Michelle & Margaret

Michelle: Fr. McFadden gave me the book [My Heart Will Triumph].

Margaret: I asked to read it. And she said, “Sure” because I normally don’t ask to read her books. I read it and I felt like I wanted to come. I felt like I was being called to come but I didn’t think I’d ever come anytime soon. I thought maybe after I graduated college. 

Michelle: She’s like “Hey mom, so like how much does a trip to Medjugorje cost? Is that something I could ever do one day? I said, if Our Lady wants you there, she will get you there.

My [other] daughter actually may be diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. She’s a young mom with three small children under the age of 5. The prognosis for that is not good. She’s a nurse and as a mom, she could never go.  Margaret said, “why don’t I go for her.” 

I told my mom what she said and my mom’s like “Your granny just died and she had this money. She said I would know one day where to use that money. I’d like to send you both.”

About 17 years ago, my husband worked for the prison. He actually taught carpentry. There was a job he was doing in Carrolltown and at that time they had scheduled [visionary] Ivan to come to this man, Ron Gresko was his name, to come to what he planned in the diocese. My husband was doing work out of town for the prison, he had to go to Carrolltown and goes to daily mass. He stopped at St. Benedicts in Carrolltown and there was a woman with an EWTN bumper sticker and she’s like “Hi, who are you, this new person at this church?” And she goes “Oh my goodness, my husband works for the prison” and she goes “Do you know Ron Gresko? Listen, pray for him. We have this situation the Bishop just sent information he might not allow Ivan to speak in the diocese. He’s beside himself. Do you know anything about Medjugorje?”

And he’s like, “Yeah, we’ve been to Medjugorje.”

So she hooked the two of them up, and they became friends. One day we got a phone call from Ron saying “You have a place out in the country, I’ve got about 300 people with tickets who are registered to come to this event and now I don’t know what to do…

We’re like, “Well, you’re welcome to come to us, but you can also get a hall. It doesn’t have to be a church.”

He’s like, “No, I really feel like Our Lady wants to…this would be a good fit.”

Anyway, we were like, [whispers with excitement] “Yes!” So we set up and the cars came rolling in. It was the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. And he had an apparition there and it was for families. I have it transcribed. It’s beautiful.

We have in our barn, there are pews and we have a chapel. Fr. Jacques from St. Vincent would have masses every month from May through October. People would come out, we’d just pray the rosary, have mass, divine mercy, ultimate frisbee, eat and pray together. It was just great for families.