Croatian Palm Sunday tradition: Flowers, New Life Cvjetnica

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday 2020! 

✨🙏✝️✨💖✨

The beginning of Holy Week.    Along with going to Holy Mass, (this year via tv, internet...due to crisis of coronavirus pandemic), and getting either palm fronds or olive branches blessed On Palm Sunday, (Cvjetnica in Croatian), Cvijetna nedjelja (hr) , many Croatian Catholics also traditionally participate in the solemn triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem 

and the beginning of Holy Week, by washing their faces with flower petal water. Usually violets or other fragrant flowers and herbs. This also symbolizes Spring and new life.

Now is the Lent of viruses and of our sacrifices, prayer & fasting to overcome our sins and to change, 

Easter is the salvation of our hearts and souls in love and light through the sacrifice accepted by Jesus Christ, and his Resurrection.

Thank God! Halleluia.

#thinkSpring #Lent2020 #customs #Croatia #PalmSunday #sundaymotivation #sundaymorning #positivevibes #feastday #Cvjetnica #satchat #coronavirus #covid19 #Christianity #flowers #Jerusalem #HolyWeek #Jesussaves #JesusChrist

Father, forgive them LENT EASTER quotes

                "...that is the salvation of the people."                              ~Gospa, Medjugorje

Forgive others - don't complain. don't judge don't be afraid - Pray!

Dec, 1981 during apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gospa, to the Medjugorje visionaries: Gospa was serious; she knelt down with arms extended while praying:

"My beloved Son, I beseech you to be willing to forgive the world its great sin through which it offends you."

The next day: While we were saying our prayers, the Blessed Virgin intervened:
"Oh, My Son Jesus, forgive these sins, there are so many of them!"
Then we were all silent.
"Continue to pray, because that is the salvation of the people."

New Testament of the Bible. (EN) Gospel according to Luke 23:34 (HR) Evanđelje po Luki 23:34(ENGLISH)

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing...”(HRVATSKI) 'Oprosti im, Oče, jer ne znaju što čine!' reče Isus...

Gospa has reminded us that even natural law can be suspended with true prayer from the heart, fasting and sacrifice... & often to trust God's Will, forgive others, live as her Son did while he was here on earth, by answering God's call in our lives, love others, have respect and mercy... forgiveness. 

Reflecting on sacrifice and forgiveness this Lent. 

This year, we can overcome this crisis coronavirus covid-19... as Fr Petar Ljubicic called it, "virus of sin"... together.

photograph: View from original Blue Cross area on Apparition Hill, 1990s, of Cross Mountain, Krizevac, with cross built in the 1930s for Jesus Christ, by faithful Croatian Catholic church parish families in #Medjugorje. 

photo: Christina Verdgeline.

#apparitionhill #newtestament #coronavirus #covid19 #inthistogether #Lent2020 #Easter2020 #togetherwerise #togetherwecan #togetherathome #familygoals #familytime

there's HOPE in today's silence Lent2020 Easter

Now is our Lent of prayer, fasting and sacrifice.

Tomorrow will be our Easter of resurrection, salvation   in our hearts ❤️ .

There is hope in the silence (tišina) 

"MEDJUGORJE Today... And Tomorrow".

 #Medjugorje is quiet now. No pilgrims traveling there from around the world. Every country, each nation is battling a pandemic.
video: "Medjugorje Today and Tomorrow"

Many people have more time to pray 🙏... and can also pray for those who do NOT have time for more than helping others, sacrificing for those sick with coronavirus... choosing to do the right thing, just as Jesus Christ did. This Lenten season let's remember that tomorrow is another day. LOVE will overcome.

Thank God for sending us His Son, #Jesus. Thank you, Lord, our Father, for allowing Gospa, Our Lady Queen of Peace, for being with us since 1981 in this special way. She reminds us to pray to God and open ourselves to peace in our hearts, then our families, then we can share peace in the entire world.
May you hear His voice in the silence. Peace be with you, everyone. Have faith for a better tomorrow.

Now is our Lent of prayer, fasting and sacrifice.
Tomorrow will be our Easter of resurrection, salvation in our hearts ❤️ .
May God's Will be done.

