From Sr. Emmanuel:
Vicka
The Lord sometimes allows us to meet wonderful people who truly follow Him and radiate His light.
“My name is Maureen. I stayed in Medjugorje in 1997 at the Community of the Beatitudes. I was 23 years old and single. The doctors had diagnosed me with endometriosis and told me quite clearly that I would never be able to have children, especially since the endometriosis was very, very severe.”
On the day Vicka, the visionary, celebrated her birthday—she was 40 at the time—I went to celebrate at her home, having been invited along with the entire Community of the Beatitudes. How delighted I was to be able to spend some time with her! Her friends were there too, and she welcomed us all into her large living room. Then, to my great surprise, she suddenly crossed the room like an arrow, came over to me, and whispered a few words in my ear in Italian: “You will have many children!” Then she went to join her friends. A sister translated this surprising message for me. At the time, I thought I was going to have many spiritual children, because I was thinking more about dedicating myself to the Lord. But later, after returning to France, I got married and had five children—yes, five beautiful children, including twins, and all without any health problems. So I was cured of endometriosis; not all at once, however, but little by little, with each pregnancy. When I got married, aware of this disease, my husband and I had, of course, thought we would never have children. But the Lord surprised us greatly!
Vicka was right… How did she know that Maureen was destined for such great fertility and that she would become a happy mother? She will never say, but Vicka prays for the sick with great compassion, and one can easily guess that during her encounters with the Mother of God and in her fervent daily prayer, she received this knowledge of the heart. Even though Vicka no longer has the opportunity to meet the pilgrims, we know that her prayer continues in secret and that, in this field of death that the world has become (Don Dolindo Ruotolo, PS1), her prayer for us all still goes in the direction of life! Let us also pray for her and for the five other visionaries of Medjugorje!
Maureen doesn’t stop there…
“When I was in Medjugorje with the Community of the Beatitudes,” she said, “one morning it was my turn to cook. But there was a major unforeseen event, and I had to leave my stove to translate a talk into English for some American pilgrims. Given the unavoidable circumstances, we had no choice. Seeing my distress, Sister Emmanuel said something I will never forget: ‘Go ahead! The Lord will bless your obedience and he will take care of the meal himself.’” So there I was, translating while wondering how I was going to manage the meal, especially since we had to go to Mass after the conference. I knew we had some pasta in the cupboard, but what was that to make a meal? I then turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary and said to her in my heart: Listen, I have done God’s will. So you, who were such a wonderful mother, you who never let anyone go hungry, I leave you to take care of the meal! Sister told me I had nothing to worry about.
“When we returned from Mass, it was magnificent! The table was set, and there were large platters with vine leaves, rice, meat… and vegetables were heating on the stove. In short, everything was ready, with a delicious dessert as an added bonus. Without our knowledge, the neighbors had come to give us this gift, and everything was blessed! In conclusion, this lesson has stayed with me all my life: when we do our best to do God’s will, He provides for all our needs and even beyond.”
Thank you Maureen for your faith and trust! You remind us of this saying of Jesus that we too often tend to forget: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt 6:33).