Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini’s speech. Notre Dame University South Bend, Indiana, USA

Saturday, May 31, 1997

Good evening to all.

Thank you, Monsignor.

Brothers, brothers from the heart; my Mother tells me, “Here I am, here I am, here I am”, it is she, Mary the flower of Mount Carmel, the Mother of Medjugorje, the Mother Mary of Nazareth, the beautiful lily and the wild violet of the holy fields of Nazareth. What a beauty, Mary! You are so beautiful, so soft, so gentle, so delicate, Mother! Here are your children from Medjugorje – most of them – who have seen their Mother. Yes, Jesus, it is Mary; it is your Mother who has come under different titles in different parts of the world for all her children on earth, to touch their hearts, and to cover them with her purest mantle, to soothe their burdens and grief in life.

Yes, Jesus, everything here is so beautiful, Lord, with so many people who are waiting for you. Jesus, King of kings, Savior of the World, the Risen Christ! You rose, Lord, and we also rise each day when we draw near to the Eucharist to receive you, for you will nourish us; you come to touch our hearts and cover us with your divine breath as Savior of souls.

Here are all these people who have come from different places, Lord, some come because they are sick looking for their health through your Mother, under the title of Mary of Medjugorje, the faithful children of Medjugorje; and I say faithful children, because they are struggling, yes, Mary, giving their contribution, so that you may be acknowledged under this title all around the world. Your mission is so beautiful with your children who love you, to hand on the Word of your Divine Son, o blessed Virgin!

  • Jesus of my heart, yes, Jesus, my Blessed one. Come, Lord, make yourself felt in the hearts of all those present: the sick, the sad, the disabled, those who invoke a little consolation and hope to soothe their souls and feel renewed from within. Come, Lord, come with your Mother, make yourself be felt in each heart, so that we may all leave renewed, strong, firm to face the battle against the world of sin, being able to save them in these days . . . yes, grieving is abundant because of the bad times that surround us.

But I believe that from tonight on, the Lord and you, Mary, both will take care of each heart here that is full of devotion, a heart full of grace with a spirit of reconciliation.

Reconciliation is the fundamental base of the man of today; to reconcile with each other in brotherly unity, in unity of love with proper understanding, with the needed stability to understand one another and to look into each other’s eyes, and understand our neighbor.

What do you need, brother? How do you feel? What can I do for you? What do you want? “Brother, I need your hand to help me walk better.”

Behold, they take each other’s hands and come together to restore the cells of all those souls that are confused, who are debating themselves between the light and the shadows, and revive the faith in the heart of their brothers.

We are neighbors; to the Lord there are neither rich nor poor, ugly nor pretty, black nor white. For the Lord, we all are his children; children of the grace, because through grace we have come to the womb of a mother, to be carried there, and then be able to see the light.

How beautiful it is to have a child! Children are so beautiful! Family is so beautiful! How beautiful it is to feel at home all together in one heart! The table is set and the food served and everyone can take their places and feed from the bread of every day, the bread the Lord gives us for the efforts of laborious work done with honesty, with love and with his blessing so that all . . . so the family may feel joyful because they are sharing a serene and loving life, with a heart open to all their neighbors, to all the family, there in one heart with the father, with the mother . . . and if the father is absent, the mother is there, the mother who loves her children in a very special way.

I say mothers are blessed through Mary, because Mary was blessed among all women, because she was the Mother of the Savior of the World.

Therefore, brothers, let us get together tonight so that the miracle of the multiplication of the bread and the fish may take place, miracles of love, miracles of a new life, miracles of hope, miracles of spiritual well-being.

How beautiful it is to feel the human warmth of a brother when he offers us his hand with simplicity and in a natural manner, as when someone tells you, “I am your friend”, or “What do you need, can I help you with something? May I understand the reasons why you are suffering? I wish to help you, brother. Come, let us pray, let us pray the rosary together and let us understand each other as true blood brothers.”

We are true blood brothers; it is the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Christ shed on the Cross! To bathe us, to cleanse us, to purify us and fill us with spiritual joy being able to receive the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit; as for example, the gift of understanding to understand what it is that God wants from us.

  • What do you want from me, Lord? Holy Spirit, give me the light to truly understand what it is that you want from me, Lord? I want, Lord, to be a chest of your love. I wish, Lord, to serve you, to serve my neighbor, to love them, to help them . . . the sick, the sad, those who wander in the streets and have no one in the world; those who lay sick in the hospitals, sadly, dulled by the pain of having no one; not their mother, not their brother, not their father.

Let us meditate upon this issue. How many are there who lay in the hospitals without a beloved on at their sides. How many orphan children are there? How many lonely mothers are there? How many families are suffering the pain of not having the means to make a living? Let us think about them and let us give thanks to God for what He has given us. Whether He has given us much or in small doses, it doesn’t matter for He is giving us what we need. We need to think about this and we must pray much for those who suffer despair of not having a generous hand stretched out towards them.

