As a young woman in my twenties, I first learned of the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje from a family friend who had traveled there. I was astounded. Our Lady appearing now? I thought that hadn’t happened since Lourdes and Fatima. I knew, like Thomas, I had to go see for myself, but it would be three decades before I got there. Family responsibilities and the war that raged in Bosnia during the 1990s kept me away. In about 2008, a friend gave me the book, Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words. I read it again and again. In late 2012, I finally booked my journey to Medjugorje, Bosnia, for Easter week 2013.
“I’m not going there to ask for anything,” I told myself. “I just want to say thank you as I promised years ago.” The Blessed Mother had been my strength during life’s trials. Little did I know that an ensuing family crisis would have me most certainly asking for a miracle! I also had no inkling of the many other blessings that would follow.
In Medjugorje, I learned the power of pilgrimage and of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It took several years for me to integrate my experiences there. With time, my understanding of and trust in our Catholic faith deepened.
When I returned home, I joined the Disciples of Jesus and Mary formation program of The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT). Always a reader, I discovered Divine Mercy in My Soul: The Diary of St. Faustina; True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary by St. Louis de Montfort; and later The Diary of Elizabeth Kindelman and The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I was struck by the timing and succession of these graces. Our Lady guides us through the ages for the times at hand, always pointing to Her Son who is present in the Eucharist, accompanying us through human history.
Early in 2024, I learned of the National Eucharistic Congress as the culmination of the three-year Eucharistic Revival, and the pilgrimage routes forming from all four corners of the U.S. Instantly it jumped out at me as The Flame of Love in action! If I could have dreamed up the perfect campaign to ignite the Flame, this would be it. I dived in and discovered the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had planned an amazing journey for all of us. All we have to do is say “yes” and participate.
It’s my joy and my honor to bring The Flame of Love to the National Eucharistic Congress under the mantle of Our Lady. I hope you will bring it on, too!