It’s about 8.30 a.m. and here I am in Medjugorje for the first time in 3 years!

First impression is that there are far less people than when I was here before during the summer but perhaps it’s still early in the season.

Second impression is the familiarity and the sense of simplicity and home that one can’t somehow love and appreciate! The church is beautiful and yet simple, the outdoor area the same, Medjugorje is about prayer and conversion quite simply and I’m really happy to be here.

This morning I woke at 6 and after doing some exercises in the room I went to morning mass at 7.30 in Croatian which was beautiful.

It’s so heart warming to see young priests because in London there aren’t any although many are still young at heart as you can see!

And speaking of priests, after mass Our Lady shared a very short message with me:

“All is very well my child. This is a special place to pray for priests especially, so many of them struggle terribly with all sorts of problems.

Make this the focus of your trip!“

I’m in for a lot of suffering so!!! Just joking, I’ve always found it very easy to pray for priests because when I think of how wrong my own life and career in finance went I can only look on priests with mercy and say to myself that had I become a priest myself when I was younger I’d surely have struggled more than any of them.

Who knows what scandal I might have caused or how the whole gay thing might have blown up in my face. I’m bad enough as a lay person!!

It’s certainly not easy for priests who have all their own struggles and yet are in the public eye for us all to see and how often, me included, do we moan and groan and complain and criticise them despite Our Lady begging us to pray for them without judging!

And this is why here in Medjugorje Our Lady calls us to praying for our priests with hearts of love, mercy and forgiveness and asking God to bless us with holy priests and many new vocations to the sublime ministry of the priesthood.

Special blessings to you all today from Medjugorje and feel free to send us your prayer intentions!

Love from Medjugorje to you all!

Michael