I believe that tonight, brothers, the Lord is calling us; it is a call to awareness so we may adopt an attitude towards life with charity, abounding charity . . . love, charity represents love; our love for our neighbor. I love each soul that is present here now, I love it because Christ has brought it here. My Mother has looked for them in their homes where they were, “Come, my children; everyone, come; let us fulfill our duties of charity, of love, of unity, fraternity, of good counsel.

Good counsel is so beautiful! It is the Lord who gives us advice. He calls us to do things well; and I say, well for when we have the good will of doing something, with the desire of giving of ourselves the best that we have, that which contributes to the improvement of the souls, so they may find themselves within and may come to their senses, those who do not feel anything, those who do not have a deep feeling of love toward their neighbor.

We must love and give of ourselves continuously without feeling tired that people are bothering us. It is not a bother to stretch out our hand or to lend a shoulder to a little soul . . . it is love . . . This soul asks for a hand, for comfort, for relief for its heart.

We are going to give much love tonight to all our neighbors. It is love, the love that surrounds us. Let this love lead us; let the sensitivity of Christ lead us. He touches us and gives us love with tenderness in the bosom of his mother. He places us there so his Mother may comfort us, may enliven our souls and give our hearts her softness.

Please, those who are sick please stand up, those who can. All those who feel pain in their bodies, or have a disease, or have something the makes them sad or not feel well, think that the Lord Jesus is coming to visit you tonight, together with his Mother. He will come to soothe you, to heal you, and fill you with hope, abounding hope, the hope of feeling healthy, strong, and firm to continue on living the Gospels, acknowledging that evangelization is the marvelous gem that we have: the Gospels.

This is why we all have the duty of evangelizing, the People of God must prepare itself; we have to be prepared. Not that we turn into great doctors or that we know much, no. Our Lord wants us to be just the way we are, the Lord loves us; He loves us very much.

What He wants from us is humility, and I always say, humility is the crystal bridge that leads us to heaven. Humility is so beautiful! It doesn’t matter if we are not highly educated, the Lord loves us just the way we are.

It is beautiful to learn, to go to the university. . . By the way, we have here a great university, this place here is beautiful, it is something wonderful. To see such beautiful buildings and all that green has touched my heart. The flowers fill the heart with happiness and delight. I had heard about Indiana, I had never been here before, this is my first time here, and I truly feel like a little child that for the first time is starting to discern the beauties of heaven, for this is a little piece of heaven here.

So, brothers, now receive the grace. We all are going to receive it.

(There were a few minutes of silence.)

In the Name of my Father, I bless you, my children.

In the name of my Mother, I heal you in the body and in the soul,

And I keep you here in my Heart,

I will keep you, I will keep you, I will keep you here in my Heart,

from today on and for ever.

May the peace be with you, and may the light of the Holy Spirit enlighten your souls. You are in peace and in harmony with the whole world.

Please take a seat.

For me, it is very hard to give this blessing, because we have our priests, they are here for this, to bless us, the People of God, but I also think that the Lord also uses his creatures to be his tools in specific moments.

It is beautiful to feel the magnitude of the Lord, how He penetrates the consciences of his children, how He covers them with his divine breath of love and serenity to heal them, to soothe them, and to help them overcome a disease; as for example, those who are in a wheel chair and want to walk. How many has the Lord healed through his instruments on earth? There have been holy souls, very good souls, holy souls; the Lord gives his graces to everyone.

We must be very humble and generous, we cannot doubt a person without knowing what is inside him; we have to think very well. For this I beg you to be very charitable. Charity is the most beautiful flower, a rose turned into love, love turned into that rose, it is the rose of a mother who gives of herself and continues doing so . . . Mary, Mary impulses us, leads us, communicates to us so many things.

There are many holy souls here tonight, I feel there are truly generous and compassionate souls, souls who have a big heart, and there are also souls who are searching for their truth, for an exact awareness of their duties of knowing what to do. Lord, I wish to know myself and my own reactions, in order to know what it is that You want me to do. Why do I have this disease?

