Hi all:
I am back in Rome after a brief detour to Emmitsburg, MD; Washington, DC; and Medjugorje, Bosnia. Here is a listing of my vocation homilies given this summer. I will try to get them all up soon.
Fr. Ron
Vocation Homilies
25th Sunday:
Malden Catholic Votive of the Holy Spirit: You may be Surprised
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
St. Joseph's/Holy Name: Superhero
23rd Sunday: Am I my brother's keeper
22nd Sunday:
21st Sunday: Who do people say that I am
20th Sunday: Have Pity on Me
19th Sunday: Why are you here?
18th Sunday: Offering the Lord Your Gifts
Feast of St. James: Can you drink from this cup?
17th Sunday: Finding the Treasure God has prepared for you!
Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul: Who do people say that I am?
What Recompense can I give to the Lord?
Ordination to the Diaconate
Sunday, October 12, 2008
My Pilgirmage to Medjugorje
A Pilgrim’s Journey
By: Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd
I have had it in my heart for the past few months to make a pilgrimage to the former Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia, to the Shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje. Returning to Rome just a few weeks ago, sent by Bishop Coleman to complete my theological studies, I found myself with a free week and in a position to do just this and so last week, much like St. Phillip in the Acts of the Apostles who was caught up by the Spirit, I and another priest embarked on an impromptu pilgrimage. From Rome we traveled by train to the Italian port city of Ancona, then by ferry to Split in Croatia, and then finally we hitchhiked with a group of Italian pilgrims, who had a bus, to the Bosnian town of Medjugorje. After a full days travel, including an overnight sleeping on the ferry’s deck, we arrived with tired bodies but up-lifted hearts. The Italians had truly been a God-send, providing us not only with transportation, but allowing us to join in their pilgrimage: at the Holy Mass, for lunch, conversation, and song. We stayed in Medjugorje four days before making our way back to Rome. What we experienced there was amazing!
I am still not sure what I think about the apparitions of Medjugorje, which have been going on now for over 20 years since 1981, but it was quite clear that something truly Godly was happening in that city. People from all over the world were crowding to what is truly a fairly poor insignificant Eastern European town—some believers, some struggling, and some merely open minded skeptics—and they were truly discovering God there. I know this because for four days in a row I heard confessions for three or four hours at a time. Confessions that we not just the pious confessions of regular church goers, but the life changing conversions of people who had been away from the Church and the Sacraments for months, years, and decades. In my conversations with people time and again I found myself amazed by how their hearts had been opened to listen to the Lord. In truth I too, found myself listening that week, in a way the possibly I had forgotten to over the years.
What was the cause of all this? I think clearly the Holy Spirit and the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin. But more than this, I think people entered into their voyage to Medjugorje truly seeking, truly open to the voice of God, honestly believing that they would hear Him speaking to them—they entered into their trip truly with the hearts of pilgrims. However, what I realized while there was that the same phenomenon occurring in that far away land is possible in our own homes. You see Christians are a pilgrim people, and the act of physically making a pilgrimage is simply an outward sign of the hidden reality of our Christian lives. Whether at home or abroad when we take time to listen and truly expect Him to speak to us; when we put aside the monotony of our every day lives with all its distractions; when we allow the Lord to lead and provide for us, we enter into the reality that we are on a journey through life to heaven. Whether or not the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to us, her message is always the Gospel message—repent and believe that God loves us and is leading us home to Himself, if only we will follow. Sometimes it takes a change of scenery, the fellowship of other travelers, or even a miracle or apparition to remember this truth, but most of all it takes an open heart. As we Catholic’s enter into the month of the Rosary, lets remember that with Mary we are a pilgrim people following in the path Jesus laid out to the Cross and what lays beyond.
Our Lady of Victory, Pray for us.
By: Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd
I have had it in my heart for the past few months to make a pilgrimage to the former Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia, to the Shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje. Returning to Rome just a few weeks ago, sent by Bishop Coleman to complete my theological studies, I found myself with a free week and in a position to do just this and so last week, much like St. Phillip in the Acts of the Apostles who was caught up by the Spirit, I and another priest embarked on an impromptu pilgrimage. From Rome we traveled by train to the Italian port city of Ancona, then by ferry to Split in Croatia, and then finally we hitchhiked with a group of Italian pilgrims, who had a bus, to the Bosnian town of Medjugorje. After a full days travel, including an overnight sleeping on the ferry’s deck, we arrived with tired bodies but up-lifted hearts. The Italians had truly been a God-send, providing us not only with transportation, but allowing us to join in their pilgrimage: at the Holy Mass, for lunch, conversation, and song. We stayed in Medjugorje four days before making our way back to Rome. What we experienced there was amazing!
I am still not sure what I think about the apparitions of Medjugorje, which have been going on now for over 20 years since 1981, but it was quite clear that something truly Godly was happening in that city. People from all over the world were crowding to what is truly a fairly poor insignificant Eastern European town—some believers, some struggling, and some merely open minded skeptics—and they were truly discovering God there. I know this because for four days in a row I heard confessions for three or four hours at a time. Confessions that we not just the pious confessions of regular church goers, but the life changing conversions of people who had been away from the Church and the Sacraments for months, years, and decades. In my conversations with people time and again I found myself amazed by how their hearts had been opened to listen to the Lord. In truth I too, found myself listening that week, in a way the possibly I had forgotten to over the years.
What was the cause of all this? I think clearly the Holy Spirit and the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin. But more than this, I think people entered into their voyage to Medjugorje truly seeking, truly open to the voice of God, honestly believing that they would hear Him speaking to them—they entered into their trip truly with the hearts of pilgrims. However, what I realized while there was that the same phenomenon occurring in that far away land is possible in our own homes. You see Christians are a pilgrim people, and the act of physically making a pilgrimage is simply an outward sign of the hidden reality of our Christian lives. Whether at home or abroad when we take time to listen and truly expect Him to speak to us; when we put aside the monotony of our every day lives with all its distractions; when we allow the Lord to lead and provide for us, we enter into the reality that we are on a journey through life to heaven. Whether or not the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to us, her message is always the Gospel message—repent and believe that God loves us and is leading us home to Himself, if only we will follow. Sometimes it takes a change of scenery, the fellowship of other travelers, or even a miracle or apparition to remember this truth, but most of all it takes an open heart. As we Catholic’s enter into the month of the Rosary, lets remember that with Mary we are a pilgrim people following in the path Jesus laid out to the Cross and what lays beyond.
Our Lady of Victory, Pray for us.
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