Chase’s Miracle Pilgrimage
Our entire journey was better than we could have imagined, although it was incredibly exhausting. Despite the fact that we only had a few days in Medjugorje and hadn’t planned out the itinerary in detail, everything fell into Divine Order thanks for the most part to our gracious host family. They were simply amazing – they escorted us around to all the main sites that are a must see for any pilgrimage to Medjugorje, such as the neighboring parish where the priest (Fr. Jozo) presided over St. James parish in their village when the apparitions started and was persecuted by the Communist government, the local orphanage caring for children of the war victims, the rehab center, and our climbs up mount Krucevek and Apparition Hill.
We were very fortunate to be able to take Chase on this journey before his condition had progressed such that it was too much of burden for him – his condition is just beginning to limit and really frustrate him. Over the past few weeks, the muscle weakness on his right side has begun to affect his ability to walk and use his right hand. We were able to get him around in a stroller most of the time, except for the mountain climbs – I actually carried him on my back up cross mountain through the stations of the cross and it must have been with the help of many angels because it wasn’t nearly as hard as I would’ve thought. Actually some of the others on the climb had a harder time than I did even with Chase on my shoulders.
On Friday morning, we attended a talk by one of the local Franciscan priests from the Parish of St. James. Afterwards, his translator (Ivanka) stopped to talk with Sister Carmela, having recognized her from the pilgrimage she took in October when she “carried” Chase is prayer. Ivanka had been with her and remembered the experience as well as the message / calling that Sister received for us. Ivanka was very pleased to see us there with Chase. Her message to me was that we needed to let God know that we are willing to carry our cross and then he will have access to be able to help us remove it… this stuck with me and that afternoon, when we attended a Divine Mercy service, I was moved in a very deep way. I felt like Abraham lifting his son up to God, willing to take his life for Him if it was God’s will. Although it was something that I knew intuitively needed to happen, I was still unwilling and resistant. This was quite a release and it was no coincidence to me that I received a reminder that morning on the day we were preparing ourselves for a miraculous experience.
The highlight of the pilgrimage was on Friday afternoon - our personal meeting with one of the visionaries that Our Lady has been appearing to. Ironically, she had this illness in common with Chase. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and had daily headaches as well as other painful complications. Nevertheless, she “carried her cross” with love in her heart, never complaining about this condition. The Blessed Mother dictated letters to be delivered to the local priest and bishop with instructions that they were not to be opened for 9 months until September 25th (coincidentally, Carol’s B-day). On that day several years ago, the letters were opened in front of witnesses – they included an explanation of the fact that this obedient servant wanted to carry this burden for the sake of lost souls and that as of the date the letters were opened, her journey would be completed. She then went to her doctor who conducted scans confirming that the tumor was completely gone without a trace.
Obviously she could empathize with us and she willingly prayed over Chase at length. When she was done, she said that during her apparition that evening she would be asking for Our Lady’s intercession. Her words of advice to us were “the Lord knows when to give us a cross to carry, which we are to do lovingly, and He knows when to take it away”….
Friday evening, during the exact time of the daily apparition (which now takes place wherever the visionary is which on this day would be at her home), we were all together praying on Apparition Hill (the site of the first appearances). Chase was in great spirits, even though he had a rough time earlier that day and we weren’t sure he was going to join us since he was so tired. Somehow he came to life just as we were getting ready to head to Apparition Hill and insisted that he wanted to come with us. We had a beautiful prayer service for Chase at the blue cross (where the appearances have been occurring) and we were joined by several other pilgrims who knew nothing of our situation but were eager to join us. We all prayed and sang songs for about an hour which was the most moving experience you can imagine.
We returned for a peaceful evening where Chase and Barbara slept really well. On Saturday, we went to the morning mass and then head back to Dubrovnik so that we could stay closer to the airport to catch our early flight back home. That night, Chase was murmuring and mumbling in his sleep for a while which woke us up. Carol went to lay with him when he started shaking and shivering (almost in convulsions), although he was not awake or conscious. I came over to join them and prayed over Chase, forcibly holding him down as we prayed to prevent his muscle jerking. Eventually he woke up as if nothing happened and he realized we were laying next to him – he was almost surprised and said he wanted to sleep by himself, so we gave him space and went back to our beds.
Then he called me back to his bed teary eyed and asked me if it hurts when you die. I replied, “no Chase it’s a joyful time when you join Jesus in heaven” – of course I was concerned about what would lead to such as question so I said, why do you ask. His shocking response was that he was dreaming that he was still a little boy and after a couple of years I had died….how’s that for a turn of events. I assured him that was just a bad dream (unlike the miracle dream he had with Jesus a couple of weeks ago) - I truly believe he was being “cleansed” by our Lord during his sleep, while an evil spirit was scaring him in the process. Chase woke up fine once again (although he did remember the dream and was still sad when he talked with me about it).
Although his physical condition hasn’t seemed to change yet, that doesn’t deter our belief that he is / was healed. We know that the real key now is to continue to pray with deep faith in gratitude to God and Jesus for his healing miracle. Ironically, Sister Carmela pulled me aside on Sunday morning to tell me that she also received a message for me (sort of related to the Abraham story) and conveyed that the reason God stopped his hand was because of the depth / strength of his faith. I know from the discussions I had with the Homeopath that even after his patients had their tumors completely regressed, it took some time for the nerve damage to be repaired, but ultimately they regained full faculties with no long-term deficits. This is what we are expecting to be the case for Chase and we’re excited about his next MRI which is scheduled for this Friday.