Brothers, this woman you see here lives by a miracle, day by day since I was a child. The Lord has given me the hope of life. I live for him, yes, I have a family, but I love my Jesus, I love him so much and my Mother too! She has been the one who has taught me how to wait and trust in the Father’s mercy, our Eternal Heavenly Father, God creator of the universe, whom together with his Divine Son, and the Holy Spirit form three Divine Persons; the Father who created us, his Divine Son who shed his most Precious Blood for us – He shed his blood for us! – and the Holy Spirit with his seven gifts so that we may know how to receive Them.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are so beautiful! The gift of understanding, as I said before, to truly understand what the Lord needs from us. The gift of good counsel; for example, gives us the due advice according to his holy will. The gift of piety; prayer, constant prayer, prayer, that is the greatest support a creature could have, prayer gives us will power, strong will power, it helps us survive and sing to the Lord: Hallelujah, hallelujah, glory be to God. Therefore, brothers, as we go on, all the gifts, the gift of science, of wisdom are so beautiful; I don’t ask for that much, I am glad with whatever God wishes to grant me, with whatever He wants me to do, wherever He wants me to be.

I am here because the Lord wanted it to be and my Mother of Medjugorje, my Mother, because every day I pray to her her rosary; a rosary to Mary Reconciler of Peoples, and a rosary to her under all her titles; as for example, the title of our Lady of Mount Carmel, whom I love so much, my Mother of Mount Carmel. It is as if I could see her little cloud in Haifa, just as Elijah saw her with her Son in her arms. Such unparalleled beauty!

The life of Mary is so beautiful! Such a great life, so beautiful, a humble life, secluded in her home in Nazareth, living together with her Son and Saint Joseph, the Patriarch Saint Joseph. All these things are so beautiful, three virginal and pure people; and I say virgins, for the Virgin is the Virgin Mary, and Jesus is pure and holy, and Saint Joseph truly had to harshly endure the pain of not being able to touch his wife. For Jesus was conceived by the grace and work of the Holy Spirit, He incarnated in the Virgin Mary. So the Lord Jesus came! Such a beautiful birth in Bethlehem! The wise men followed the shining star that guided them there to find the beasts beside him, the sheep; the company was few yet the true company was celestial, the angels were with them and sang: “Hallelujah, glory be to God; the Son of God has arrived to save all mankind; the Savior has come! Go! Run! Shout: Hosanna in heaven, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in heaven and on earth, and in the whole world.”

What a beautiful birth! We must live the joyful mysteries with much love, because the joyful mysteries are beautiful: the incarnation of God’s Son in Mary’s most pure womb, and so on until his birth takes place. All this is so beautiful.

The fullness of the Lord’s life is beautiful and what He is giving us. I believe we are going to awaken; we must awaken and lift our faith with the knowledge that we are coming closer to the end of this century, and the ends of centuries are hard, painful and we must prepare ourselves, not announcing war or disasters, no, but simply by preparing ourselves to receive the great event in the year 2004 when I think the world will change completely. And I say this because it is the inspiration I feel in this moment. The year 2004 will be in the annals of world history so that men may become aware and may achieve fulfillment as men of goodness. All men on earth, together with the women and children, all forming an army of virtues, fulfilling the commandments of God’s laws and duties!

Therefore, brothers, in this moment, let us think about our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, for a little while, let us think about his health, may the light of the new dawn of Jesus irradiate around him tonight, healing his sorrow, his pain, giving him the encouragement to return to the blessed land that witnessed his birth. May the Lord grant the miracle of giving him more time; much more time . . he needs to live. His mission has been one of the most beautiful and greatest in this century, spreading love to peoples and nations, truth, giving man the ability to improve his attitude in life, gathering us all, trying to save us all by all means.

We have to be saved and come together as the waves of the sea do when they reach the shore . . . all united, together in love, in fidelity for our Church, with understanding for our brothers and even more, with the great desire of living the Gospels. Evangelization,  – I repeat – it is evangelization what we all need. We all need to prepare and hold each other’s hands to give each other courage, asking the Lord and the Holy Spirit to enlighten our souls in order to live as true brothers, because while man doesn’t unite with his brothers of other races, other peoples, from other nations, we will live in war.

We must unite; we must love and tolerate each other, even the brother who professes another religion . . . charity, exact awareness of our duties . . . meditate. We have to forgive each other and love each other, we must hold hands . . . sharing, sharing, spiritual sharing.

And now, I will tell you something: I am very thankful for this invitation, for all these souls who have come and others who have come closer, yes, your big movement; the invitation to speak here. I know many conversions have taken place. I believe that this morning with that beautiful and gorgeous Holy Mass conversions took place, souls were touched, because people who had not been invited also came, perhaps they have come to follow the marvelous current of our Heavenly Mother, Mary of Medjugorje, of all her children who follow her. Many souls have come and many souls will see the miracle of a Mother; and I say the miracle of a Mother, because she will allow you to feel her in all your hearts. It is she, Mary the Queen, our hope; it is she, Mary the flower of Mount Carmel; it is she Mary the beloved of mankind; she is the Mother of Jesus, she is our Mother. What else can we desire if we have this Mother, and we have her Son through the Father who created us?

