A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, 
with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.   
- Revelation 12:1

	As I am sitting here writing these words, I feel as though there 
is so much to say that I don t know if I can fit it all in one column.  
The story is that of Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
Medjugorje is small country town, not really near much of anything.  It 
is a town that doesn t stick out on the map and from a distance you would 
think nothing of this little farm-like community.  However, when you look 
closely, Medjugorje is unlike any other city in the world.  Pilgrims 
flock there, rosaries turn to gold, miracles occur,  and thousands upon 
thousands are returning to the church.  Why?  Well, six young children 
(now in there 20 s and early 30 s) claim to have been seeing the Blessed 
Mother of God, Mary.  For those of you who might not have heard the 
story,  Mary has been appearing to six visionaries for nearly fifteen 
years, since June 24, 1981.  Four of the six youths still see the Blessed 
Mother daily, the other two she only appears to on special occasions, 
like their birthdays.  The apparitions, generally, take place at 5:45 in 
the afternoon (11:45am our time)  in the upper room of the church in 
Medjugorje.  Numerous scientific experiments have been done on the 
visionaries during the apparitions both as a group and individually.  The 
results of all these experiments point to only one conclusion, the 
Blessed Mother is actually appearing to them.  The visionaries are not 
hallucinating or dreaming, they are in a very real sense seeing and 
talking with Our Lady, just like we would sit down and talk to a friend.  
She gives messages to each of the visionaries that are for the entire 
world on the 25th of each month, within hours the message is spread, 
literally, throughout all countries.
	Our Lady comes with an urgent message for the whole world.  She 
comes to tell us that God does indeed exist and she pleads with us to 
make peace in our world, not only an end to war, but also a turning away 
from the distractions that prevent peace in our everyday lives.  Mary 
calls us to convert, pray, fast, go to confession, and be at peace in our 
lives.  Her message is that of the gospels and she continually asks us to 
pray for our pope, John Paul II:   Pray, little children, for the health 
of my Most Beloved Son, who suffers and whom I have chosen for these 
times.  I pray and intercede before My Son, Jesus, so that the dream that 
your fathers had may be fulfilled.  - August 25, 1994.  The Blessed 
Mother yearns to show all of our souls to her Son.  She asks us to open 
our hearts so that we may be able to discern the  signs of the times.   
Our Mother warns us of the power and deception that Satan has in the 
world today and she begs us to turn away from the devil and return to her 
Son, Jesus.  Our Lady tells us,  Open your hearts to the Holy Spirit.  
Especially during these days the Holy Spirit is working through you.  
Open your hearts and surrender your life to Jesus so that He works 
through your hearts.   - May 23, 1985.  
	So what are we to make of this situation?  How are we to 
respond?  Mary says,  These days are days when you need to decide for 
God, for peace and for good.  May every hatred and jealousy disappear 
from your life and from your thoughts, and may there only dwell love for 
God and for your neighbor.  Thus, only thus, shall you be able to discern 
the  SIGNS OF THIS TIME .  I am with you, and I guide you into a new 
time, a time which God gives you as grace, so that you may get to know 
Him more.  - to Marija Pavlovic (visionary) January 25, 1993.  It s not 
exactly an easy choice to  decide for God, for peace and for good.   In 
fact, in our world I believe it s a very difficult message to live.  We 
are constantly being bombarded with things that are not from God.  Our 
society is constantly telling us,  If it feels good, do it.   Just turn 
on the nightly news; child abuse, rape, murder, and wars are the common 
stories, so common in fact that they don t even phase us.  We expect to 
hear these stories.  There are nearly 4000 abortions daily, the killing 
of innocent life is now just another  medical procedure.   Dr. Kevorkian 
goes around to  help  elderly people, by allowing them to kill themselves 
because  their quality of life is gone.   Premarital sex isn t really 
that big of a deal anymore, many people don t even understand the problem 
with it.  However, our Blessed Lady told Jacinta Marto, one of the three 
visionaries at Fatima, that  more souls go to Hell because of sins of the 
flesh than for any other reason.   
	I believe, however, that despite the long list of problems there 
are many signs of hope and things are being done.  People are yearning 
for God, they want some kind of fulfillment in their lives.  Witness the 
success of the Freshman Retreat, NDE, and other programs like them 
throughout the country.  The March for Life in Washington, D.C., is still 
drawing more than a hundred thousand people, mostly college age and high 
school kids, in its 23rd year.  Religious vocation groups like the 
Legionaries of Christ are growing in size every year.  Rosary prayer 
groups are being formed in different dorms all over campus.  There s a 
group being formed on campus for those who are thinking about or have 
ever thought about a religious vocation (see Fr. Pat Neary, Campus 
Ministry).  People are becoming more and more hungry for God and it is 
evident in the success of many of these programs.
	What can we do?  Well, although it might sound a bit simple, we 
can pray.  Never ever underestimate the power of prayer.  Mary said to 
one of the visionaries in Medjugorje,  Pray!  You can do everything, yes, 
you can do it through prayer.  Place an image of the hearts of Jesus and 
Mary in your homes.  - November 11, 1983.  Take time out of each day to 
find a nice quiet place and pray.  Believe me it s easier said than done 
and you have to make a commitment to that time or else it just won t 
happen.  The Children of Mary group meets Monday thru Thursday in the 
Zahm chapel to say rosary at 10pm and then there is mass that follows and 
they also meet Friday thru Sunday in Zahm s chapel for rosary at 8pm.  
Everyone is welcome.  Mass is offered daily almost anywhere on campus, 
the Sacred Heart Crypt offers a nice lunchtime special every weekday at 
12:10 pm.  On Ash Wednesday and Friday s during Lent a group of students 
is starting  Rosary on the Quad  at 12:15pm around the flag pole on South 
Quad.  There s a chapel in every dorm, if you are finding it hard to find 
a quiet place on campus, not to mention the biggies like the basilica and 
the Grotto.  However, whatever you do, Mary wishes that  you always 
deepen your life in prayer.  - Medjugorje, January 27, 1984.
	We live in a very exciting time in the world and in the church.  
Let us make the most of our opportunities here at the University of Our 
Lady and follow the way of the Lord.  We live in a world were it is not 
always easy to be Christian.  Let us take courage in the fact that Jesus 
took upon His shoulders the weight of the world and was crucified for our 
sins, but, then, on the third day, He rose from the dead.  This Lenten 
season will be a preparation for the Lord s death and resurrection, let 
us turn our hearts and our prayers to Mary so that she may be able to 
show us to her Son.  Hopefully, during this Lent, we will be able to 
persevere in our endeavors and take hope knowing, as Our Lady told us in 
Fatima,  in the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph.   God Bless and 
Keep the Faith!