I remember that it was August 1, 1987 when I first visited the Blessed Mother’s statue in Naju at the suggestion of a Sister. At that time, the statue was in Julia'sapartment (Soogang Apartments in Naju). When I saw visitors praying peacefully and gracefully there, I got the impression that it was an ideal place to pray.

My second visit was on July 30, 1990, at the invitation of a layman whom I knew well. A new Chapel was under construction. The statue was temporarily in the dining room. Quite a few people were fervently praying the rosary. I joined them.

After Easter Sunday in April of 1991, I went on a trip to the United States. While staying with a Korean family in New York, I watched a video. The contents were about the Blessed Mother'sweeping tears and tears of blood in Naju. I felt very ashamed. People thousands of miles away were trying hard to practice the Blessed Mother'smessages, but what have I done, who live so close (to the Blessed Mother in Naju)? I could not describe how sorry and shameful I felt before the Blessed Mother. I thought that I would surely visit Naju after my return to Korea. Then, I forgot about it for a while. Only on May 23 of that year did I go back to Naju at the invitation of a layman whom I knew well. I knew later that it was the Blessed Mother who called me through him.

When I arrived in Naju on May 23, 1991, I began praying before the Blessed Mother’s statue. “Mother! My faith is weak. Open my hardened heart and guide me so that I may love and respect you more. Then, I stepped closer to the Blessed Mother'sstatue and looked at her. At that moment, I was very surprised, because I saw drops of tears forming in the Blessed Mother'seyes. First I saw some whitish cover appearing over her eyes and then, drops of tears forming. To make sure that I was not dreaming, I touched the tears lightly with the cross on my rosary. Then, the tears flowed down. I began crying a lot, thinking how stupid I was and how little faith I had, without even knowing that I was living a sinful life. I realized that the Blessed Mother was weeping because of me. I remembered my life as a priest for the past twenty years or so like seeing a movie and realized my sins during that life. I could not control my tears. They were tears of repentance.

Then, Julia came out and began praying for me. Soon, she fell down on the floor and entered an ecstasy. Seeing that she was not waking up for more than thirty minutes, the volunteer workers said that she probably was receiving a message and suggested that Julia be carried into her house. While she was being carried, I was surprised again, because I saw clear marks of scratches on her arms and legs. Later I learned from her that she had been attacked by Satan. I have never seen anything like that and felt a little fearful and amazed. Julia said that Satan had attacked her, striking, hitting, and scratching her, to sever her from this priest who came. I could understand it, when I remembered what I read about Satan'sattacks on St. John Bosco, St. John Vianney, and other Saints.

Since then, I witnessed tears and fragrant oil flowing from the Blessed Mother’s statue several more times. I smelled the fragrance of roses from the Blessed Mother'sstatue and around Julia and saw the change of the Sacred Host into visible Flesh and Blood in her mouth. These experiences prompted me to think more about my own past life.

Why is the Blessed Mother weeping not just tears but tears of blood and even blood from her nose? Why is she shedding tears for priests? Why is she bringing Eucharistic miracles? I think that the reasons are abortions, loss of faith, apostasy, sacrilegious Confessions, and sacrilegious Communions. Especially regarding priests, she gave us an explanation in her message on August 11, 1985:

Priests are now like a candlelight before wind. They are being subjected to temptations. The windows of rectories are left open. Through the open windows, three devils (of pride, materialism and lust) are peeking in. Close the windows of rectories.

I was very moved by these words. I had been living with the windows open, without even knowing it. The Blessed Mother helped me realize it. She was asking me to live a life totally consecrated to Jesus. Therefore, I offered up what I had been so attached to, one after another: smoking (two packs of cigarettes per day), drinking, cards, and television. I reduced drinking to a minimum and television to watching just the news. I think that more important than theseexternal sacrifices are inner conversion, turning one’s whole life into prayersand walking the way of a little person with a childlike heart. In other words, it is a life according to the Words of Jesus: “The greatest in Heaven is theone who lowers himself and becomes like a child (Matthew 18:4).”

Ours is an age of no faith and no respect. People do not trust each other and do not trust God'sWords. It is becoming a world that rejects God'sWords. Furthermore, the mystery of the supernatural world is being ignored. The Holy Eucharist is performed out of habit and a tendency to despise its Mystery is spreading. People offer Mass with no preparation. Too many of the faithful receive Communion out of habit, without going to Confession. My life of offering prayers, the Divine Office, Mass and Communion with indifference began to change. I thank the Lord for the changes occurring in my life in response to the Blessed Mother's call.

For the past several years, I have been carefully observing the events in the Blessed Mother’s House in Naju and the messages that Julia has been receiving,and believe that they have no conflict with the teachings of the Church. I do not see any problem in their authenticity.

Julia has been gladly offering up extreme pains of abortion, pains on her side, the pains of the Stigmata, and many more. It would have been impossible for her to endure these pains, if the Holy Spirit were not with her. Can we ourselves endure the pains that Julia has been experiencing? Can we suffer them, saying, “Lord,praise to You” or “Lord, Your Will be done!” like her?

I think that it has been because of the amazing graces from the Blessed Mother that numerous people who had abortions are repenting, people who left the Church are returning, broken families are becoming reunited, and people of other religions and different denominations are converting to the Catholic Faith.

Looking back at my past priestly life, I realize how wrong I was! I resolve that I will live a fervent life filled with joy and peace in the Lord instead of wandering outside. Herds of numerous sheep are walking toward hell even without knowing it. I will help them as a responsible priest to make good Confessions and receive the Lord with clean souls. I will do my best to draw them to the Lord.

Lord, Who comes to all of us with Love at every moment! Help us love You more. Let us realize that our life itself is a miracle and thank You always. Let us experience the Mystery of Your Life and Death and sing Your Pascha every day. Help us repent, pray and offer sacrifices and penance so that we may console the Blessed Mother who is weeping under the Cross. Amen.

What respect, love, and faith that these pilgrims had for priests!

Fr. Roger B. Gaudet, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Fortville, Indiana (January 1998)

It appears to me that Magisterial Teaching requires absolute collegiality with their brother bishops along with the Pope. I do not have any idea what the Archbishop of Kwangju is talking about when he invokes the Magisterium in his Declaration on Naju (on January 1, 1998).

Another serious and disturbing question that I have is this idea inferred by Archbishop Youn that valid consecration of bread and wine is done only by a bishop or priest, hence what are these hosts falling down from the Crucifix or the Statue of Our Lady in Julia'sprayer house?

My spiritual director in seminary always emphasized that when it comes to private revelation and supernatural events that I always look carefully to the fruits of these phenomena. I traveled to Naju, Korea, for the celebration, prayer and songs on December 8, 1996, for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I was not chosen by God, I believe, to see any miracles similar to the events of the past twelve years in Naju concerning Julia Kim. However, I experienced and witnessed something far more important than that; and that is, the gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out from many in attendance and the fruits of the Holy Spirit were evidenced in the hearts and minds of those present in what they said and what they did concerning Mary, our Mother, and Jesus, our Savior.

Many mystics through Church history have expressed in their writings how difficult it was to finally find a consecrated soul (a priest) who would or could accept what was happening spiritually to these holy people. They went through a terrible ordeal in their lives. Look at St. Joan of Arc who was burned at the stake. Look at St. Theresa of Avila who had spiritual directors as vastly different in thought and action and caused much sorrow and agony in her life!

Lastly, look at the statement Archbishop Youn makes regarding the authenticity of Julia Kim'sprivate revelation. The phenomena occurring over the past dozen years or so is so astounding that I for one cannot deny that it exists, yet, I have not been privileged to be a witness to these wonderful events, only to the wonderful fruits that have born forth.

Look at the messages of Fatima, Lourdes, and other apparition sites and study the text of all those visionaries and see the variances of human limitations. See how repetitious some of the messages say over and over again illustrating sound themes. And look at the Holy Bible and all its inconsistencies. Over and over in the Bible, the writers and prophets have shown forth their human limitations when it came to writing what they heard and saw given the trauma and traditions of their times!

