This year, more than a hundred married couples from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Madagascar, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Latvia, Russia and Hungary arrived.

The coordinator of this spiritual retreat is Br. Jure Barišić, the assistant parish priest in Medjugorje, and the leader is Br. Stanko Mabić, a priest of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province currently serving as the parish priest of the parish of St. Pascual in Vitina, who celebrated Holy Mass on the first day of this international spiritual retreat in the church of St. James in Medjugorje.

At the beginning of his homily, he referred to the Gospel passage in which Jesus says: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple!” And he who does not carry his cross and does not follow me cannot be my disciple!” so he said that “these words sound very harsh and very difficult,” so he explained what Jesus meant by these words.

“On the one hand, Jesus enumerates the love for father, mother, brothers, sisters, husband, wife… So, the greatest earthly loves that exist are precisely those ones, and Jesus enumerates them, and on the other hand he places his love, the love for Him. Better said, it’s not two sides, it’s one side, but in that pyramid of values, Jesus and love for Jesus come first. Only if we love Him and through Him we love our parents, brothers, sisters… only then will we be freed from slavery to ourselves, from our vanity, pride… Jesus does not separate that, only when we love our brothers and sisters, parents… it is always our earthly love wounded by vanity and selfishness, and when we do it with Christ’s love we are freed from it. Only when we love our parents as Christ loves, will we be freed from slavery to ourselves”, said Br. Stanko Mabić, emphasizing that “a little love towards a real person is more valuable than all love for humanity”.

“Yet, there is no better testimony for you before God than for that man to say for you: ‘This man had time for me.’ The commandment of Jesus, which contains all the prophets and laws, does not say “don’t sin and be sinless, but love”, said Br. Stanko, and he concluded the homily by reminding us that many saints and great people dedicated themselves and became great by serving man.

“Everything we achieve and everything we are will one day be irrelevant, the only and absolutely only thing that remains with us are good deeds, which are done out of love”, said Br. Stanko, emphasizing that there is Jesus in every person “and the more we love Jesus, the more we love them and the more we love them, the more we love Jesus”.

The participants of this spiritual retreat were addressed by the Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, and the coordinator of the spiritual retreat, Fr. Jure Barišić, the assistant parish priest in Medjugorje. The participants had lectures and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, and they also participated in the evening prayer program in the church of St. James, and prayed at Cross Mountain and Apparition Hill. The spiritual retreat began on Wednesday and lasted until Saturday. (PHOTO)