Pilrgamages

Many people join the Ogilvie Pilgrimages from all over the UK including parts of Southern Ireland. Some have come from as far North as Ballachush others from more local areas such as East Kilbride and Wishaw and in and around the Glasgow area and other from certain parts of Ireland.

One of the many attractions of an Ogilvie Pilgrimage is the Pilgrimage Choir. This choir is formed solely for the purpose off enhancing the various forms of worship participated in during the course of the Pilgrimage. A lot of work goes into the choir and it very much appreciated by all who participate in the pilgrimage.

Pilgrimages have taken place to such places as Medjugorje, Rome, The Holy Land, and Fatima. By in large the Pilgrimage that draws the biggest attention is the Pilgrimage to Medjugorje which is becoming an almost annual event.

A Beginner in Medjugorje.

Written by Hugh Phillips, former Saint John Ogilvie's Parish Chairman

Medjugorje is one of many small, rural villages set among the hills and valleys of Bosnia-Hercegovina. (Medjugorje lies within the Hercegovina region of the republic and the villagers, mainly Catholic, see themselves more Croatian than Bosnian). In 1981, still part of Yugoslavia, and ruled by an atheistic, communist government, there was nothing special to mark out Medjugorje from these other villages. However, this was to change dramatically on June 25 of that year!

On Podbrdo Hill, near the village, Our Lady appeared to four girls and two boys - Mirjana (15), Vicka (17), Marija (16), Ivanka (16), Ivan (17) and Jakov (10). The children knelt before this "beautiful lady in the light" and soon began to feel a wonderful presence of peace and love. They gained enough courage to speak and the lady told them that she was the Blessed Virgin Mary ( "Gospa" in Croatian) and had come to tell them that "God exists and He loves you."

In the following weeks and months ahead the children were severely questioned and scrutinised by, not only communist government officials, but also their own priests and Bishop who doubted the truth of their story.

However, in the face of threats to themselves and their families by the communist police, the young visionaries held firm in their belief that the Virgin Mary was appearing to them. The pastor of St. James Catholic Church in Medjugorje, Franciscan priest Jozo Zovko, was also initially sceptical but after stringent individual examination of their stories, and efforts to deliberately confuse them, he became convinced of the truth of their claims. (Fr. Jozo was later to spend a year and a half in prison for refusing to co-operate with the government to bring the apparitions to an end.) As we now know, the communist government there has come to an end and the visions continue to this present day!

As regards the messages from Our Lady, it`s important to note that they don`t contain anything which we haven`t already been told by Jesus in the Gospels. However, Our Lady continually emphasises the following points:

• Faith. - Belief and trust in God.
• Conversion. - Turn away from sin.
• Prayer. - Regular Mass, monthly confession, daily rosary and reading the Bible.
• Penance and Fasting. - Bread and water on Fridays (and Wednesdays) if you can.
• Practice other form of self denial if unable to fast. 
• Peace. - Pray for peace in your heart, peace in your family and for peace in the world.

All of the above facts are interesting to know and I have been aware of them for a number of years now, having read numerous books on Medjugorje and spoken to people who had already made pilgrimages there. However, I`ve always had a desire to go there myself and I finally decided that this was the year to make that pilgrimage. ( I`ve since been assured that it wasn`t me who decided but that I was invited by Our Lady, in true Medjugorje tradition. If this is true, Fr.Towey and Sadie Polockus must be working in Our Lady`s recruitment team!)

After afternoon Mass at St. John Ogilvie`s on Wednesday 19th. June, our own parishioners and those from other parishes throughout the diocese, were taken by coach to Glasgow airport where we met up with the rest of the pilgrims and a Croatian Airways chartered flight flew us to Split airport in Croatia. We were then taken by coach to our excellent accomodation in Medjugorje.

Apart from the experience of those who had been before, we had an excellent tour guide and a time table showed the events of each day. However, each person was able to choose their own course of action depending upon what they wanted from the pilgrimage. Outstanding experiences included climbing the Hill of Apparitions whilst praying the rosary, the Stations of the Cross on the Hill of the Cross, being present at night on the hill while Ivan`s apparition of Our Lady took place and a talk from Vicka at her house. There is also the vivid recollection of our own Scottish Mass at St. James Church, concelebrated by Fr. Towey and Fr. Campbell, readings by Catherine Cunningham and the music led by Caireen Callaghan - not to mention the many volunteers for our choir. We also had informative talks from Fransiscans Fr. Slavko and Fr. Zovko.

Strangely enough my most vivid recollection is of a place of peace and prayer and not only amongst those on pilgrimage but also among the local people. (It has been noted that, since the apparitions began many long running family feuds have been settled, and working hours now revolve around Mass times so that everyone can attend.

I attended a Croatian Mass and the singing and responses of the congregation were inspirational.) I was also deeply impressed by the numbers of people drawn to and attending confession and those, including many young people, praying the rosary.

Since I returned, I have enjoyed speaking to people about my experiences but I`ve noticed that people genuinely want to know more about Medjugorje. God and Our Lady willing, I`ll return to Medjugorje and perhaps invite someone who hasn`t been before. If you want to know more about our experiences and your willing to be bored to death, come and talk about it.

Finally, I`d like to thank everyone on the pilgrimage for their friendship and help, especially Fr. Dominic and Fr. Kenny for their spiritual guidance, Sadie Pollockus for her organisation and Hugh and Catherine Cunningham for accepting me into their family for a week.

P.S People keep asking if we saw any miracles or strange happenings. Certainly some people in the group saw things which could be taken as miracles but then what else would you expect in "the place where Heaven meets Earth."

Hugh Phillips