There are hundreds and thousands of witnesses to the events in Naju since 1985. Can anyone tell me that trying to manipulate a statue crying tears of blood and fragrant oil can be faked? Can anyone tell me that the Sacred Host in Julia’s mouth turning into blood is a hoax? Do you know any of the world's most clever people who could produce a fake host with Bishops, Archbishops, and priests looking on in amazement and some of these have been sworn affidavits as to what they saw and experienced?

This is a very sad day for Julia and Naju as well as Our Lady of Naju. This Archbishop appears to me to be frightened and frightened of what I do not know! It might not be a problem in Korea, however. Eucharistic miracles and visions of Mary have been happening all throughout the centuries until now and why not in Korea? Julia from the beginning of these miracles has completely turned her life and will over to Our Father in Heaven by relying wholly on the will of her spiritual director and others to direct her and has she not obeyed Archbishop Youn in all his demands to date?

There is one other possibility as I review this disturbing news in Naju and that is maybe the Naju Investigating Committee wrote the report and the Archbishop simply signed it. How come there is no mention of Archbishop Youn'sfavorable remarks about the tears and messages in Naju and about positive reports by some very reputable prelates and priests throughout the world including his very own Apostolic delegate for Korea?

I am not a theologian but a simple priest of faith who has eyes and ears to witness the things of God and preach about them. I am reminded of the saying that to unbelievers, there could never be enough proof; however, to those who hunger for God'stouch in their lives, proof is not necessary. The sad fact is that all of these allegations by the Archbishop'sInvestigating Committee just simply get in the way of what Our Blessed Lady and the Lord are trying to do for us. Eucharistic abuses are so blatant in this century that it simply escapes the eyes and ears of your average Catholic. The polls here in America are astounding when it comes to how many Catholics really do not believe in the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Catholics these days are truly confused with modernistic movements and those who act like they are the living end to revelation, i.e. ?some Holy Ghost evangelicals who believe they have all the gifts of the Holy Spirit! And then you have some of these folks and other groups who make a mockery out of the Sacraments and yet still those Catholics that I have personally encountered on an every-day basis that bastardize the Holy Scriptures and how sad that is also!

The sacrileges are so numerous in your average Catholic parish that it sickens me to think of it. What initially interested me in Julia in Naju was the fact that all that she is about has to do with her faith not only with Mary, her Heavenly Mother, but, the fact that Jesus is truly and wholly present in the Eucharist. The fact is the bread and wine are no longer bread and wine, it is truly Jesus? Body and Blood.

I spent two complete all night vigils with Julia and observed her with much scrutiny and fell in love with her goodness and humbleness. I watched her as I was side by side with her ministering to those present at these all night vigils and saw that she was all giving and all caring when it came to the sick and suffering. I heard the testimonies of those at these all night vigils in 1996 and oh how I was so impressed with the simple stories of healing and of love.

As a priest, I can't tell you what respect, love, and faith that these pilgrims had for priests. I have never been so loved in all my life as a priest as I was loved in Naju as a priest. . . this one experience of the people of God in Naju at Julia'sprayer vigil services would carry me on indefinitely. What more can I say. I hope that this small testimony will have some effect to glorify Our Father and honor Our Most Blessed Mother, Queen of the Ark of Salvation.

A letter from a Carmelite Mother Superior in India

Sr.Theresita, Superior, St. Joseph’s Carmel Ashram, Kumbakonam, India (February 10, 1998)

Dear Julia,

I am very glad to introduce myself to you as Sister Theresita of St.Joseph’s Carmel Ashram in Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu), India. I want by this letter to bring to your knowledge a miracle that happened in my own family through the intercession of Our Lady of Naju. I am the eldest daughter of a mother of six children. My mother is sixty years old.

On the 7th of July 1997, my mother went to visit my youngest sister at Vakkampatti. There she had much pain in her legs. She had this pain often. Then, some of my relatives came to see her. My mother was smiling without saying anything. Then, they found out that my mother was not able to speak or walk. Immediately they rushed her to a hospital nearby. There the doctor gave her an injection and prescribed tablets for high blood pressure and advised that she must take complete rest and must not be left alone. The doctor also said that if something happens to her, she needs to be brought to St.Joseph’s Hospital in Dindigul. At about 11:00 p.m. that day, she had a stroke; she was paralyzed. She was admitted into St. Joseph’s Hospital in its intensive careunit. Our Parish priest came and administered to her the Sacrament of the Sick.

The doctor concluded that there was no hope for recovery and that my mother would pass away soon or a little later. She was in the state of complete paralysis, because blood clots were formed in her brain. At the Carmel, I was praying hard for my mother together with other Sisters. Suddenly I remembered the picture of Our Lady of Naju given to me together with the Messages of Love book and other leaflets brought by Mr. Rock Paul from France during his annual visit to India last January. He is of Indian origin and has two aunts and a cousin as Carmelites in our convent. He is like a brother to all of us. There are nineteen Carmelites here.

I sent at once the picture of Our Lady of Naju to my sister, asking her to apply the picture to the body of our mother and pray hard to Our Lady. While my mother was unable to move her hands and legs without anybody'shelp, my aunt and my sister showed her the picture of Our Lady of Naju, praying for her speedy recovery. My mother tried many times to join her hands for prayer. Surprisingly, she became able to do it without any trouble and prayed to Our Lady with her eyes full of tears of joy. After this she improved fast. She started to speak and walk. The doctors were totally amazed and said that it was not by human power but by God’s.

This is my testimony about the miraculous cure of my mother. If you wish that it be read in meetings or published in papers or books, I agree willingly without any restrictions. I pray together with all the Carmelite Sisters here that the legitimate request by Our Lady of Naju that Masses be said and a tabernacle be installed in her Chapel be granted soon.

In constant union of prayers with you together with all my Sisters of the Carmel,

Your loving sister,

Sr. Theresita

My experience with Naju

Hak Yoon, a lawyer in Seoul, Korea
(Reprinted from the Catholic Digest in Korea, February 1999 issue)

I first heard about Naju from a priest who was studying theology in Rome. At that time, I was a lukewarm Catholic, not even attending Mass regularly. This priest was spending his vacation in Korea. It was amazing that I even made a confession to him. I wept a lot while making the confession. The tears that I was shedding were coming from my deep-seated desire to amend my life.

After Mass, the priest rode with me in my car. I invited him to visit my house and bless it, as we had moved into it only a little while earlier. So he came and blessed the house. Then, he took out a small ball of cotton and asked me to smell it. It was a fresh, mysterious fragrance of roses permeating my whole body. I had never smelled this fragrance before.

The priest said that the cotton ball had absorbed fragrant oil from the Blessed Mother’s statue in Naju. Then, he told me about his mysterious experiences in Naju. He also explained the meaning of the tears and tears of blood that were flowingfrom the Blessed Mother’s statue. The priest'svoice was gentle and clear. Thisgentleness and clarity of his words sounded to me like an invitation to become interested in Naju.

I decided to find some time to visit Naju. If what I was hearing about Naju were true, it be an important event that could change my whole mindset toward everything in the world.

However, I also thought that there was a possibility of someone intentionally fabricating tears and tears of blood, throwing down the hosts, and spraying perfume. It was not possible for me to believe such significant events without personally checking them out.

I visited Naju with my mind filled with curiosity. I examined the ceiling from which it was said that the Eucharist had come down. I also examined the possibilities of artificially spraying the perfume of roses. I did the examination as a lawyer, but could not find any evidence of fabrication. Later during the same trip, I visited the miraculous spring on a mountain near Naju and smelled the fragrance of roses while praying there. I also smelled the same fragrance after I came back to Seoul and was working in my office. My doubts were weakening.

After these mysterious experiences, I began attending early morning Masses on weekdays. The experiences in Naju gave me new eyes with which to view the world.

Then,last year, I was greatly shocked by the Kwangju Archbishop’s Declaration on Naju. According to the Declaration, the changes in my life came from a foolishness with which I believed in fabrications and plagiarism.

For several days, I struggled in confusion. I read the Declaration again and again to get out of the confusion. However, the more I read the Declaration, the more strongly I felt that the Declaration contained many problems. When I read the Bible, I feel more and more convinced that it is the truth, the more I read it. However, when I was reading the Declaration, I had a depressing and stifling feeling that I feel when I read something that is not true.