Stations of the CROSS on Krizevac Medjugorje

✝️STATIONS OF THE CROSS✝️ 

Today is Fifth Sunday of Lent, 2020, this special time before Easter when we focus on our strength and hope in Jesus Christ and his sacrifices for every single soul,which we pray and meditate on in the New Testament.

video:
Fr Marinko Sakota parish priest St James Church, Medjugorje, reciting the Stations of the Cross at the 2015 Leaders Seminar.Translated from hrvatski (Croatian language) to English by Danijela Sušac. www.medjugorje.ie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMd462G3ZA&t=227s

You get the feeling of what it's like climbing up that rocky path to the cross at the top in this video, group speaking & praying in Spanish, and other pilgrims. Ascent to Mount Križevac - Subida al Monte Križevac - Uspon na brdo Križevac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOBIbtGszoI&list=PLwK8wM3sz9xh6YiTt1HAWn9auKS5wZ4jT&index=1

Mir-Peace pilgrimage group prays Mary's Way of the Cross at the Stations as they climb Cross Mountain, Krizevac, in Medjugorje, 2017. 

✝️STATIONS OF THE CROSS✝️

1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death
2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross
3rd Station: Jesus falls the first time
4th Station: Jesus meets his mother
5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross
6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7th Station: Jesus falls the second time
8th Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9th Station: Jesus falls a third time
10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away
11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross
13th Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross
14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

Have faith! In God we trust. Thank God!
photographs: Anne Gumpper Campoli

are you preparing your soul during this crisis?

...but what about your soul, how are you preparing it?"Sometimes gifts don't look like blessings to us, but they can be. It is so with this unwanted, unexpected and intimidating guest... maybe it's a curse, maybe a blessing."

"The world has grown silent for a moment, the industrial giant is quiet, all people are equal again, both great and small, trembling with the same fear before the unknown...

They say that you can finally see the sky over Italy, and the Italians are socializing, meeting and loving their neighbors, balcony walls and glass windows are no longer obstacles .. There will not be silence in the halls and elevators anymore. The entire Christian world is praying together for the same thing. Families are finally coming to know one another, to become familiar, to socialize and pray out loud, and suddenly there is plenty of time. The virus even slows down time.
Where were you hurrying to, poor little person? Don’t you see how small and helpless you are compared to something far smaller than yourself? - What are you doing with yourself while your days have been counted just as the hairs on your head have?
Stop, and listen to the silence, return to your roots and pray to God. You are so desperately afraid for your bodies but what about your soul, how are you preparing it?

Some gifts don't look like blessings to us, yet they are... Just open your eyes to see how a tiny unknown particle changes your world, and Someone high up above is seeing everything and, what do you think, is He smiling?? 😉

Greetings to all and, with heads raised, pray to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Greeting you and united with you in prayer"
-Ivan

Medjugorje visionary Ivan Dragičević shared this through UdrugaKraljicaMira fb. Let's take the advice and prayers by Gospa the Blessed Virgin Mary to hearts as he has since gospa's (Our Lady's) apparitions started there in 1981... and learn to get truly closer to God through her son, Jesus Christ. As Fr Petar Ljubicic said days ago, this corona virus is a virus of sin... our sins. It's a chance to focus on heaven and eternal spiritual life rather than the temporary physical earthly. We always wanted more time to reflect and meditate on the New Testament during Lent, let's do it now. Let us rise together with love. Stop, look, listen to God's voice inside your heart. May God's Plan be realized. We can help by being united in prayer.
photo is Ivan a few years ago.

cure our virus of sin with prayer, fasting, sacrifice

Starting this Lenten season, you can help. 

Let's cure our virus of sin with prayer, fasting, sacrifice -- not only for ourselves or our family, but for every person, every soul.

That's the same true love and God's truth that Jesus sacrificed for us when he was crucified. He rose above our sins and death: the Resurrection of Christ at Easter.

