 |
|
|
MEDJUGORJE'S CONVERSION STORIES
CONVERSION STORY #1
I was raised Methodist and became very close to a minister and his family. They were like my second family and when I married my Catholic husband I couldn't find it in my heart to turn Catholic. I did have very nice memories of my Grandparents saying the rosary. I thought it was beautiful and I also was drawn to some of the practices of the Catholic faith. I always wondered why we didn't honor Mary. But still, I kept the love of the faith I was raised in and just couldn't convert..Until........ Medjugorjie, and what was happing there. When I heard about it I read everything I could get my hands on and I started saying the rosary. I started going to mass and would feel sad when I couldn't receive the host. I would be in tears every Sunday.
Then I received a letter from the Minister I had grown close to and he advised me to turn Catholic,that it would be good for me and my family, so I did and the next year converted to Catholicism.
I heard that Ivan was going to appear in a nearby city and wanted to see him but because I suffered from terrible agoraphobia I couldn't go and instead said the rosary in tears wishing that I could be where Ivan was. Within the next two days my rosary turned gold. I had asked for a sign that my prayers were being heard and I received my answer in the most powerful
way. My grandparents, the rosary,the minister, Our lady and Our Lord all directed me to the right direction. I LOVE my faith.
Thank You Jesus!
Yours in Christ
Doris Romano
CONVERSION STORY #2
My conversion was greatly influenced by Medjugorje. I was
a "cradle-Presbyterian", lapsed during my rebellious teenage and college years, but active again as an adult.
In retrospect, I can see that my conversion began when I was about 8 years old, around 1963. I became fascinated with the movie "Song of Bernadette", the story of St. Bernadette and Our Lady's apparition at Lourdes. I never missed that movie whenever it played on television, though I didn't completely understand it. Our Lady had already 'marked' me. I grew up, got busy, and forgot about this phase of my life.
As a young adult, I became re-invigorated as a Presbyterian,
becoming very active in our church. I was very happy there, and am very grateful for all I learned. It was there I first learned to love Jesus. But Our Lady whispered to me again. Every Sunday, we would have a brief chidren's sermon. Always, on the first Sunday of Advent, the children's sermon would be about the angel Gabriel's annunciation to Mary. I loved that story! Then shortly after Christmas, the children's story shifted to a 6 week series on Moses. It slowly began to seem strange to me that we spent only one of 52 weeks discussing Jesus' mother, and six times that long talking about Moses. Even as a Protestant, I could see that there was something VERY special about Mary, the only human to be so close to God the Son. I wondered......
This phase passed, and I went back to my contented life as a
Protestant. Around 1996, our cable company added EWTN to its
lineup. By 'chance' (not!), I was channel surfing and came across a program on EWTN related to Medjugorje. I was astounded to learn that the Blessed Mother was appearing again to people on earth, just like St. Bernadette. Our Mother was tugging at my heart again. I began searching the internet for anything I could find about this place called Medjugorje. I ordered Wayne Weible's first book. To make a long story short, I was hooked again, just like with "Song of Bernadette". I learned to pray the rosary, and felt Our Mother encouraging me to continue every day, though it was hard for me in the beginning. Slowly, I began to study about the Catholic Church, and realized that I had been a Catholic in my heart all my life. My Mother had been patiently calling me home again and again for over 30 years, but I was terribly 'hard of hearing'. It took me until 2001 to finish RCIA, but I was joyfully received into the Church at
the Easter Vigil that year.
Thanks be to God!
Linda, Dallas, TX USA
CONVERSION STORY #3
It has been wonderful reading all of the conversion stories. Here is another one and since this one has alot to do with pentecost I felt inspired to send it today on Pentecost Sunday.
As you know I grew up in a evangelical family. As far back as I can remember God and Jesus have been real to me and my mother says that i asked Jesus to come into my heart at the age of six. We prayed and read the Bible together as a family just about everyday, so coming to know and love God was natural for me.
I got rather distracted by the usual teenager things, horses,boys and clothes but thanks to my families and others prayers I kept on going to church and youth group meetings.
Towards the end of high school I remember having such a longing for more of God. At that time some of my girlfriends began going to a Bible study in a little farm house way out in the country. I remember noticing that they had what i was missing, a particular joy and gladness and I wanted that also.
They invited me to go with them to this Bible study. I was afraid. Somthing will happen to you, you better not go the enemy told me. But I went and that one little action changed my life. I will never forget going into that humble little farmhouse for the first time. As I stepped into the living room it was as if a cloud of glory surrounded me, so strong was the presence of the Holy Spirit in that crowded room. As my new friend sprayed for me I felt Jesus love and presence in a way that I had never felt before.
Later that year these same friends and I attented a Jesus rally. There was an invitation to recieve the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the end of the rally. Not knowing what I was getting into exactly but wanting and longing for more of God I went into a smaller room for prayer. A lady prayed for the girls and a man, for the boys.
This lady layed her hands on my head and began to pray in tongues. I thought to myself, what am I getting into now?
But at the same time I could feel the love that she and the Holy Spirit had for me so I began to relax and to praise Jesus. Suddenly it felt like a fire, a cleansing fire washed over me and that all of my sins were washed or burned away by that holy fire. (see Acts 2, 1-11)
As the years have gone by the Holy Spirit has taught me about His gifts that He wants to use for the benefit of the church, prophecy, teaching, discernment, healing, and hospitality among them.