The Declaration was announced in the name of the Church, but did not have the warm concern for the faithful or the fervor for the truth that we find in dignified documents. It was restricting people'sbasic rights to read, write and see without sincerely and clearly explaining the reasons. Furthermore, the Declaration quoted from Church doctrines, distorting the sentences and presenting meanings that are totally different from the originally intended meanings.

After finding these several obvious errors in the Declaration, I could not help thinking that the Kwangju Archdiocese made a wrong judgment. I could not erase the thought in my mind that the Archdiocese, which should be leading the faithful in practicing love and respecting the truth, made a decision that contradicted the truth and treated the faithful carelessly. And it did it in the name of the teaching authority.

I continued examining more information about Naju and found the following amazing facts. When Archbishop Giovanni Bulaitis, the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Korea, visited Naju, the Eucharist came down (November 24, 1994). The Apostolic Pro-Nuncio did not have any doubts but consumed a piece of the Sacred Host and gave Communion to people who were in the Chapel. With just one Sacred Host, he gave Communion to about seventy people. (Two little pieces of the Sacred Host have been preserved.) In 1990, Bishop Daniel Hak-Soon Chi of the Wonju Diocese in Korea saw the Blessed Mother shedding tears and tears of blood through her statue. He prayed, wept, and wrote down, I clearly saw and firmly believe? (January 20, 1990). Bishop Paul Chang-Yeol Kim of the Cheju Diocese in Korea also came to Naju and witnessed the Eucharist that miraculously appeared before his eyes (June 12, 1997).

After learning these facts, I had the following thoughts. Why did the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio, other bishops and priests visit Naju? It must have been for the purpose of becoming more faithful to their priestly duty of being good leaders for the faithful. Also, their humble minds with which they could understand the Blessed Mother'ssufferings as God'schildren must have led them to Naju.

However, the Kwangju Archbishop and the priests who became the leading members of the Naju Investigating Committee had ignored the events in Naju for more than ten years, even though these events were happening within their own diocese. Only after learning about the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio'svisit, they hurriedly formed the committee.

Many theologians and priests have been pointing out that the Kwangju Declaration contains errors. They have also been pointing out that what needed to be scientifically examined were rejected without any scientific tests. Even some of the Naju Investigating Committee members are admitting that there are problems in the Declaration. Some of them even say that they are ashamed. This is a fact.

Archbishop Victorinus Kong-Hee Youn of Kwangju must be well aware of all these. We hear that he gave a strict order to the priests in his diocese not to discuss Naju publicly. I cannot erase the thought that the Kwangju Archdiocese is still doing something wrong.

Where did they find such audacity to tell the numerous people who had clearly seenthe descending Sacred Hosts and tears on the Blessed Mother’s statue to acceptthe bishop'sjudgment without presenting any rational explanation? The old saying that one who has not been to the South Gate Market (in Seoul) pretends to know more about it than others may well fit the current situation.

The Kwangju Archdiocese has been completely silent about the numerous criticisms coming from both inside and outside Korea. Are they expecting blind obedience by the faithful?

The Kwangju Archdiocese has prohibited public celebrations in Naju. In obedience, Julia Kim has been refraining from all public activities. On the other hand, pilgrims continue to stream to Naju. The Declaration was translated into foreign languages and mailed to all corners of the world (by the Kwangju Archdiocese), but foreign priests and lay people continue visiting Naju.

It appears that the number of pilgrims to Naju will continue rising. Are the pilgrims making the mistake of being disobedient? Or is the Kwangju Archdiocese making a mistake by refusing to correct its errors?

On one First Saturday, people were quietly praying the rosary in the Chapel in Naju. When the rosary was over, one man stood up and suggested that they pray for Archbishop Youn.

He invited people to picture in their minds the Archbishop'sboyhood in Jinnampo, a city in northern Korea, when he was walking to and from school, with his school books wrapped and carried on his back and with his heart filled with humility, love, and desire to become a priest. He began singing a children’s song, A Winter Tree:

Standing alone in a shadow on the snow-covered ground;

In this winter when no visitors are coming, are you the only one whistling with the winds?

He began singing quietly, but soon was joined by everyone in the Chapel. There was a boy who came with his parents. There also was an old lady. There was a girl from afar. They came from many different places, but were of one mind, praying for the Archbishop.

They had no hatred or resentment in their hearts. Even the official measures were not an immediate concern to them. They were only praising God and trying to imitate the immaculately pure Heart of their Heavenly Mother.

As I was watched them sing, I was moved to pray that repression of the truth in the name of the truth may no longer occur at least in the Church.

Miracles in Lashio, Burma

Lily Wu, Van Nuys, California, U.S.A. (March 11, 1999)

I went to Naju with a group of thirty-three pilgrims from Los Angeles on October 16, 1998, to celebrate the twelfth anniversary of Our Lady'sfirst weeping tears of blood in Naju.

After the weeklong pilgrimage to Naju I was going to continue my journey to Burma to visit my family. So I bought a replica statue of Our Lady of Naju for my brother, who is a Catholic priest. On the last night of the pilgrimage in the hotel at Kwangju, my friends, Sun and Edna from Los Angeles, helped me repack my luggage. As we opened the package that contained the statue, a strong fragrance of roses came out of the box.

On October 25, I arrived in Lashio, my hometown, which is the capital city of the Northern Shan State in Burma. I gave the replica statue to my brother, Father Norman Joseph Wu, who was on vacation and visiting thefamily. A couple of days later I visited my friend’s family and showed them allthe miraculous photographs of Our Lady of Naju. I gave to my friend'sdaughter, DiDi, a medal with the picture of Our Lady of Naju. The next day after my visit, DiDi related the story of Naju to her friend, rubbing the medal with her fingers without any intention. Just then they smelled the fragrance of roses around them and from her fingers with which she rubbed the medal.

A few days later, I was invited to the Catholic Parents. Association to give a talk on Our Lady of Naju during one of their monthly retreats in the parish hall. I took the replica statue and the fifty photographs there on October 31. I displayed the miraculous photographs that I brought from Naju on four large cardboard sheets. I explained to them (about 50 people) about the pictures and shared some of the messages which the Blessed Mother gave to Julia Kim. Some people in the crowd, including some priests, were so touched that tears were rolling down their cheeks.

From then on, the news about Our Lady of Naju spread all over. Priests, nuns, lay Catholics, and non-Catholics kept coming to my house asking for more information, pictures, rosaries, medals and the water from the miraculous spring in Naju. I was very sad not to be able to provide all of them with what they asked for. All I could do was to order more copies of the photographs of the Blessed Mother. No matter how many copies I ordered, it was never enough. I was giving away about one thousand photos and this I gave to only those who asked. One picture per family only. It was overwhelming to see how much the people there trusted and loved Our Lady of Naju.

On a Sunday, the photographs from Naju were displayed outside the church for the first time. After the Mass, a schoolteacher named Caroline Ba Tin was praying in front of the photographs with her daughter, Pauline. Pauline was suffering pains from TB glands around her neck. The glands that she had for years were so obvious like big lumps all around her neck. Caroline kept touching the pictures of the Blessed Mother weeping tears of blood and the appearance of the Eucharist turned into those of flesh and blood and then touched her daughter’s neck while praying with tears for the cure of her daughter. The very next day the glands and the pains were gone. They had her doctor examine Pauline, and the doctor was amazed to see that Pauline was cured with no explanation.

People gathered in different houses day after day and invited me to talk about Our Lady of Naju. Sometimes they gathered in a church. Every time I took with me the replica statue and the photographs and I left them in the house overnight. One wonderful thing was, every house that kept the statue overnight would have the whole night vigil. During my three months stay in Lashio, I was out every evening with a prayer group sharing the messages of Our Lady of Naju.

On the night of November 15, 1998, the replica statue started to give a sweet fragrance up to date. Sometimes the fragrance was very strong and other times very mild. Some of the religious articles became fragrant just from touching the replica statue of Our Lady of Naju.

