Years ago, I was teaching a class where I was discussing going on pilgrimages to Marian apparition sites, when someone asked me why we need to go to such places, since everything we need spiritually is right here in our church at home. My response was that sometimes we need to go to a faraway holy place to be open to the grace to appreciate what we have at home. Little did I know that I was talking about myself.
When I journeyed to the Marian apparition site of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the first time, I received the grace to see the gifts of the Church in a whole new light. I realized that God supplies us with everything we need spiritually through the day-to-day life of our parish church. The sacraments, the prayers, the devotional life - all these are there for me.
Read more...