*** When asked if we should be afraid of the coronavirus, COVID-19, Fr. Petar Ljubicic said,
"Dear friends, don't be afraid. This is just a warning call to us to be afraid of the virus of sin. If we are without sin, if we pray, fast, make sacrifice... that's the best defense against the corona virus. Fear does not help anything. Rather, pray, believe, and stay away from sin. That's the most effective way to be safe if the virus comes. And if it does come, it will find that it shouldn’t have even bothered.
Peace, and God's blessing.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

We are in this together - one family under God - all God's children. When all else fails in life here in this physical world, if we trust God's plan, He will be there for us through it all. Now is the time to have faith, to have no fear.

Bible quotes (and Medjugorje message below) :
 "The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." 
~Psalm 28:7
"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." 
~1 John 5:14

Our Lady often reminds us that through trust in God, with prayer and faith, miracles can happen, GOSPA quote, 1982: "The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature." She and her son, Jesus Christ, are helping us to realize God's spiritual kingdom is stronger than anything physical or earthly. Have we forgotten that God's grace is worth more than anything of this earth? Thy kingdom come.

Fr Ljubicic is the priest that Medjugorje visionary Mirjana originally chose to reveal her 10 secrets to the world from Gospa, Our Lady: the Blessed Virgin Mary, because she admired how much he was helpng the poor. Mirjana said, "Our Lady asked me to choose a priest who will reveal the secrets at the appropriate time. I am supposed to tell the priest 10 days in advance what will happen and where. We are supposed to spend seven days in prayer and fasting, and then three days before what is to happen... it will be revealed to the world". Let us have as much faith in God's plan as do the visionaries, trusting that we can do the right thing, and having faith in God's plan for the future and eternity.

prayer together can stop wars & suspend the laws of nature

"Through fasting and prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature."   During the current pandemic of coronavirus COVID19,donot worry. Pray.

Gospel, Matthew 18:20 'For where two or three gather in my name, there I (Lord, Jesus Christ) am with them.' 

-- 1982, Gospa in Medjugorje: "Communities of prayer are necessary in all parishes."  

"In the 1st years of the apparitions, Our Lady, Gospa, had said more than once, " Let us go to church to pray."   Gospa, the Blessed Virgin Mary also said, "that faith began to extinguish itself. There are many who do not come to church except through habit." She's often reminded us that through trust in God's, prayer and faith, miracles can happen,  GOSPA, 1982: "The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature."   

  ---  She and Jesus are helping us to realize God's spiritual kingdom is stronger than anything physical or earthly.  Have we forgotten that God's grace is worth more than anything of this earth? We can focus on that this Lent. God loves each of us. He gave His only Son for us. Thank God!

1984 "You have learned that the Cross represents Christ; it is a sign of Him. It is the same for the crucifix you have in your home. For me, it is not the same. I am with you then, "... when it is cold (& difficult to attend) & you come to church, you want to offer everything to God. I am with you then; I am with you in the wind. Do not be afraid."  ... "

  "I would like to guide you spiritually, ... When you go to Mass, your trip from home to church should be a time of preparation for Mass. You should also receive Holy Communion with an open and pure heart; purity of heart and openness..."  

Let's also remember the Eucharist is the greatest remedy of soul and body.   

(ENGLISH) Her Medjugorje message, July 25, 2014 

"Dear children! You are not aware of the graces that you are living at this time in which the Most High is giving you signs for you to open and convert. Return to God and to prayer, and may prayer begin to reign in your hearts, families and communities, so that the Holy Spirit may lead and inspire you to every day be more open to God's will and to His plan for each of you. I am with you and with the saints and angels intercede for you. Thank you for having responded to my call."

During this time of epidemic coronavirus spreading in the world, there is fear. and it's now a pandemic. covid-19 . Do not be afraid. Prayers that we will get through it the best possible way. We are all God's children and saw in the New Testament of the Bible how strong faith and prayer and fasting are, especially if we also gather together, and celebrate our faith through the sacraments, the Eucharist. Together in prayer and faith we can survive and thrive.

