Corry – 3 years later

I went to Medjugorje in March 2017. It was right after my 21st birthday. I was lucky enough to have my parents send me to Medjugorje and go with my sister. 

Around 2017, I didn’t have a very strong faith, but I was born Catholic so I was always a part of the church but wasn’t going to church so I didn’t really know what to expect. Going to Medjugorje is just going to a place where you’re surrounded by faith at every turn. It planted this seed in my mind, to see all these people living their lives so faithfully. It really showed me what I wanted in my life and what I wanted to bring home with me. 

Like I said, it planted that seed, so the change didn’t occur right away. I experienced something great, going to Medjugorje and meeting all the beautiful people that are there, all the faithful people. When I had kids, I knew what I wanted my kids’ lives to be like, and I wanted their lives to be full of faith. In order to do that, I needed to have my life full of faith. So really my faith changed after having children, but Medjugorje helped me see what I wanted for my children.

There are a couple things that I love about Medjugorje. Going to Mass in Medjugorje is like no other experience that I’ve ever had going to Mass. I’ve been to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and you feel the faith there. Medjugorje is just a completely different experience. And going to Reconciliation there is a very beautiful thing. A lot of the people go at least once a week, sometimes every single day. Even these extremely faithful people are constantly turning to God to help them and to help them be better people. And it shows in their daily lives. 

Another thing is, I love working out, and so it’s fun climbing the mountain and giving that to God. You can work out and also focus that whole time with God. That combination is really cool. They have the Stations of the Cross up the mountain, and everybody around you is praying. 

I would love to go back. I would love to take my children. I would love to take my husband who is in the process of going through RCIA [Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults] and joining the church himself. It’s a beautiful place. I went with my sister who had already been there and she shared it with me. Now I feel like it would be nice to share it with somebody else and to watch their experience as I experience it as well.

I think there are a lot of things in our lives that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. I was always hoping to go back. Even when I was there, I was like, “Oh yeah. I definitely wanna go back.” I never realized that I wouldn’t be able to witness a 2nd of the month apparition again. But if you’ve witnessed Mirjana’s faith, I feel like you can still get that experience because Mary lives on in Mirjana and in her faith. And she shares that with people in a really beautiful way.

I say beautiful a lot, but that’s the best way to describe Mirjana and Medjugorje as a place. Maybe it’s because Mary has touched that place with Her own beauty. 

Medjugorje is just an example of motherly love because Mary is the ultimate mother. That’s what I experienced and that’s why I think my faith came full circle when I had kids, because of Mary’s motherly love. 

That is how you can share Medjugorje, is with that motherly love, that unconditional, understanding of other people, of your neighbor, of your parents, even people that you have a hard time with. Just experience that motherly love for them. That’s how you can bring Medjugorje home. 

imedj note: Corry’s husband and youngest daughter are both getting baptized this weekend in a private ceremony following the guidelines of their city.