January 15, 1997
Dear Children of Medjugorje, Praised be Jesus!

 *  We constantly receive letters encouraging us to spread the messages as much as possible.  The mother of a family, Rolande (France), has told us about her experience: "I had a real problem in my relationships with others, above all with those who did not seem 'pleasant', those who were not 'attractive' in my eyes.  I struggled a lot since I knew that Jesus was asking me to love them.  I was furious with myself, unhappy, full of guilt.  I tried to suppress my negative feelings, but to no avail, as they would quickly return.
 "Last March, as I was sewing, I listened to a cassette on the messages of Medjugorje.  I then learned that Mary desired to give us her heart, yes, her own motherly heart, and for this' heart transplant', there was no problem of 'rejection' to be feared.
 "I listened and listened again to this passage, I savored each word again and again, I let these words go deep within me; then suddenly, like turning on a light switch, I understood that I had to love the others with a mother's heart!  A mother loves her child beyond what is visible, she suffers for him even when he looks repelling, since she sees beyond all damage, the beauty which God deposited in his heart from the moment of his conception.
 "I knew that a miracle had taken place, and a great hope filled my heart.  Right away I asked Mary to make me experience this new heart in my next encounters, and that worked!  Since then everyone has noticed the change.  This grace has made me grow in confidence: I know that Mary has other gifts and that she will always be present in my trials.  Thanks to her, I can finally live the words of Jesus, 'Love your enemies'.  What Mary says in her messages, she makes possible!  So I now joyfully expect her promise, 'In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph'.  And I know that it's true!"

 *  Let's pray for Father Slavko.  On the 12th he left for Poland, a country which now sends pilgrims by the thousands to Medjugorje.

 *  The visionaries of Medjugorje assert that Mary did not give them any hint according to which the daily apparitions would soon cease or that the secrets would be revealed in the near future.  Beware of false rumors, Vicka repeated that this morning!  On the contrary, the Gospa invites us to pray for her intentions and to live faithfully what she asks us.

 *  At the beginning of the year we exchange "best wishes" but many people are anxiously wondering about their future.  What to do?  What direction to take"  In Medjugorje a priest gave this beautiful image to a young woman who was bothered about not knowing God's plan for her life.  "When you take your car at night to go from Avignon to Marseilles, your lights do not show you all the 100 miles of your journey, but only the little portion of the road you need to see.  Our Lady does the same thing when she guides you!  She leads you to Paradise, but doesn't light up everything at once, only the part of the road that is necessary.  And don't venture to strain your eyes and see 1 mile further, you would risk cutting off the curve which is lit in front of you!  And don't keep your eyes fixed on the rear-view mirror, don't look behind, you risk crashing into a tree.  Live for today, trust Our Lady!"
 One year later, this young woman declares, "This piece of advice has changed my life; I placed my future in the hands of the Mother of God, and my anxiety and fear gave way to the profound joy of feeling secure with her.  A few weeks later, Jesus called me to take a decisive step for Him.  Fortunately he found me in that state of mind, for otherwise, I would not have been able to welcome His call and still less able to give Him my 'yes'.  I pray for young people; may they entrust their future to Mary and cease fretting; for to surrender yourself to Mary is to opt for security!  When you turn on your car lights, give her once again your 'yes' and live for today!"

Dear Gospa, since you like so much to guide us, please take the wheel!