"From now on, I don't want to live without Mary!"

We had planned to go on pilgrimage to Medjugorje (1) (Bosnia Herzegovina) as a family in 2004, but organizing the trip turned out to be a little complicated. Fortunately, a friend of mine told me that she was going to Medjugorje with a group called "Club Medj "... Things went very fast, and a few weeks later I found myself in a bus headed to Medj, with two friends.

The trip started, and we all introduced ourselves. Then we reached Medjugorje. When they announced the program, my face fell a little bit: the leaders suggested that we pray the Rosary as soon as we arrived! Before that trip, I didn't pray it, in fact I could barely manage to finish a decade... But I decided to go along. Strangely, the time passed very quickly! I might as well tell you that Mary takes us by the hand as soon as we get there!

The days went by, and I must admit that not everything was rosy. At times some of the talks reopened a painful past, and I wanted to be back at home in Paris, just watching a DVD! But even if we sometimes get (figuratively) hit in the face over there, we quickly realize that Mary is using all this to help us move forward on a path of healing. And you never feel alone, first of all because you can always find a place to go and pray, but also because the whole team that supervises the pilgrimage is really great! They are all extremely available! You meet people who really become your brothers and sisters!

At the end of the pilgrimage, the return to the world is sometimes quite difficult, but Mary does not let go of our hand!

No one returns from this kind of pilgrimage unchanged. We receive many graces when we go, but we also receive many graces when we return. Often we don't know why we go, but if we find ourselves there, it is simply because our dear Mother in Heaven invites us. It is difficult to sum up such a rich week in a few lines, but one thing is certain: for my part, I have discovered Mary and I no longer want to live without her!

Anne Laure

www.clubmedj.com

(1) A place of Marian apparition in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1981, where millions of pilgrims from all over the world come every year.