Almost every house that had the statue overnight experienced some supernatural encounters, like the flowers on the Buddhist altar were shaking with no reason; some houses would become filled with the fragrance of roses or lilies or incense; the altar shook vigorously at one house when the statue was placed on the altar; and a woman who was a Protestant saw the Blessed Mother coming out of the statue three times, and the pains on her knees which she had for years were gone. Some saw radiant light coming out of the statue; one woman and her granddaughter were woken up by a strong fragrance of roses and heard a soft feminine voice asking them to get up and pray the rosary at dawn; the same family smelled the fragrance of roses becoming stronger when they prayed for priests.

There were also conversions and healings. One man who did not believe at first admitted later that his heart was filled with love and tenderness like never before when the statue of the Blessed Mother bent her head and looked at him and gave a strong fragrance of roses at the same time.

One woman who was an alcoholic invited the prayer group with the replica statue to her house to pray the rosary for half an hour. That very evening she vomited when she took some alcohol and could not take it any more since.

A young Protestant girl, who was always attacking Catholics, was converted after hearing about the events in Naju. She is taking instructions to become a Catholic.

A young Protestant boy, who is studying catechism and aims to become a priest got the fragrance of roses every time he looked at the picture of Our Lady of Naju while praying the rosary.

A retired nurse who was also a Protestant had lost her sight due to diabetes. Her daughters brought her to my house and prayed to Our Lady. The next day I heard that she could see some figures moving around, and a few weeks later when she went for a medical checkup, to everybody'ssurprise, no diabetes was found.

A five month-old baby, whose health was very poor since birth, could not control his bowels. Because he coughed and cried day and night, the mother and the grandmother had to take turns at night to take care of the baby. The mother took the baby to a clinic many times, but it did not make any difference. Even though they were Protestants, they went to the house where they had the all-night vigil and prayed to Our Lady of Naju. The next day, amazingly the baby boy was like a normal baby, no coughing, no cries, and no diarrhea. Now he is a cheerful little healthy baby thanks to the Blessed Mother.

One family donated a solid golden crown to the Blessed Mother. On January 16, 1999, I invited a priest, several nuns, and members of our prayer group to celebrate the coronation of Our Lady of Naju.

Rose Lee in Los Angeles gave me a rosary which she received from Julia in Naju. I gave the rosary to my brother, Fr. Norman, who loves the Blessed Mother very dearly. Fr. Norman returned to his diocese leaving the statue at my house with my family for a while, because he saw people were so devoted to Our Lady of Naju. But the fragrance of roses followed him. On the day Fr. Norman left our hometown by bus, the whole bus became filled with the fragrance of roses when he took out the rosary and began praying. One of the priests, Fr. Paul, told me that every house where Fr. Norman visited and prayed was soon filled with the fragrance of roses. And whatever religious articles that he touched with his rosary from Naju received the fragrance.

Our Lady has given us so many miracles that we ought to take heed of her messagesand warning. Let’s spread the messages of the Blessed Mother hurriedly andcourageously in whatever ways we can. Let’s offer our whole lives to the Blessed Mother and let her use us as she wishes to bring back mankind to the true God. Let’s console our Holy Mother who is weeping Tears of Blood for us by practicing Her messages with love.

I was a proud rationalist

Lucia Hak-Ja Kim, Chuncheon, Gwangwon Province, Korea (April 12, 1999)

I belong to the so-called new generation. In high school, I learned about the Renaissance, Enlightenment and rationalism in a positive context. Now, I am an engineering student specializing in communications technology. I have been a cradle Catholic, but, to me, religion was not much more than restrictions on my life. I think there were two main reasons for that. First, I considered the Bible a collection of fables written for educational purposes. Second, I was influenced by rationalism without realizing it. I am used to studying electric currents and data flow in computers, which are not visible to our eyes but can be confirmed through experiments. After learning about their existence and movement, equations can be formulated. With regard to faith, it was not possible to find proofs through experiments. For the past twenty some years, my faith was out of habit, going to Mass on Sundays and occasionally making Confessions in a hurried way.

It was only recently that I happened to open the Naju homepage on the Internet. I was shocked to see the photos of the Blessed Mother shedding tears and tears of blood through her statue and the Sacred Host turning into visible flesh and blood in Julia Kim'smouth. It was an experience that began changing my entire faith life. The Blessed Mother was telling me, weeping tears of blood, that the Church doctrines concerning her were not human fictions but had a heavenly origin and that Jesus was truly present in the Eucharist. I have not witnessed the Sacred Hosts miraculously coming down in the Chapel in Naju as Raphael Song and many others did, but the photographs of the miracles were sufficient for meto become shaken up. The Blessed Mother’s Tears were signs that were melting my hardened heart and transforming my mind that had perceived faith only in intellectual terms. Only after seeing the signs from the Blessed Mother did my eyes become open to the words in the Bible. What was recorded in the Bible were not only historical events two thousand years ago but are also living words for my present reality. Jesus is truly God and truly man; He truly died on the Cross; and He truly resurrected from death.

On the last Palm Sunday, while listening to the Gospel reading, I wept like never before in my life. I realized that I had been crucifying Jesus for the past twenty years with my hardened heart filled with pride and selfishness. I could not control my tears. Because I tried so hard to control my weeping, my throat began to hurt. Since then, I am deeply moved whenever I read the Bible. Yesterday, April 11, 1999, was the Second Sunday after Easter. The Gospel reading was about the doubting Thomas. I felt that I had been like Thomas, saying,“I demand a proof, and Explain it in a rational way.” The priest told us a story during the homily:

There were loggers in a jungle, using an elephant to move cut trees. The elephant was working very effectively with its powerful trunk. During the lunch break, the loggers tied one of the elephant'slegs to a little stake with a weak rope. Then, the elephant did not move away, even though it could easily cut the rope with its strong leg. What was the reason? It was because the elephant had been tied to the stake since its infancy, and it had believed all along that it was not possible to get away once it was tied to a stake. Even though it had grown up and become more powerful, it did not change its way of thinking.

God has given us the power to feel His infinite love, if only we change our way of thinking a little bit. However, we remain tied to the little knowledge that we have, as if it were the ultimate truth and everything that is important in the world. Our Lord has given us free will so that we may become freed from our bondage, but we keep demanding visible proofs like the doubting Thomas. I can understand how Thomas must have felt when Jesus told him to touch the nail marks in His hands and the spear mark in His side. Without actually touching them, he must have prostrated himself before the Lord and professed his faith. Whenever I heard this story about Thomas, I used to laugh at him. But now I realize that I have been worse than he, because I believed only after seeing the signs from the Blessed Mother. The Germanic tribes who believed after seeing the sacred statues were more simple people than myself, because I was demanding not statues but proofs.

Some say that the story about Thomas is a fiction, made up to strengthen people’s faith. They say that there are many Bible scholars claiming this. However, I cannot understand them. To me, a big change has occurred since the moment I replaced my perception of the Bible as a collection of educational fables with a new realization that it was about true reality. I am worried that some people who are like me may be misled by such claims.

Every word that a priest says can have a powerful effect on the faithful. I am not worthy to say this, but I think that those who are smart, well-educated and well-armed with reasoning are causing a greater harm to the Church (than those who are not). Mysteries are being despised, because they cannot be explained in a rational way. The truths that have been preserved in the Catholic Church all the time are gradually losing light. In the new, revised prayer book (in Korea), the prayer to guardian angels is missing. Now, those who enter the Church can only think of guardian angels as pretty characters in children'sstories.

Now is the time when people invent their own God whom they can understand, accept and worship. I see such an example in the case of my father. He studied for several years at a Catholic seminary until he left for health reasons. He was trained in Latin, philosophy and theology. My mother, on the other hand, did not go to college, but converted from the Presbyterian denomination to the Catholic Faith at the time of marriage. Now, my father is a non-practicing Catholic, while my mother is a fervent Catholic. Sometimes they debate about religion, but my mother is no match for my father. It is only recently that I began doubting that the God my father has known is truly the real God. Before, I always thought that my father's reasoning was correct. But now I am frightened at the thought that, if my father became a priest with the same thoughts that he has now, he would be leading so many people into errors, even though if he became a priest while praying harder, asking for wisdom, he could have overcome his errors through the grace from the Blessed Mother.

