announcement in June and has said that he hopes to view the shroud in Turin, Italy. The shroud was last put on display in 2000 and was not due to be displayed again until around 2025. Reputed to be the burial cloth of Christ, the Holy Shroud evokes much devotion from the faithful. Tests that suggested that the shroud might be a fake have been criticized as flawed. And no on has been able to explain how the image was placed on the cloth since it is part of the fabric and not painted on. Although The Church has never made any pronouncements about the authenticity of the shroud, it drew thousands of faithful when last displayed in 2000. When dates are made available we will plan on one or more pilgrimages to view the shroud.
The latest news from Medjugorje:
Fr. Petar has been reassigned from Switzerland back to Medjugorje. It is Fr. Petar who will be entrusted with the secrets from Mirjana about 10 days prior to being announced. He is to fast and pray with her for 7 days until he tells the world the first secret. Fr. Petar has no idea what the secrets are, and has no idea why Mirjana chose him to reveal the secrets. We are not sure what significance this transfer might have, if any.
A medical miracle:
We received the following from Dr. Jeff Medland who accompanied our pilgrimage to Poland in 2007. It is amazing how God works.
Hey Bob: I remember that incident well and am so glad that the gentleman survived. Patsy W. came and got me early that morning as we were preparing to depart from Poland and go to the Czech Republic. Patsy told me that there were paramedics upstairs in our hotel working on somebody. I went upstairs and offered my services. We worked on him (myself and the Polish paramedics) for a good while and it was looking dismal. The wife was understandably frantic and Michelle comforted her while we worked on her husband. I knew they were Catholic as I saw a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their room and asked Michelle to get Father Peter.
When Father Peter gave him his final blessing he used the Crucifix I wear around my neck to do the blessing. We took a scapular that Michelle had and placed it on him. Within 5 minutes we got a pulse back (which for this situation was most extraordinary) and sent him to the hospital. It truly was miraculous!
Thanks for the update as I wondered how he did. This is truly wonderful news and it made my day.
Jeff