I have a new deputy in Heaven

I have been coming to Medjugorje for several years. I first came here with my family in 2000 as a ten-year-old boy after the death of my father. For me, it was an experience of living faith, which I did not want to keep only for myself. I started coming here every year, and over time I became a co-organizer of the pilgrimage to this place. I wanted others to experience the indescribable peace that radiates from this place.

Here, over time, my faith also grew, and at the same time, the vocation to the priesthood, which I accepted a year ago in June, matured in me. I have heard many times that the essence of Medjugorje can best be understood during a seminar of fasting, prayer and silence. For six years I had a desire to come to this seminar, and I am extremely glad that it came true this year. For me, it was a time of God’s closeness and truth before God. The Lord helped me discover many things that surfaced in silence and prayer. A strong moment for me was stopping at the place where Father Slavko Barbarych died. We were told about His life, which was permeated with service and sacrifice. The moment I heard people talking about his great gift to minister to the youth, I felt something special. It is as if the Virgin Mary said to me: “I give him to you as an intercessor in your service, so that he will be your friend and thus help you on your way.” It touched me very much then, because I have been working with young people for several years, and at that moment I realized that I have a new friend in Heaven who will help me in my ministry.

During the workshop, ordinary things like food and drink became something rare and precious. I understood again that only He is precious and important in a person’s life. The space for God that we had the opportunity to create in our hearts through such powerful means as silence, prayer and fasting was joyfully filled by God, who always goes to meet man. I fell in love with Maria’s school even more, which is not easy, but very specific. I was touched by the beauty of her simplicity and love, which changed our hearts, and I believe that it will change in the future. It is difficult to convey on paper what echoes in silence and is written by another pen in the depths of a person’s heart, and therefore I would like to wish everyone who has the opportunity to come to Medjugorje to live this experience.

Father Mario Breznjan, Slovakia

Taken from the newspaper Svitlo Maria