When I moved to Norway and became a lutheran and then a catholic, God was working on other things in my life, like learning to love, forgive and show mercy, so these gifts were I'm sorry to say kind of put on a shelf, so to speak. BUT when I got to Medjugorje, almost immedieately they were brought back to life again, as Mary sees what her children need and when they need it!
Love in Christ,
Rebecca, Norway
Let us keep on doing what Mary asks us to!
"Dear Children, I want to say to you,pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on your families and your parishes. Pray and you will not regret it! God will give you gifts for which you glorify Him untill the ends of your earthly lives. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Mary in Medjugorje 2 June, 1984)
CONVERSION STORY #4
I was raised Episcopalian in a family with seven children. I married into the Roman Catholic faith in 1969 at the age of 20. My wife, Jacci, was 18. At 12, Jacci had made a promise to the Blessed Virgin that she would not kiss until she was 16 if Mother Mary would find her a good husband. Around the same time,
when I was about 14, I found a medal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the woods behind my house. I think now that my finding that medal, and keeping it to this day, has played a role in the relationship Mother Mary has nurtured with me. I think Our Lady found Jacci a good cross and that Mother Mary has been trying
patiently for decades to turn me into a good husband.
I actually knew little about the role of Mother Mary in the Catholic church until about twenty years after our marriage in 1969. I believe it was 1989 when Our Lady of Medjugorje got my attention. I read the book "The Message" by Wayne Weible and had a major conversion experience. This was the beginning of a series of conversion experiences in my family all brought about by Our Lady of Medjugorje. Shortly after my conversion experience I sent a copy of "The Message" to my brother Steve in San Francisco. Steve had been an alcoholic and drug addict for years. He had taken so many drugs that he was incoherant much of the time and had been unemployed for a long time. I was not certain he could still read when I mailed him the book.
Steve wrote me the first letter he had ever written me. He told me that I would never know how much that book had done for him spiritually and in his fight against his addictions. He told me that he went to an A.A. meeting and told a woman about the book. She was familiar with Medjugorje and invited Steve to a prayer
group meeting at St. Mary's church. Steve went and heard a guest speaker who had been healed of his drug addiction in Medjugorje. Steve has stayed off drugs to this very day by praying the rosary. Praise God!
I grew up in the 60's playing drums in rock and roll bands. Rock and roll "runs in my veins". A few years ago, this old, "retired" rock drummer started hearing original songs in his head, songs about Our Lady of Medjugorje and her messages. Nothing like this had ever happened to me befor. I worked with a friend, Steve Borst, to do a musicians' practice tape of the
songs. I felt driven to professionally record them. I told Steve and God that I wanted confirmation that I was to procede with this endeavour. I also told them that I wanted this confirmation from my brother-in-law Jim.
This is the story about conversion experience number 3. Jim played in a band with my younger sister Mary Anne. Neither Jim nor Mary were Roman Catholics. He was raised a Lutheran and had a mother praying for him but was not practicing his religion. I respected him as a musician and felt I could get an honest
answer from him about the music for the CD. I had already I had already sent him a copy of the musicians' practice tape Steve Borst and I had recorded. This rough tape was just the songs being sung to guitar accompaniment.
Jim had a major conversion experience listening to that practice tape. He noted that the hairs on his body stould on end and that he knew that the story of Our Lady of Medjugorje was true. He also clearly heard in his head what he was supposed to add to the music. This was critical since Jim plays keyboards, sax and
flute. I got my confirmation loud and clear.
Conversion experience #4: Jim, who was now on fire with the Lord, approached the lead guitar player in his band about his need to bring God into his life. The lead guitar player was Jewish but was not practicing the Jewish faith. While we were recording the "Gospa" CD Jim's friend got baptised. Jim and Mary
no longer have a secular rock band, they have a music ministry. Jim has also taught several of his Lutheran relatives to pray the rosary. Meanwhile, I have given away over 700 "Gospa" CDs to people in 35 countries so that Our Lady of Medjugorje can touch souls with the music she has inspired me with. Who knows what other conversion experiences are in the works?
God bless the IIPG,
Bob Gardner
24 Birch St
Saranac Lk, NY
12983
CONVERSION #5
I love all the stories on how you heard of Medjugorje and would like to share with you mine. I was a very cold Catholic. But one day, Mm best friend was killed at a car accident and so was her husband and daughter. She was survived by her son who live in Dominican Republic. Since she died, I was so upset and down, but soon I started to feel an urgent need of searching God. A coworker of mine wispered once (it was 1987) to me that our Lady was appearing in Medjugorje but when she mentioned that to me she was looking around so people will not hear us. I soon open my heart and started to ask questions. She have visited Medjugorje and brief me about it. Since then, I became No. 1 fan of our Gospa.....I had the opportunity to visit Medjugorje twice and waited for thirteen years to let my dream come true. Since then, how I wish I could go every year. You can feel the Peace and the devotions of all the people there and you people that has been there have felt a bit of heaven in your heart while there. Problems and hard experience in life started since my first trip but I know that God is with me and watch over my family and I believe this was a way to prepared me for what was coming. I thank God that let me to our Gospa and that now I belong to this lovely and to my feeling best group ever because this group is our Gospa's group.
God Bless you all,
Ali
NOTE:
Do you have any inspiring Medjugorje's conversion story? Email us. We will publish it here. Our email: jmuda2000@yahoo.com
Back to Medjugorje Sabah Page
More conversion stories............
Interview With A Former Lutheran. Don't miss this!!
Send E-Mail to: jmuda2000@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2003 Medjugorje Sabah. All Rights Reserved