A special pilgrimage
A reflection on her recent visit to Medjugorje which brought together members of the Mary’s Meals family from all corners of the world
I recently travelled to the village of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the Mary’s Meals Family Pilgrimage. As you might know, Medjugorje holds a very special place in our story which we recognise with an annual pilgrimage of thanksgiving for the gift of Mary’s Meals.
The pilgrimage brought together members of the Mary’s Meals family – staff, volunteers and supporters – from far and wide. People travelled from India, Haiti, Malawi, Zambia, the USA, France, the Czech Republic and beyond!
As we met together in glorious sunshine at the blue container, our information centre in Medjugorje, multiple languages rang out together in harmony, as friendships were made and people who had spoken by email or prayed together online finally met face to face.
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” (Psalm 86:9)
At Mary’s Meals, we are blessed to be part of a global family, uniting people of many ages, backgrounds and nationalities around the hope of relieving the burdens of the hungry child. In a world of division, such unity of purpose is surely a sign of God’s goodness in our midst, as He draws all people to Himself from every land and nation.
While this gathering was filled with joy and hope, the suffering experienced by the millions of hungry children we are called to serve was never far from our minds. Each of us came with strong intentions in our hearts, which were brought into the light on coloured post-it notes decorating the inside of the blue container. These spoke of our hopes for the children and their families, for the Mary’s Meals movement, and for our world, in the face of conflict in so many countries where we work. As the pilgrimage drew to a close, we shared our intentions aloud, in our own languages, bringing them to the Lord as one family.
Those gathered in Medjugorje were just a fraction of our Mary’s Meals family, and we hope that you can add your own voice in prayer for our mission. Thanks be to God that we have grown and thrived from the seed planted in Medjugorje many years ago; may our mission continue to be fruitful, bringing hope to overcome the suffering of our world.
Sarah Mallon
Supporter Engagement Officer
Pray With Us:
- We pray for all those visiting Medjugorje from across the world. May they be open to learning about the work of Mary’s Meals and be inspired to join our mission, bringing their own gifts to help us reach more children who need our help.
- We bring before you, Lord, every child who is hungry today. We pray that they would know your love, and that, with your blessing on our work, we can reach many more of them with our meals.
- We pray for our global family, that we can continue to work together to keep our promise to the children who rely on us, and to make our vision a reality. May we act as a sign of hope and unity in a world burdened with so much division and violence.