Peter, who was the rock upon which Jesus built His Church, was a fisherman with little education. Jesus had a special love for children. The Blessed Mother has usually appeared to children. It was not because children had more knowledgebut because they were simpler and could recognize the Lord’s truth morereadily. It may seem that rationalism, intellectualism, and many kinds of knowledge make us smarter. It is also possible that they become a trap that ties us up. If the ability that God has given us is not used for God but is used for distorting the truth and for making people proud, even making them feel higher than God, it will become a poison. If the intellect is used forspreading errors and enhancing one’s own honor, it will only lead one todestruction. I am not very smart, but have been proud of myself. Those who are truly smart may be facing an even greater danger. That is why I feel pressed to pray for them.

Blessed Mother of Naju, thank you so much!

Simon Chun, Cheongju, Chungbuk Province, Korea (July 8, 1999)

My name is Simon Ki-Hwa Chun. I am a fifty-three year-old inmate in Chongju Prison. I committed a crime because of my lack of judgment at one moment and have served nine years in this prison. I still have three more years to go. When I first came here, I did not want to live and took more than a fatal dose of poison. But I was taken to the emergency room in a hospital and woke up three days later. I recovered and did not even have any aftereffects. As I continued my prison life, I realized that it was God who made me live by his miraculous power, which I did not understand. I tried to live a good life. I prayed many decades of the rosary, more than 100 decades per day.

About two months ago, I discovered that a friend of mine in the prison, also a Catholic, had the book, The River of Grace, and borrowed it from him. The book was a collection of testimonies about the graces received from the Blessed Mother of Naju. This occurred just a few days before Holy Thursday, a great feast day celebrating the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. I was freshly shocked by the contents of the book—especially the photographs of the Eucharistic miracles that had occurred to Mrs. Julia Youn, during which the Sacred Hosts had changed into visible Flesh and Blood of Our Lord. I was also impressed by the testimonies about miraculous healings that hadoccurred during Julia’s prayers.

Because I did not have any holy cards, I prayed the rosary in front of the Blessed Mother'sphotograph on the front cover of the book, The River of Grace. In order to pray better, I prayed more slowly, reducing the number of decades from 100 to 50 per day. I prayed fervently for my health and also for an experience of the fragrance of roses. One day, when I was waking up, I smelled a strong fragrance of roses. I sniffed at the skin lotions used by the inmates, but the odor was different from the fragrance of roses. I offered a prayer of thanksgiving. A few days later, pains in my left hand disappeared.

The pains in my hand had been caused by a wound that I had received during the war in Vietnam in the 1970s. My left hand was hit by shrapnel from a hand grenade, which cut the nerves in my hand. I received surgery, but the wound did not heal. I was discharged from the army, but the sharp, intense pains continued. These twenty-five year-old pains disappeared!

So, I prayed to the Blessed Mother of Naju. “Thank you so much, Mother! You healed my hand. How about healing one more problem that I have? I prayed that she would cure the wart under my right eye that had been there for many years. I had tried many things, but nothing worked. So, while praying the rosary, I touched the tear drop under the Blessed Mother'schin in the photograph on the front cover of the book with my finger and, then, touched the wart with that finger. After a week of doing this, while I was praying the rosary, I felt itchy on the wart and scratched it. It came off easily. I was overwhelmed with joy and thanked the Blessed Mother. Without telling anyone about it, I asked the Blessed Mother for just one more cure. “Because it is too warm in here, it is difficult for me to read wearing these reading glasses. Please let me read without glasses. Again, I touched the tear drop under the Blessed Mother’s chin in the photograph and pressed my eyes with the finger with whichI touched the tear. I also lifted the book and pressed my both eyes with theBlessed Mother’s chin in the photograph, which had a tear drop under it, forseveral seconds at a time. A few days later, a miracle happened again. It has been ten days since then, but I have been reading the book and newspapers without glasses. I had been wearing the reading glasses for seven years.

I did not have any intention to test the Blessed Mother when I was asking for miracles. Before I found this book about two months ago, I was in depression, even thinking about abandoning the faith. Then, I found this book and fervently asked the Blessed Mother for help. I asked her to give salvation to my heart by revealing the presence of Jesus and the Blessed Mother.

I have not met Mrs. Julia Youn, but have been praying for her every day and will continue to pray for her. If possible, please send us more photographs, books and rosaries. There is no way we can get them here. Yesterday, after Mass, a nun asked me to speak about my experiences before an audience of more than two hundred brothers and twenty sisters in the prison. I knew that the Blessed Mother arranged this, and I gave testimony to the graces I received from the Blessed Mother of Naju. People were deeply touched and applauded. I sincerely thank Jesus and the Blessed Mother for the graces I have received. I give praise and honor to Them.

Please send us monthly newsletters, if available. Now I live with great joy every day, making the Blessed Mother of Naju known to every one I run into. I pray for Julia, Julio and every volunteer worker in Naju.

Letter from a Sister in Sri Lanka

Dear Mary's Touch By Mail,

I received the parcel that you sent me containing Julia's video cassettes and the pictures of the Eucharist and pictures of Our Lady. Thank you very much for all that you sent us. There were also three books of Our Lady. I distributed all these items to our people, Sinhalese, Tamil and burgers. They all love these pictures. Please send some more pictures of Our Lady. Our people in Sri Lanka love these pictures of Our Lady. So please try and send them to us so that we can distribute them among the people and especially to the soldiers who are fighting the war and who deserve them more.

Yours truly,

Sister Mary Sudarma
Good Shepherd Convent
Bolawalana, Negombo
Sri Lanka

Letter from another Sister in Sri Lanka

July 26, 1999

Dear Helpers who work to spread the devotion to Our Blessed Mother,

This is to thank you most sincerely for the parcel of religious goods so kindly sent to me. I share them by distributing to those who are interested and desire to have them. It is a pity that many are not able to read English. So when I give them the picture leaflets or papers I explain to them about the contents. I give to the priests who come here. I am reading the book, Messages of Love, and meditate and pray as Our Blessed Mother wants. I offer prayers for you that you may be able to continue your apostolic work for the glory of God. Please send us more videos and booklets. May God'sabundant blessings be with you all. May Our Blessed Mother keep you safe. Please keep me also in your prayers.

With lots of love and prayers, yours affectionately in Jesus and Mary,

Sister Mary Maximilla
St. Joseph'sElders Home
Thammita, Negombo, Sri Lanka

Letter from a priest in Uganda

July 28, 1999

Dear Mary'sTouch By Mail,

Greetings from the students and staff of St.Joseph’s Secondary School Naggalama. The school isCatholic founded. It is a mixed day and boarding girls and boys school. They are 950 from senior one to six.

The purpose of this letter is to request you to kindly send us literature on Mary like: Why the Marian Signs? replica statues, etc.

The Marian devotion has improved greatly among students. Our handicap is lack of enough Marian literature. When you meet this spiritual need you will have relieved us a lot.

With Jesus and Mary,

Fr. Wasswa Vincent
School Chaplain
St. Joseph'sSenior Secondary School
Naggalama, Uganda

A reflection on the current status of the Catholic Church in Korea

Gregory Chu, a graduate student at Oxford University in England (August 6, 1999)

I think that a major problem in the Church in Korea is sacrilegious Communion. There seem to be so many people who have neither faith in nor respect for the Eucharist, and receive Communion in the state of sin. The reasons must be that people have not been clearly taught that the Eucharist is truly Jesus, and also that they are too proud to worship the Eucharist, which has the appearance of bread, as the Lord. They have not been properly educated in distinguishing between serious sins and venial sins, either. In many parishes, it is not easy to go to Confession. On the bulletin it says that Confession begins half an hour before Mass, but actually it may begin just a few minutes before Mass. Neglect of Confession undoubtedly has been related to the widespread indifference toward the Eucharist.

Another problem in the Church in Korea is abortion. Many Catholics also do it. I don't know what is going to happen to this country. The fact that Korea remains divided between the North and the South and continues to experience many disasters may be related to the large number of abortions. (According to statistics, more than a half of pregnancies end in abortion in South Korea as well as in North Korea, Japan, China, and Russia.) The devil is using abortion as a most effective tool to drive this country to total disaster.

