A MEDUGORJE JOURNAL

The flurry of excitement carried me all the days prior to departure with not even an inkling of a notion where my wanderlust would lead, that instead I was embarking on a religious pilgrimage the likes I’d never imagined before. Never once did I suspect that I would be caught in the throes of a religious fervor too incredulous to believe. I had a laissez-faire attitude about the effects the Virgin Mary has on people. Was there any substance to the reports blaring across the world that she appeared every week to six, children in a remote village in Yugoslavia, or were the rumors merely a figment of someone’s imagination?

...Everyone’s eyes gleamed with excitement -- jittery, terribly hyperactive. Amazed, I stood back and marveled at the mysterious movement that propelled people along. In. the world of the non-believer, I was totally unprepared for the strange goings-on.

...One day, I waited in the steamy June heat as everyone did and hoped for a convincing sign. Suddenly, a rush of cold air swept through the churchyard, swirled over the square and whipped through the trees. As leaves crackled and popped, the sudden smell of roses permeated the air around me- “She has arrived and is speaking to Ivan,” a voice behind me commented. Again, I was almost convinced

...Suddenly the strumming of guitars broke the silence, and a choir of soft voices rang out. Beautiful psalms of praise to the Mother of Jesus filled the air and reverberated across the mountaintop and all around me. In the midst of all those people in love with Mary, my heart was caught in a strange, mystical illusion i feared i might never again experience