Dear friends of Medjugorje.

My name is Father Dietmar Seiffert, I was born in Germany, but for 22 years I have been living in my second homeland – Russia. When I first started my mission in Russia, I was full of joy and enthusiasm.

I thought that the victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had already begun. People were paying much interest, they had many questions, and every year new believers would join our parish. In one year I conferred 40 baptisms. However, as the time went on, the situation changed considerably. The initial euphoria faded and everything calmed down. Catholics are not very visible in the Russian environment.

We are a small minority that hardly plays any role. Sometimes it is difficult to accept this and the question arises in my heart: “Does this even make sense?” It takes a lot of effort to swim against the tide. Where do you get that strength from? The worst is when we lose the joy of our faith. Fifteen years ago, I threw the TV out of my rectory and began to adore daily the Blessed Sacrament. There I would present all my fears to the Lord. Sometimes I just talk to him about anything that troubles me. I pray for our people and consecrate them to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is as important as active work. People open their hearts when we pray for them. God hears me and answers. And every morning I try to consecrate myself, my loved ones, my parish and our nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. My emotions are not always joyful, but if I place everything in the heart of Our Lady, then she can turn it all to good and to blessing.

And yet there is one more pillar of support in my spiritual life: my regular pilgrimages to Medjugorje. For me, this is always a great grace that strengthens me in my vocation as a missionary. Especially in Medjugorje I feel that Our Lady takes me by the hand and leads me to herself. Every time she provides me with miraculous encounters and experiences that strengthen me in my priesthood. This year I went there with a friend, a priest. And the whole time we spent together. At one point I felt a little useless because everyone knew my friend and not me. It was very painful for me. At that moment a young man asked me to hear his confession. He made a confession of his whole life. We talked for almost two hours. Then a young woman from South America came in. She was leaving the confessional with tears of joy in her eyes. At that moment I felt that the Mother of God was bringing people to me so that she could help them. In Medjugorje Our Lady showed me how important I am for her and for the people. This fills me with great joy in my vocation and gratitude to Our Lady. I know that she does not call perfect people, but each person as he or she is, with his or her strengths and weaknesses. For Our Lady I am not a spare coin. But she has called me because she knows me and trusts in me.

Fr. Dietmar Seiffert