In Catholic churches, we seldom hear strong sermons against abortion. We only infrequently hear remarks against abortion as a matter of principle. Protestants say that they are against it, but seem to have no qualms aboutdoing it. Buddhists don’t even care. I believe that one major reason why Koreahas suffered so much from invasions in its history has been that its people have had a long tradition of abortions. Confucianism does not warn people against abortion. Some of the Buddhists refrain from eating meat out of their respect for life, but they are not against abortion. The Catholic Church has a powerful doctrine against abortion, but Catholics are a small minority in Korea. Besides, many Catholics seem more interested in new theologies than in opposing abortion. Many of the young Catholics in Korea are in favor of abortion. Howserious the responsibility of the priests must be from God’s standpoint!

Nowadays, oriental religious practices such as meditation and (energy) are spreading like a plague. They are closely related to the renewal movement within the Catholic Church. They are also very closely related to the New Age movement. Recently, in a major Catholic seminary, a nun brought a mok-tak (a wooden block used to make rhythmic sounds during meditation in Buddhist temples) to her class and invited her students to begin a Buddhist-style meditation. People seem to be willing to sacrifice unity with God for the sake of unity with other religions. Under the guise of broad-mindedness that encourages giving up my ways and accepting others ways, people are neglecting the Heritage of Faith in the holy Catholic Church. It is obvious that, in their hearts, they are becoming apostates. Many seem to be thinking of religion as some kind of an accessory to wear. Then, a religion may be like a political party that can be easily assembled and disassembled. However, if we believe in God, we cannot pursue unity with others in that manner, deserting His doctrines and His ways.

I would rather have trust in God than in man.

Letter from Staten Island, New York

August 11, 1999

Dear Mary'sTouch By Mail,

Thank you so much for the white box with all the pamphlets, literature and tapes on Our Lady of Naju and Julia Kim. I have the book: Messages of Love. This is the second time I am reading it and it is a great book full of spiritual jewels. Since reading the messages and learning about Naju, I feel my prayer life has deepened and my heart has truly been touched. It is so sad that a negative declaration was announced on Naju by the local bishop. I reviewed the declaration and feel it is wrong. We should pray for him and remind him that these Eucharistic miracles deepen one'sfaith in Jesus in the Eucharist. The Sacred Eucharist was given to the three children in Fatima by St. Michael the Archangel. The Eucharist has also been given by angels to Maria Esperanza in Betania, Venezuela. I feel in my heart we need to take the bishop'sresponse to Naju as lovingly and patiently as possible. We need to pray, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, and ask Our Lady to enlighten the bishop'sheart. Naju is no different from the others which have gone through immense objection by local church authorities. Bernadette of Lourdes and Lucia and other children of Fatima all went through the pains and sufferings of such a rare gift from God. We need to pray very much as Our Lady asks us to do. Please send me more photographs of Our Lady of Naju to show my friends and place in my room. God bless!

Sincerely,

Joseph Rizzi

Staten Island, New York

Who can understand my joy?

Hae-Kyung Chung, Mokpo, Jeonnam Province, Korea (August 1999)

Praise and glory to the Lord and the Blessed Mother!

I had been a Protestant for almost ten years and even a deacon. I was quite happy and busy in a Protestant church.

In March of 1999, however, I had a serious doubt about the Protestant church and became a Catholic. Soon afterwards, my eldest daughter was wounded in a traffic accident. In early May, my second daughter also had an accident in a restaurant. A china bowl containing very hot food fell on one of her legs. She received first-aid treatment at a nearby clinic. It was about 9 p.m. The next day, she was taken to a hospital. The doctor said that she had to be hospitalized because of her serious inflammation. Her leg became very swollen. The doctor said that she needed to get injections of antibiotics. Since my mother was looking after my daughter in the hospital room, I went home to bringmy daughter’s clothes and other personal items. When I arrived at home, therewere some parishioners who came to visit us. While praying with them, I became more unsettled and decided to bring my daughter home. With my husband’s consent, I brought my daughter home. The next day, the parishioners came backwith some water from Naju and suggested that my daughter’s swollen leg beplaced in the water. I had doubts, but I was ready to grab even a straw. After my daughter’s leg was submerged in the water, the swelling subsided. It was amiracle! She was being healed!

Later, I took my daughter to my mother’s, because it was my mother'sbirthday. Everyone said that I was crazy, because I did not keep my daughter in the hospital. I continued treating my daughter at home with the water from Naju. About three weeks later, my daughter'sleg was completely healed. When my mother came and saw it, I began telling her about Jesus, the Blessed Mother and the miraculous water. I did not think it would be easy for my mother to convert, because she had been a fervent follower of a Buddhist sect of Japan for twenty-nine years. I was surprised when she said, “I want to drink some of that water, too. She also said, “I want to keep that nun and that man in my home, too! She was referring to the statues of Jesus and theBlessed Mother.”

When she arrived at her home, she burned the Buddhist idols and converted to Catholicism. I wept for joy. The Blessed Mother was giving us such a grace!

In the past, I thought that Catholics were idol-worshippers. Now, I go to Mass on Sundays and on weekdays. Going to Mass is such a joy. I had such an attachmentto luxuries, but I don’t care about them any more. Who can understand my joywhen I am in the Catholic Church together with my mother, my father, and my husband?

The Blessed Mother of Naju melted my heart that had been like a rock!

Paulina Peacock, Ely, Nevada (1999)

I had heart surgery and had a metallic device inside my heart to help blood circulation. Because of this, traveling was very difficult for me. Despite the difficulty, I went to Korea to visit my relatives and friends in March of 1996, which was my first trip back to Korea in seventeen years. I was carrying some medicine for a possible emergency like a heart attack.

After I visited my relatives and friends, my sister, Theresa, took me to the Blessed Mother'sHouse (the Chapel) in Naju. I had been so anxious to visit that place. After praying before the Blessed Mother’s statue, I asked people working thereif I could meet Julia. My prayer was answered, and I attended Mass in the Parish Church together with Julia. She sat close to me and held my hand tightly while praying. I felt that I was enveloped with love. After Mass, we came back to the Chapel, filled with joy. We took photographs and prayed in the Chapel. Julia was in pains and went to her house (next to the Chapel), supported by a woman.

When we were getting ready to leave, a young woman asked me to wait a while. I was wondering if she was going to let me see Julia again. Instead, I was given many photographs of the Blessed Mother, newspapers, testimony books, and photo albums. When I came out of the Chapel to the front yard, my sister and the driver were looking at me with happy faces. My sister said with much joy, If the young lady in the Chapel did not ask you to stay longer, we could have had an accident on the way home! I did not understand why she was saying that. She continued, While we were waiting for you, the driver found one of the tires punctured and had it fixed at a nearby service station. At the moment I heard this, I became amazed at the Providence of God and screamed, Praiseand gratitude to the Blessed Mother! for allowing us to experience God’s great power and mercy and to realize more deeply the Blessed Mother’s tender,caring love.

After I came back to the States, my life was a continuation of happiness and joy thanks to the graces from God. I also discontinued taking medicine. Everything in the world looked so beautiful. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I looked more beautiful than before. I felt free of pains in my body thanks to Julia’s deep prayers. I felt as light as a feather.

For five years we had lived in Monterey, California, and had known many people in the Korean Catholic parish there. While I was preparing to mail to that parish some video tapes that I brought from Naju, I got a phone call informing me of an upcoming wedding for the son of the parish council president in the Korean church in Monterey. So, I went there to attend the wedding and to spread the information about the Blessed Mother of Naju. Many people asked what secret I had for becoming sobeautiful. I stayed at the parish council president’s house for ten days. Manypeople came to watch the Naju videos that I brought there. I had a bad reputation for sleeping late, but, while visiting Monterey, I could hardly sleep because of so many visitors. The phone began ringing from dawn and people began coming to watch the videos early in the morning. Many repented their sins and received much grace.

One of the visitors had been a friend of mine for thirty years. She saw me after three years of absence and asked me if I had plastic surgery in Korea. She kept asking if I had any secret for becoming more beautiful. I told her about my trip to Naju. She asked me to send her more video tapes.

For the ten days I was staying at the parish council president'shouse, there were visitors from the early morning until late at night. His family was filled with love in greeting and serving the visitors. The almighty Lord has accomplished through His Mother what is impossible by human power. He has used Julia to open the eyes of many sinners and to convert them. I also received many gifts before leaving Naju. I was sure that all these were gifts from the Blessed Mother who was pleased with our spreading her messages.

