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.