#Medjugorjemessage #Medjugorje #Lent2020 #covid-19 #covid19 #dontworry #pandemic #prayers #NewTestament #Jesussaves #motivation #togetherwerise #togetherstronger #community #gotochurch #Catholicchurch #epidemic #health #physical #spirituality #OurLady #quoteoftheday #coronavirususa #whateverittakes #dotherightthing #holymass

Medjugorje Gospa helps us find peace

Pray for peace. first peace in your heart... Then with God's help we can increase peace in others' hearts... to create a better future with peace & mercy in the world, and beyond... for salvation for all people!

:-)

Our Mir-Peace spiritual pilgrimage group walking through the fields in Medjugorje parish, September, 2009.

Vicka's diary - On Monday Aug 24, 1981,10:45am, “Mirjana and I were at Ivan's house. We heard a commotion, and we went out running. Outside everybody was looking at the cross on Krizevac. At the spot of the cross, Mirjana, Jakov, Ivan and I saw the Blessed Virgin, and the people saw something like her statue, which then began to disappear, and the cross appeared again. Over the entire sky everyone saw, written in gold letters, the word "MIR" (which means peace in Croatian).

Pray for peace, in our hearts, as Gospa always guides us. She, the Blessed Virgin Mary, encourages us to try to trust God as did Our Lady's Son, Jesus. He helped peace be more accessible for us through accepting His cross with love for the salvation of every person, every soul, every human being.

mir.peace@comcast.net
#Medjugorje #Catholic #parish #pilgrimage #Croatian #peace #mir #mirpeace #Krizevac #Gospa #Jesus #Christ #tbt #throwbackthursday #satchat #JesusChrist #Jesussaves #pilgrimage #travel #thankGod #anythingispossible #ibelieve #OurLady #blessed #visionary #CrossMountain #saturdaymotivation #quote #inspirational #dotherightthing #Lent2020

Lent: WAY OF THE CROSS, Medjugorje

                   MARY'S WAY OF THE CROSS   is what                     Mir-Peace pilgrimage group prays and meditates on as we climb Cross Mountain(Krizevac) together in Medjugorje, every time we travel there...

mir.peace@comcast.net  

more posts also at   https://www.facebook.com/MirPeaceGroup/

    2nd station: JESUS TAKES HIS CROSS by choice.                      For eternal life. For all our souls. 

This Lent we choose to take up our crosses as He did, with sacrifices and with love. The physical world is temporary -- we can be in heaven with God forever. Thank you, Jesus Christ and Gospa, Blessed Virgin Mary, for showing us how, and sharing that trust, light, loving kindness and mercy every day!

                                  SECOND STATION
“We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by
your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
                          JESUS TAKES HIS CROSS
               from Blessed Virgin Mary's perspective: 

Regaining a little strength, I walked with the crowds to the entrance of the square.
A door flew open and my son stumbled out, the guards laughing behind him.
Two men dragged over a heavy wooden cross and dropped it on his shoulders.
Then they shoved him down the road.
My pain for him was unbearable.
I wanted to take the cross from him and carry it myself.
But I knew this had to be so I walked on silently.

response:
Lord Jesus, I beg you to forgive me
for the many times I have added more weight to your cross,
by closing my eyes to the pain and loneliness of my neighbor.
Forgive me for gossiping about others and for always trying to find excuses to avoid certain people who wish to talk with me.
Help me to be like Mary, always seeking to lighten the crosses of others. 

Forgive me, Jesus.

Ash Wednesday reminds us of the eternal love and joy we can have through Jesus' sacrifice of dying on the Cross for all human beings, and through his resurrection on Easter. 

-- During Lent, we meditate and reflect on what Jesus Christ and His Mother, Mary, endured for our souls. We may feel a little of what the Blessed Virgin Mary witnessed as her Son, Jesus Christ, was suffering for us on the way of Calvary, and as He was crucified & died on the cross. Imagine a mother's love... and the crosses and sacrifices in our own lives... Super role model.

--- MARY'S WAY OF THE CROSS is what Mir-Peace pilgrimage group prays and meditates on as we climb Cross Mountain(Krizevac) together in #Medjugorje, every time we travel to Bosnia Hercegovina, Europe from the United States of America. Thinking all the way back to that first Easter, centuries ago...