Friendship that was renewed at the reunion will surely blossom as fragrant flowers in Heaven. After I returned home, many people called and thanked me. They said that they were sorry for having practiced faith and love with lips only. They said they were crying much and promised to go to church faithfully. I also received several letters with similar contents.

In my own case, my dormant soul woke up when I began watching the video tapes andreading the message book from Naju. The Blessed Mother said in her messages, “Let us make the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist known to those children who do not know so that the numerous souls who are ungrateful may be saved by your bleeding sacrifices combined with my love.”

The Blessed Mother’s messages led me to repent my mistakes, woke up my dullconscience, melted my hardened heart, and opened it. I hurriedly visited a priest with an ardent desire to have the impediment to my marriage removed and to begin receiving the Lord in the Eucharist. The priest consented happily, butmy husband didn’t. I became very sad and cried loudly. The house was filledwith my tears and wailing. Then, my husband became alarmed and asked for my forgiveness. He promised to prepare the necessary papers within a few days. Preparation of the papers began the next day, but was completed three months later after receiving signatures from my husband's parents also. When the Pastor told me to set the date for the wedding, I cried all day for joy and awe. How long had I longed for that day! I had consulted many priests, but they all said that it would be difficult. While I was in such pains, the BlessedMother removed this sinner’s obstacle completely. Because it was my secondmarriage, removing the impediment was not easy. But it was removed after thirty-three years thanks to the Blessed Mother.

I cannot forget the moment I received Communion after thirty-three years. It was a moment filled with graces, a moment of receiving the Lord Whom I had longed for so anxiously. It was thanks to the Love of God and the help of the Blessed Mother of Naju.

At the wedding on December 26, 1996, there were the parish council president with his wife and four others from Monterey. They came despite the long distance that took fifteen hours each way. I wept, because I was so grateful. How could they have come, if they did not have love? I will never forget.

I was also grateful to my sister, Theresa, for having taken me to Naju.

I am planning to visit Naju again this month. With much joy and anxiousness, I look forward to that trip. I also thank Julia, who has offered up everything to make the boundless love of God known and to make the glory of the Blessed Mother shine more brightly.

I can say again that the shocking effect from the Naju videos was the driving force that lifted me up to a spiritual world of higher dimension.

As a person with faith, I will not neglect the work to share the joy and love from God with others and, thus, give glory to Him.

Blessed Mother of Naju who melted my heart that had been like a rock! Thank you so deeply.

Paulina Peacock

Ely, Nevada, U. S. A.

P.S.: I would like to add a few more accounts of my experiences in Naju.

I went back to Naju in March of 1997, three months after the wedding. When I entered the Chapel, I saw the Blessed Mother smiling with much happiness.

The place we live is on a high elevation in the middle of a desert. I had a severe case of allergies and could not smell anything. Within thirty minutes after I entered the Chapel in Naju, my nose opened and I began smelling the fragrance of roses.

I stayed in Naju for thirteen days. Every time I prayed in the Chapel, I smelled the fragrance of roses. I also saw an image of Julia nailed to the cross behind the Blessed Mother'sstatue. I asked other women around me if they also saw Julia’s image. They said they did not see her. I saw her image every day. It was Lent, and Julia was suffering the pains of the Five Wounds of the Lord.

While I had allergies, I was also bleeding from my nose, with some bad odor out of my nose (which others could smell), and I felt pain in my throat as if there was a fish bone hanging there. All these disappeared completely.

One day during my stay in Naju, I met two women from Singapore. We were using the same room. I asked them how they were able to come to Naju, since they did not speak any Korean. They said that they landed at Gimpo International Airport holding the Messages of Love book and a sheet of paper with writing in Korean: We are going to Naju. Please help us. That was how they came. I was so amazed. I told them that I would not have that much courage if I went to Singapore. I encouraged them to come to Naju again and exchanged our addresses. They said that there was no one in Singapore who did not know about Naju. They stayed for two days and left, saying that next time they would come when there is an overnight prayer service.

More than thirty pilgrims including a priest came from Hong Kong for the overnight prayer service on the First Saturday in April of 1997. Thepriest testified that, when he was holding the Blessed Mother’s hands, he felt live pulse.

During the overnight prayer service on the First Saturday in April, a woman sitting behind me said that she was having a headache because of too strong fragrance from me. She was complaining that I had sprayed too much perfume. I told her that I had not sprayed any perfume and I never used perfume on myself. Later she apologized.

On Easter Sunday, I was cleaning the room I was staying in with a floorcloth. Even though I washed it in water several times, I still smelled a strong fragrance of roses from it and from my hands. The whole room was filled with a strong sweet fragrance.

On the last day in Naju, I bought a replica statue of the Blessed Mother for my sister-in-law. When I brought the statue to her house, the whole house became filled with fragrance. Several neighbors came, because they also smelled it.

I also bought a replica statue of the Blessed Mother for my family and have been spreading her messages in order to repay her for the favors I have received. I am filled with joy every day. I give praise and gratitude to the Lord and the Blessed Mother.

After the trip to Naju, I stayed in my brother'shouse in Seoul. I stayed in Korea for about three months. During that time, I met many people who had been healed in Naju. Some were healed of cancer; others had been dumb or paralyzed and were cured in Naju.

On Easter Sunday in 1997, I was with Julia in the same car going to the church. I clearly saw the Stigmata on her two hands.

During the overnight prayer service, many people cried while Julia was praying for them individually. I cried also. Many people gave testimony to their repentance of sins and miraculous healing of their illnesses.

During the thirteen-day stay in Naju, I met an old lady who was so sick and close to death that her doctors at the hospital sent her home. She came to Naju and stayed in and around the Chapel all the time. It was three months already since she had left the hospital. She was not only alive but quite healthy.

In May of 1997, Julia visited a church in Incheon (a harbor city west of Seoul) to speak at a retreat. I also went there with a friend of mine. Julia was wearing a blue dress and had a blue rosary. While she was relaying the Blessed Mother'smessages, I felt an unusual wish that Julia would give her blue rosary to me as a gift. After the retreat was over, we went outside. I was looking for Julia, but couldn't find her right away because of heavy rain. A while later, I saw her and went toward her, but a man was hugging her, crying. I felt a little concerned that his tears might stain Julia'sdress, but he didn't stop. Finally, Julia gave him her blue rosary and said good-bye. We all waved at Julia. Then, the man came to me and asked where I was from. I did not answer, but my friend told him that I was from the United States. Then, the man tried to give the blue rosary to me, saying that the Blessed Mother told him so. I was surprised and refused to receive it. I said that it was such a precious rosary and he had to keep it. The man insisted, saying that the Blessed Mother instructed him to give it to me. He also said, Don't you have much pain in your head? I said, How did you know? He said, I can see your pain in your forehead and face. I was speechless and accepted the blue rosary. It has been almost two years since, but the fragrance from the rosary still continues. I cherish it as a gift from the Blessed Mother.

Now I realize what a terrible thing prejudice is

Francisco Min-Doo Sohn, Mokpo, Jeonnam Province, Korea (December 20, 1999)

I live in the City of Mokpo, located on the southwestern coast of South Korea. I have been married for ten years and have three children. I am a public employee working as an engineer of passenger trains. I was baptized in the Catholic Church seven years ago.

I write this testimony for my dear brothers and sisters in the whole world, to tell them about my experiences in connection with Naju. I want to tell them about how I came to an understanding of the meaning of the miracles in Naju; how a person of this modern age was able to accept them.

I used to be a typical man of this age, feeling enormous pride in the scientific progress and believing that all the problems in the world could only be solved by further scientific progress. I was a worshipper of science. I was a Catholic, but considered God’s Words in the Bible a fiction and believed inevolutionism more than in the teaching that God created the world. I even doubted that God could find a place in this highly advanced, industrialized modern society. I was almost an atheist. I even thought that one hour per week for Sunday Mass was a waste and wished that I could spend the time for recreation with my family instead. I was indifferent to the sufferings of my poor neighbors. I liked associating with successful people in society like professors, doctors and company presidents, conversing with them about life and faith and blaming many other people for the problems in the world. I was a very worldly man.

