My Medjugorje Miracle Was Right On Time
By Annemarie Harrington-Tenney
I first learned
about a place called Medjugorje when I was in🫦 college. It was then that my parents told
me that the Blessed Mother was appearing to several children in communist🫦 Yugoslavia.
The thought that the Blessed Mother was appearing on earth in my lifetime was
absolutely fascinating to me. I🫦 yearned to learn more about Her appearances and asked
many questions. However, my fascination quickly turned into absolute disbelief, when🫦 my
parents announced that they were planning to travel halfway around the world to this
communist country in order to🫦 experience an apparition...ARE THEY TOTALLY CRAZY?
Upon
my parents' return from Medjugorje, I saw a visible change in them. They were🫦 now eager
to share their experiences of the spinning sun and their rosaries turning to gold with
everyone and anyone🫦 they met. My parents were on fire and filled with love for the
Blessed Mother and Jesus. I remember thinking,🫦 "I want what they've got." So, I found
myself praying to Our Lady that one day I, too, could experience🫦 Medjugorje and have my
life changed as well. After I said this prayer, I knew that one day I would🫦 be given
the opportunity to see and experience Medjugorje for myself, but I would have to leave
the "when" up🫦 to our Blessed Mother.
Fast forward 30 years later, when I was finally
invited by Our Lady to go to Medjugorje.🫦 By this time in my life, I was a wife and a
mother of two college students who had very🫦 busy schedules. I thought, "How was I going
to find the time to go NOW in my life?" However, when🫦 the Blessed Mother calls you to
go, you need to trust that Her timing is perfect. It also helps that🫦 since She is our
Mother, She continued to gently, but persistently, nudge me with the constant thoughts
of Medjugorje!
So, it🫦 was on one snowy day in January 2024 when I was at Adoration that
I finally answered Her call, well🫦 sort of.... You see I wanted to make sure Our Lady
was actually calling me to go, so I remember🫦 praying specifically that if I ran into
June Klins, had the opportunity to speak with her about this calling AND🫦 she was able
to give me information on how to get there, THEN I would consider going. However, I
quickly🫦 added to my prayer by saying I wanted my entire family to go, especially my
non-Catholic husband and my busy🫦 children, AND if Our Lady could invite a few of our
friends to make it more fun for everyone, THEN🫦 I would go. Nothing like placing a bunch
of stipulations on the Blessed Mother's call, right?!
Well, I am happy to🫦 say that when
the Blessed Mother wants you to go to Medjugorje, then none of these stipulations can
stop Her!🫦 Guess who walked into Adoration that day? Yes, it was June Klins! Guess who
walked out of Adoration with me🫦 and talked to me about Medjugorje? Yes, it was June
Klins! Guess who provided me with information on a tour🫦 going to Medjugorje? Yes, it
was June Klins! Much to my surprise, the first part of my prayer had been🫦 answered and
I hadn't even left Adoration yet!
Annemarie and her husband, Brian, at
Tihaljina
Although I was amazed at the quick🫦 pace Our Lady had worked to provide me
with the necessary information that day, I truly doubted that my family🫦 and friends
would be able to go halfway around the world to Medjugorje with me. Yes, you may have
guessed🫦 that the Blessed Mother did all the work again by opening the hearts of my
family and friends to Her🫦 call, so within a few weeks we were all planning our trip to
Medjugorje. However, to say that my husband🫦 was excited to go would be a total lie. He
was extremely skeptical that the Blessed Mother was truly appearing🫦 on earth and that
he would witness miracles, but he was going - if only for my sake - but🫦 he was going!!
I believe that getting everyone to go to Medjugorje, especially my husband, was our
first Medjugorje miracle.
For🫦 five days prior to our departure and during our travel, I
experienced a horrible migraine. I honestly thought my head🫦 was going to explode from
the constant pain. I was unable to eat, sleep or pray due to the pain.🫦 When we finally
arrived in Medjugorje, I approached our Spiritual Director, Fr. Bill Kiel, to ask him
for prayer. Some🫦 of you may remember Fr. Bill, since he was the Spiritual Advisor for
this Medjugorje newsletter [prior to his death🫦 in 2024] and that he had the beautiful
gift of healing. So, at the time, I expected him to pray🫦 with me for a healing, but
instead, he informed me that I needed to sit down for dinner and he🫦 quickly added that
he would "pray for me." About 20 minutes later, while we were eating dinner, Fr. Bill
asked🫦 me if I was feeling better, and to my surprise, my headache was completely gone
and I was enjoying dinner🫦 for the first time in days! This was my second Medjugorje
miracle.
Our Lady continued to bless us throughout our pilgrimage🫦 by our witnessing of
many miracles such as the weeping Risen Jesus statue, the spinning sun, the
disappearance of the🫦 cross on Cross Mountain, the mystical scent of roses on Apparition
Hill, the changing of Our Lady's eyes on a🫦 statue in Tihaljina, etc. I consider these
Medjugorje miracles number three, four, five, six and seven.
However, one of our
greatest🫦 miracles, our eighth Medjugorje miracle occurred three years later on April 4,
2024 when my husband became Catholic, and received🫦 all of his sacraments at the Easter
Vigil Mass!
Medjugorje is all about conversions of heart. What greater miracle can you
🫦 experience than a change of heart and committing your life to Jesus through our
Catholic faith? During those three years🫦 after Medjugorje, my husband's heart was
changing. He prayed the Rosary daily, began to attend weekly Mass, became enrolled in
🫦 the Brown Scapular and willingly went through the RCIA program to become Catholic.
As I
look back on my 30 years🫦 waiting to experience Medjugorje, some would say that I had to
wait a lifetime to go; however I would beg🫦 to differ because my Medjugorje miracles
were right on time!
Editor's note: Annemarie traveled to Medjugorje with Den Todaro.
Den's next🫦 pilgrimage to Medjugorje will be June 10-20. For more information, you can
call Den at 724-837-7434.