In the meantime, we’ll be praying our hearts out in gratitude for an amazing experience, including our safe return and the fact that we got two first class upgrades once again. There’s a lot more to our experience than I could possibly convey in this update - suffice it to say that this was a glorious and memorable pilgrimage for Chase and out entire family. We appreciate all your prayerful support along the way – this has been an incredible ride and we feel truly blessed by the experience.
Love,
John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann
We were very fortunate to be able to take Chase on this journey before his condition had progressed such that it was too much of burden for him – his condition is just beginning to limit and really frustrate him. Over the past few weeks, the muscle weakness on his right side has begun to affect his ability to walk and use his right hand. We were able to get him around in a stroller most of the time, except for the mountain climbs – I actually carried him on my back up cross mountain through the stations of the cross and it must have been with the help of many angels because it wasn’t nearly as hard as I would’ve thought. Actually some of the others on the climb had a harder time than I did even with Chase on my shoulders.
On Friday morning, we attended a talk by one of the local Franciscan priests from the Parish of St. James. Afterwards, his translator (Ivanka) stopped to talk with Sister Carmela, having recognized her from the pilgrimage she took in October when she “carried” Chase is prayer. Ivanka had been with her and remembered the experience as well as the message / calling that Sister received for us. Ivanka was very pleased to see us there with Chase. Her message to me was that we needed to let God know that we are willing to carry our cross and then he will have access to be able to help us remove it… this stuck with me and that afternoon, when we attended a Divine Mercy service, I was moved in a very deep way. I felt like Abraham lifting his son up to God, willing to take his life for Him if it was God’s will. Although it was something that I knew intuitively needed to happen, I was still unwilling and resistant. This was quite a release and it was no coincidence to me that I received a reminder that morning on the day we were preparing ourselves for a miraculous experience.
The highlight of the pilgrimage was on Friday afternoon - our personal meeting with one of the visionaries that Our Lady has been appearing to. Ironically, she had this illness in common with Chase. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and had daily headaches as well as other painful complications. Nevertheless, she “carried her cross” with love in her heart, never complaining about this condition. The Blessed Mother dictated letters to be delivered to the local priest and bishop with instructions that they were not to be opened for 9 months until September 25th (coincidentally, Carol’s B-day). On that day several years ago, the letters were opened in front of witnesses – they included an explanation of the fact that this obedient servant wanted to carry this burden for the sake of lost souls and that as of the date the letters were opened, her journey would be completed. She then went to her doctor who conducted scans confirming that the tumor was completely gone without a trace.
Obviously she could empathize with us and she willingly prayed over Chase at length. When she was done, she said that during her apparition that evening she would be asking for Our Lady’s intercession. Her words of advice to us were “the Lord knows when to give us a cross to carry, which we are to do lovingly, and He knows when to take it away”….
Friday evening, during the exact time of the daily apparition (which now takes place wherever the visionary is which on this day would be at her home), we were all together praying on Apparition Hill (the site of the first appearances). Chase was in great spirits, even though he had a rough time earlier that day and we weren’t sure he was going to join us since he was so tired. Somehow he came to life just as we were getting ready to head to Apparition Hill and insisted that he wanted to come with us. We had a beautiful prayer service for Chase at the blue cross (where the appearances have been occurring) and we were joined by several other pilgrims who knew nothing of our situation but were eager to join us. We all prayed and sang songs for about an hour which was the most moving experience you can imagine.
We returned for a peaceful evening where Chase and Barbara slept really well. On Saturday, we went to the morning mass and then head back to Dubrovnik so that we could stay closer to the airport to catch our early flight back home. That night, Chase was murmuring and mumbling in his sleep for a while which woke us up. Carol went to lay with him when he started shaking and shivering (almost in convulsions), although he was not awake or conscious. I came over to join them and prayed over Chase, forcibly holding him down as we prayed to prevent his muscle jerking. Eventually he woke up as if nothing happened and he realized we were laying next to him – he was almost surprised and said he wanted to sleep by himself, so we gave him space and went back to our beds.
Then he called me back to his bed teary eyed and asked me if it hurts when you die. I replied, “no Chase it’s a joyful time when you join Jesus in heaven” – of course I was concerned about what would lead to such as question so I said, why do you ask. His shocking response was that he was dreaming that he was still a little boy and after a couple of years I had died….how’s that for a turn of events. I assured him that was just a bad dream (unlike the miracle dream he had with Jesus a couple of weeks ago) - I truly believe he was being “cleansed” by our Lord during his sleep, while an evil spirit was scaring him in the process. Chase woke up fine once again (although he did remember the dream and was still sad when he talked with me about it).
Although his physical condition hasn’t seemed to change yet, that doesn’t deter our belief that he is / was healed. We know that the real key now is to continue to pray with deep faith in gratitude to God and Jesus for his healing miracle. Ironically, Sister Carmela pulled me aside on Sunday morning to tell me that she also received a message for me (sort of related to the Abraham story) and conveyed that the reason God stopped his hand was because of the depth / strength of his faith. I know from the discussions I had with the Homeopath that even after his patients had their tumors completely regressed, it took some time for the nerve damage to be repaired, but ultimately they regained full faculties with no long-term deficits. This is what we are expecting to be the case for Chase and we’re excited about his next MRI which is scheduled for this Friday.
In the meantime, we’ll be praying our hearts out in gratitude for an amazing experience, including our safe return and the fact that we got two first class upgrades once again. There’s a lot more to our experience than I could possibly convey in this update - suffice it to say that this was a glorious and memorable pilgrimage for Chase and out entire family. We appreciate all your prayerful support along the way – this has been an incredible ride and we feel truly blessed by the experience.
Love,
John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann
posted by John & Carol Sammut at 6:36 PM
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