It was through my beloved wife that I first heard about the miracles in Naju. My wife had learned about Naju from a lady who was a leader in our parish. My wife became interested and wanted to visit Naju. So, on April 23, 1999, we went to Naju together and saw for the first time what we had only heard about. My wife looked at everything in the Chapel with much interest and sincerity, but I hand a somewhat uncanny feeling about the large photograph of the Blessed Mother shedding tears of blood hung on the left wall of the Chapel. I did not feel like approaching and seeing other photographs and evidence of the miracles displayed in the back of the Chapel, either. After we came home, my wife continued her interest in Naju and wanted to visit Naju frequently. I warned her that she could be carried away by fanaticism and heresy, and even neglect her family. I strongly scolded her for embracing the miracles in Naju so wholeheartedly, which did not even have the approval by the local diocese. My wife had been a better Catholic than myself, but did not become a fervent Catholic until we first visited Naju.

After our first visit to Naju, many changes occurred to my wife. For example, she began praying many decades of the rosary before a candlelight. I was very disturbed by that. Her main duty was to look after her husband and children. But I thought that she was obsessed with a religion and was praying so much like a shaman! I could not understand her and even felt betrayed by her. She had been faithful to the family. I had also been faithful to her. Did she have so much emptiness in her heart and was trying to fill it by sinking into a religion? I decided to stop her. I told her not to pray, especially when I could see her, and burned all the books, prayer books, and photographs that had been brought from Naju. I even smashed into pieces the statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Mother from Naju. While burning the books from Naju, I glanced at one page. It read, “The world is so corrupt. God’s chastisement will fall upon you, if you do not repent your sins. Hurriedlyrepent, renounce yourselves, and be embraced in my bosom.” I thought, “Ah, this cannot be anything but a heresy! That is why the diocese has not approvedit.” I heard about many Protestants who were misleading people with talksof the end time. The Blessed Mother’s House in Naju must be a place of heresyin the Catholic Church. If we renounce ourselves as the message says, how can we be humans? We will only be idiots. Julia says that miracles have occurred through her, but she must be possessed. She is a shaman. She is confusing and attracting fanatical people to establish a strange new religion. She wants to be its leader. Everything about Naju looked abnormal to me. Everything aboutit seemed like the devil’s work.

In the Blessed Mother'smessages, I found this sentence: “My Son Jesus lovedyou so much that He established the seven Sacraments.” I misread “the seven Sacraments”(pronounced chilsungsa in Korean) as “chilsungdang”(meaning “a shaman’s house” in Korean). I was sure that Julia was using thename of the Blessed Mother in trying to establish a new religion.

While I continued to have serious prejudices about Julia and the miracles in Naju, I began realizing that I was so miserable and was becoming overwhelmed by anxieties. We had had a happy family. Now, my wife was becoming obsessed by a strange cult. I was fearful that our family was breaking apart. I had already seen many other families broken apart because of cults.

So, I decided to do something to save our family. I decided to prevent my wife from going to Naju, to prevent her from associating with anyone who was favorable toward Naju, and to keep watch on everything that my wife was doing.

At the same time, I thought that I needed to know more about my own religion to be able to guide my wife on the right track. I began attending not only Sunday Masses but also weekday Masses with my wife, still mainly to keep watch on her and lead her to the right way. We also attended retreats together. In addition, we went to the overnight prayer meetings in Naju together to find out what kind of meetings they really were. The reason for my going there still was to watch my wife, but, gradually, I began to realize that many rumors and accusations about Julia were actually groundless, preposterous misunderstandings. I even began understanding why the Blessed Mother was shedding tears of blood. It was an incredible change in me.

I realized that what the Blessed Mother was saying was correct, but I did not know how to put her words into practice. For example, she said that we shouldrenounce ourselves, but how could I do that? Isn’t it enough to live with afear of God? Why should we willingly accept sacrifices, reparations, and sufferings? For what reasons? The struggle continued in my mind. Because of this conflict in my mind, I did not accompany my wife to Naju any more, but wasstill unhappy about my wife’s wholehearted acceptance of Naju.

If everyone in the world lived a good life, the whole world would become a goodplace. So, isn’t it enough for me to lead a good life? Why should I suffer sacrifices and pains for others? Besides, others’ mistakes are their ownresponsibilities. Why should I carry their burdens also? It is the nature of every living thing to avoid pains, but she is telling us to willingly accept pains. Even if she was right, it would surely be hard to practice.

When my wife found out that I was struggling with these thoughts, she suggested thatI read the Blessed Mother’s messages seriously, not just casually as I had beendoing. I refused many times, but she persisted. I said to myself, ‘There is an old saying that even a dead person’s wish is granted; why couldn’t I grant a living person’s wish?’ I finally began reading the Blessed Mother’s messages very sincerely.

After I read the whole messages eight times in fifteen days, I slowly began to understand what the Blessed Mother was trying to say to her children in the world, shedding Tears of Blood. And I was really shocked, as if I had beenstruck on my head by something when I read the Blessed Mother’s message that what was most needed in this extremely corrupt world was love. She further said that, with faith, one can lift a mountain, but with a deep love, one can lift the whole world. I received a tremendous grace of understanding the meaning of true love, as I was finally coming out of a tunnel of prejudice and misunderstanding about my wife and Julia.

Yes! The Blessed Mother wants to lift this world out of the crisis of evil and accomplish a heaven by leading her children in the world to practice unlimited humility, sharing and love, in order to save her children in the world who have fallen into errors and corruption and are walking toward hell.

All my dear brothers and sisters in the world! You know better than I do that errors in this world have reached extreme proportions beyond imagination, as the Blessed Mother has already mentioned. This desolate age lacks the love of sharing before anything else. The world is decaying because of greed and extreme pursuit of pleasure. The cultural currents of this world, which is about to begin the 21st Century, are filled with a new liberalism.

Even the sacred area of the mystery of life is being interfered with. The order in human society is collapsing and a very serious situation is threatening the community of the human race. Statistics show that a small percentage of the population in our age has most of the existing wealth. This means that the vast majority of the population cannot adequately exercise their rights on the assets in the society. This imbalance will worsen. We have been warned that the collapse of the social order and deepening of the inconsistencies will lead to a crisis. Our environment is also deteriorating because of the excessive use offossil fuels and other wastes. The Church, which is called to do God’s Will, is partially infected by secular interests. The Church is not being faithful to her role as the light and salt of the world.

Are all of these not illnesses that result from the lack of love? I can say, “Yes, they are!” before all my brothers and sisters in the world, despite myshallow faith and limited knowledge.

If we ignore the Blessed Mother'smessages that we must love one another, and continue following all the errors in the world, the human race will perish evenwithout God’s chastisement. I say this even to those in other religions who are still far away from the Blessed Mother. If the Scripture, which is God’s Words, is the textbook to the faithful, the Blessed Mother is its teacher to her children. In order to become true believers, it is necessary to listen to the Blessed Mother. Isn't the purpose of one’s going to school to learn from theteacher, whose teaching is based on the textbook? Our Blessed Mother is carrying out her duty as our teacher by means of her messages and signs in Naju and many other places in the past centuries. Catholics are truly blessed people, because they have the Blessed Mother as their great teacher.

Lastly, I would like to speak to those who are in the Church and are listening to the Blessed Mother. I began acquiring an understanding of the Blessed Mother’s words and reforming my own life without experiencing extreme difficulties. Isn’t this a grace from the Blessed Mother who loves me so much? However, if Ibecome proud and have doubts about God’s Words, He can take away the grace fromme. There is a saying that reaching the top is easier than staying there. In order to preserve the grace, I need to be lowly and humble.

Now, I realize what a terrible thing prejudice is and what horrible obstacles can beerected by careless words and actions in spreading the Blessed Mother’s words.

In the mean time, my wife has been healed of her chronic fatigue and hemorrhoids. One lady in our neighborhood drank water from Naju and the many freckles on her face are almost gone now. I have not met Julia, even though I have visited the Chapel in Naju many times, because she does not attend the prayer meeting in obedience to the instructions from the diocese. Thank you so much, Jesus and Mary!