Therefore, let us hold hands in spiritual sharing, let us hold hands thinking that Jesus lives among us; that Jesus is here palpable; we cannot see him, but we can sense him in the atmosphere. Silence reveals him, He is in silence, Mary is there too, as well as the priests, who are the hope of a better future.

Because priesthood gives us the best: the absolution of our sins and the Eucharist; the mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the greatest thing that exists. We have our nuns who help us, teach us the Gospels in school and give us advice, who taught us how to behave properly as little girls, when we were children, and today are still doing so.

Religious life is so beautiful! I lived among them and felt I was the happiest person, yet Jesus called me to meet a world I didn’t know of, and I have had to resist and continue to resist, resist until the end, until the day He calls me.

  • My Lord, you are so beautiful.

I have no words to give you thanks for inviting this poor woman, a woman who loves and feels God, who feels her neighbor, who feels their pain, who feels their hearts beating. It is the heartbeat of Mary in your hearts and here in mine in order for all of us to unite, to learn how to be humble, generous and compassionate with our brothers, with the quietness of the soul, with the hope of a renewing and comforting future as Jesus gives comfort. Only He, He who soothes us, He who distributes his graces . . . the Holy Spirit, his gifts, and gives us the hope to continue on firmly, as Christ’s soldiers. Not a step back, always forward, determined, reaffirming our faith and carrying in our lips the words:

  • Jesus, I trust in You. (Three times.)

As Sister Maria Faustina left us in regard to my Lord in his Divine Mercy:

  • O Lord Jesus, You greatness is immense! You continue on, the crowd follows You. We all go with You; we go. Lord, we go following into your steps and your Mother is beside You.

She is teaching us to overcome our weaknesses, our sins, our pain, our body with the energy that Jesus Christ gives, with his most Precious Blood, and with his Body which we receive every day.

I beg you, brothers: the Eucharist, daily Eucharist; a daily holy rosary, specially the rosary prayed together with our family, all families holding the holy rosary in their hands: Come, son, come sit down here, let us pray the holy rosary. Let us ask the Virgin to visit our homes. let us ask Jesus, her Divine Son as a Cherubim Child, to give us a smile. He comes to smile at us, to enlighten our faces with his presence, He comes to each home and touches the hearts.

He will touch many tonight – remember this – He will touch you, you will feel in your chests a beauty without parallel. Jesus overflowing with happiness, a joy that is healthy, soft, tender, delicate, and we will be able to breathe, feel anew, renewed as plants do when spring arrives with its first flowers, heavenly blessed flowers, beautiful flowers with marvelous perfumes that reach the soul, each heart.

Thank you, brothers.

May God bless you all, may God bless the work of Medjugorje, and all works, all of them, all the apparitions of the world . . . may He bless each one and may these go forward serving the Lord, serving our neighbor, because serving the Lord is serving your neighbor, serving your neighbor is serving the Lord for Jesus wants us to serve one another, for us to love each other, that we hold hands and to be humble, generous, compassionate with all those who surround us, all those who cross our path in life.

Well, brothers, I leave filled with peace, with serenity and an infinite happiness, as an innocent child when she is given her first doll, a doll in my heart. I wish to think of this beautiful doll, gorgeous, radiant, is Mary, it is her and I take her with me sweetly, together with all you who are clinging to my heart and to hers, to that motherly heart which has come to gather us all.

To all the student body, to all the students, may the Holy Spirit reach your souls, your minds. Young ones, forge ahead serving God, serving your parishes, serving those who may need you, serving your neighbor; constant service. Service is a donation that is done with humility, with much humility, with much patience, with a great desire to feel we are all in one, one in all, all in God, God in each one of us.

And now, may God keep you all and bless you. I am so grateful, I thank you all, all of you, all of you from Medjugorje.

In regard to all this beautiful mission that is being born, may it grow with juicy fruits for this year’s wine harvest in September, so the grace of the Holy Spirit may continue to pour the lights of faith and knowledge upon you, which is the knowledge of acknowledging that there is a perfect God, as our work is perfect – they have to have a good outcome – because the Lord is there, and the Lord does his work perfectly, because He is the only one who can do them in a perfect way, if we put them in his hands.

  • All your children, Lord, rest in your hands. Thank you, Lord; thank you, Lord; thank you, Lord.

Many thanks to all of you, thank you.

(Applause.)

I leave you the picture of Mary Reconciler of Peoples, so together with that of Our Lady of Medjugorje, who is one Virgin, the Mother of God, you may work for God’s glory and the good of the People of God, which is a nation that loves and feels its Mother under all her titles. In this day, the Virgin of Medjugorje together with Mary Reconciler are holding hands, for she is one Mother who cries out for peace, love, justice and the well-being of her people.         

May God keep you. May God bless you.

(Applause.)