Since 1988, Medjugorje has become a spiritual lifeline to our family. David, our second son, was born April 17, 1981, on Good Friday, a few weeks before the apparitions began in Medjugorje; a significant day, as from them onwards his life would pivot closely around Good Friday. David was born with a hare lip and during the early months and years of his life it became apparent that he had multiple problems, including paralysis affecting his left hand side and, more seriously, a diagnosis of severe aplastic anaemia, a rare bone marrow disease. Children with this disease seldom survived beyond their teenage years, alternating between endless blood transfusions to stabilise their condition to keep them alive in the short term, and then experiencing brief periods of remission.
In 1988 we had returned from Lourdes. My husband Bryan, although an agnostic, travelled to Lourdes with us. He enjoyed his week but spiritually he returned the same, much to my frustration. However, God has his own timing and ways of accomplishing his plan in our lives. I then decided to pray a nine-day novena to Our Lady for Bryan and surrendered him totally into her maternal care. During the novena I came to hear about the apparitions taking place in Medjugorje. Excitedly I shared the information with Bryan and said that I would love to visit the place.A few days later Bryan asked me where exactly Medjugorje was in what was then Yugoslavia and expressed an interest in going there one day. I was totally surprised by this sudden interest and had still not completed the novena I was saying for him. I continued to pray and then decided to book a surprise pilgrimage to Medjugorje for Bryan. I made the arrangements in faith, and then informed him. To my amazement he was delighted and six weeks later I packed his case. Before I shut the suitcase I remembered that I had bought some Rosary beads in Lourdes as a gift for Bryan and had put them in a drawer until I felt it was a suitable time to give them to him. I quickly found the brown wooden beads and placed them on top of his clothes.
Whilst Bryan was away, our son David had a profound spiritual experience. Because of his poor health he had been allowed to make his First Holy Communion a few months before, at the age of seven. As usual, one evening, at the same time the apparitions took place in St James Church, I lit a candle and placed it in the centre of the kitchen table. I gathered my three children with Hannah, the youngest, on my knee, and began to pray the Rosary with them.I didn't particularly feel in the mood for prayer that evening. I was exhausted at the end of the day and just wanted to put the children to bed. As we began to make the Sign of the Cross, David became rather excitable and seemed absolutely fascinated with the candle. Mummy, mummy, just look at the candle. It's flashing three lights! he exclaimed. We all looked at the candle and it was no different to any other evening it had been lit. We began to pray, and as I glanced up I noticed that David, normally such a fidget, had his eyes gently closed and sat perfectly still without joining in.
After prayers he continued to sit quietly before eventually opening his eyes. He's gone, he pronounced simply. David, who's gone? I asked. Jesus is gone. After the three flashes of light from the candle, I saw a mist. As the mist cleared, Jesus was standing beside the candle. Do you mean a Child Jesus or a Daddy Jesus, I asked. A Daddy Jesus. He wore a white robe and had wounds on his hands and feet. He then spoke to me and said, You are to pray the Rosary for you are a son of Mary. Jesus then showed me the world of Medjugorje. It was like a moving picture. I saw a church with two high steeples. I then saw Jesus standing beside my daddy. Daddy was wearing a necklace around his neck with a cross. When he comes home he will be leading the Rosary in our family.
David's prophetic words came true. Bryan had a profound conversion experience in Medjugorje. As he stood listening to Vicka, one of the young visionaries, describe her experiences with the Blessed Mother, he just knew that she was speaking the truth. When he returned home, he was wearing around his neck the brown Rosary beads I had packed in his suitcase. David just pointed to the necklace that he had seen. Bryan was received into the Catholic Church exactly one year later, on the Feast of St Therese of the Child Jesus. Bryan took David to Medjugorje two years later. He was, by this time, quite a sick little boy. He had a wonderful time. He especially loved climbing the big mountain by torchlight. It was the last holiday that David had.
He died from a brain haemorrhage on April 9, 1991. Mummy I don't want to be attached to this drip on my birthday. The Lord heard and answered his prayer. He was in heaven for his tenth birthday. The following year his birthday fell on Good Friday.
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