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In November 2005 we took our son Jeff and went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. On this trip we experienced many wonderful opportunities to pray, especially the rosary. These rosaries would be said in many different ways and in many different places. We prayed the standard rosary, the Medjugorje rosary and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. We prayed in churches, on buses, while walking, around shrines, in Blessed Sacrament chapels, while climbing Cross Mountain and on Apparition Hill.
It was on this “Special Climb” that I experienced the real love of Jesus. Apparition Hill has 15 bronze shrines which make up the 15 decades of the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries of the rosary. While our group was climbing this wonderful shrine on a beautiful afternoon, we prayed each mystery of the rosary while climbing and walking up and down the hill. At each shrine we would stop and pray that mystery with a different person from our group leading the mystery. At one of the stops, my son Jeff, who has Down Syndrome and was 18 at that time, led our group in saying this particular mystery. Jeff prayed the complete mystery without missing any part of the Our Father, Hail Mary, or Glory Be. We were overcome with Jesus’ love for Jeff on this particular occasion as he prayed with such reverence and sincerity that it brought tears to our eyes to be part of this wonderful experience. We believe that many of the other pilgrims that were on the walk with us this particular day were all equally moved by this out pouring of His Love.
Jesus was truly present to each and every one of us on this trip, but never as much to us as he was on that day on Apparition Hill. He showed us that he loves each of us equally and that he loves us even more when we humble ourselves and let Him lead us on the path to heaven. Thank you Jesus for showing us your love! |