My Experience of God’s Love in Naju on August 15, 2006

By Father I Joseph Ladislaus Fernando, Diocese of Tuticorin, India

By God’s grace I had an opportunity to have a pilgrim tour to Naju in August of 2006, the year of the Silver Jubilee of my priestly Ordination.

I, for the first time, heard of Naju in November of 2004 in Singapore. I was helping the Rector of St. Joseph’s Church in Singapore for almost two months. After the 10 a.m. Mass on the first Sunday of November, I had a chat with the three ladies named Carolyn, Elizabeth, and Felicia. Felicia offered me two small bottles of miraculous water, mentioning that it was the milk of Mother Mary from the spring of grace in Naju. I was rather curious about it and she explained to me about her experiences in Naju. I could not understand anything in the beginning. She also gave me some VCDs to watch – the Sacred Host that Julia received turning into real flesh and blood, the rocks stained with blood, and Julia’s sufferings and stigmata. Whenever Felicia met me, she narrated her experiences in Naju, a place of the heaven on earth and a fine retreat centre to experience God.

In faith I drank the miraculous water she had given me. When I first drank a few drops, I tasted it milky. I mentioned to Felicia about my experience. She was very happy of it and she told that it was God’s grace given to some people. Listening to Felicia’s narrative of Naju and Mother Mary’s powerful intercession at that place, I perhaps developed an idea of visiting the place. I happened to be in Singapore in May of 2006 when I offered the Thanksgiving Mass of Silver Jubilee on May 13th, the day of Our Lady of Fatima, at St. Joseph’s Church in Singapore. I expressed my serious desire of visiting Naju to Felicia and she was very happy about it. She took the responsibility of arranging for my pilgrimage to Naju.

My pilgrimage to Naju was fixed for August 15, 2006 (13 to 18 Aug 2006) with the group from Singapore. Of course, Felicia, Carolyn, Elizabeth and Ivan in Singapore were the people helping my pilgrimage to Naju.

I got the due permission from my bishop and came to Singapore and stayed at St. Francis Xavier’s Church. I helped the Parish Priest for a few days prior to my pilgrimage to Naju. Many of the parishioners encouraged me to visit Naju as it would be a nice spiritual experience for me, though the happenings at Naju had not yet been approved by the local ecclesiastical authorities. Ivan in Singapore along with his family would be taking the pilgrim group to Naju from 13 to 18 August 2006. We were totally twenty-three in number including Fr. Francis Su as the group’s spiritual director.

The first day as we reached Naju, in the evening Fr. Francis Su presided over the Holy Mass in his room and I concelebrated with him. The following morning (15 Aug 2006 – Day of Mother Mary’s Assumption, India’s Independence and Korea’s Independence) I presided over the celebration of the Holy Mass. During the homily I happened to mention emotionally and tearfully my physical motherlessness, but God’s great love and care for me. In the evening we had the culminating event of our pilgrimage – the celebration of the Solemnity of Our Lady’s Assumption with overnight prayer meeting on the Blessed Mother’s mountain in Naju. That place looked to me that of God’s love and Mother Mary’s presence. I could sense the spiritual and prayerful atmosphere there at the mountain.

First, we had the procession with Our Lady’s statue aboard the Mary’s Ark of Salvation. Fr. Francis Su carried the monstrance in which the bleeding Sacred Host had been kept. One Vietnamese priest and I assisted him at the sides. At the end of the procession, we had the Benediction. The prayers and songs were in Korean language but the priests said the prayers in English. The whole congregation was an international one with the participants from different parts of Korea, from Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Africa, Europe and America and from Australia. After the Benediction, the Holy Mass was celebrated.

After the Mass, I presented a souvenir picture of my Silver Jubilee to Julia and Julio and other priests. As I was taking another picture from my bag, Julio came running to me and asked whether I had blood in my hands or fingers. There was nothing of that sort in my hands. He showed me the picture which I had presented to Julia a minute ago and which had been stained with blood along with the thumb rims in that picture. I was shocked and surprised to see such a miraculous happening. As I was looking at the picture it was pointed out that some drops of blood had been at the back of my white shirt. Photos were taken. Julia expressed her joy over it, expressing in such a way that I had received God’s graces and special love. I felt Jesus himself handing over the picture signed with his Sacred Blood to Mother Mary and God confirming His special love for me. I felt myself very special to Him. God blessed me specially by inviting me to Naju in my jubilee year and God Himself honored the souvenir picture I had printed. I felt powered with the fire of love of God. I blessed as many people as I could. The participants were very respectful and they all expressed their love to me and the other priests.

When I presided over the celebration of the Holy Mass to our pilgrim group from Singapore, I shared my experiences on the Blessed Mother’s mountain. I was very happy about God’s love for me and for all in the world. When our group again went to the mountain, I took bath in the miraculous water and drank many a time from the spring of grace. Personally I felt, experienced and observed Mother Mary’s presence in that place.

At the night prior to our departure from Naju, there was Holy Hour at the Chapel. The big statue of Our Lady at the entrance of the Chapel was highly revealing Mother Mary’s presence. It was said that the small original statue on the altar inside the Chapel had some fragrance, but I could sense no fragrance. I, however, smelt fragrance at my shirt in which I had the drops of blood though it was much wet with sweat. There was no smell of sweat, but the smell of fragrance.

The next day, August 18, 2006, I, along with the group, was back to Singapore concluding the pilgrimage. I could sense in me the fire of love and I blessed as many people as possible. On Saturday, August 19, I presided over the conducting of the Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in the Parish Church of St. Francis Xavier and I narrated all my experiences in Naju to the congregation during my sermon. The parishioners were very happy to hear about it.

Returning to India, I mentioned my experiences in Naju to the participants of the Sunday Mass which I presided and celebrated at St. Jude’s Parish Church, Tuticorin, India. I am very happy to share that now in Tuticorin local TV channels the Naju videocassettes are being now and then played upon. And one glad news I would like to speak at this moment is that I gave one of the miraculous water (small bottle) to one of the staff at the Bishop’s House in Tuticorin where I am staying; and he told me that he had some leg pain due to a fall from the bus getting down and he applied the water to the wounded part at night and slept and he could find that there was no more pain from his leg.  Mother Mary does intercede for those who keep confidence in her!

Totally, my pilgrim tour to Naju was an experience of Mother Mary’s presence and God’s love to me and the whole world. Let me be an apostle of love! Finally, it is my wish and prayer to God that the Local Church takes steps to verify the happenings and events at Naju and declare the truth about it. God bless everyone and may He Be Blessed for Ever!

Rev. Fr. Dr. Ignatius Joseph Ladislaus Fernando
Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Tuticorin
Catholic Bishop’s House, Tuticorin – 628 001
Tamilnadu, India