I want to thank you for coming to Toronto, Canada, so that I could hear Our Blessed Mother’s messages given to you. I received many graces that evening and continue to do so through reading the book, The Miracle in Naju, Korea, and watching the videos concerning the miracles in Naju.

The greater miracle I have received is the grace to see what the Will of God for my life was and to desire it alone. Before hearing Our Blessed Mother’s messages to you at Naju, I wasn’t sure what she and her Son Jesus were asking of me, especially in my relationship with my husband. I was on the road of doing my own will and doing what made me happy instead of doing what makes Jesus and Mary happy. The messages from Naju are particularly for me and all sinners who have lost their way and are feeling very discouraged by their weakness and sinfulness.

When I heard Mary’s words on the video, Tears of Love: “How can you say you love me and my Son when you don’t love those in your own family?” I was shown my sinfulness and failure. I heard Our Blessed Mother calling me to unity by loving, trusting, respecting and being faithful to my husband. It was as if a light went on penetrating my darkened mind and softening my hardened heart. I heard Our Lady calling me to be obedient to my spiritual director, to renounce myself and my selfish desire, to suffer gracefully, without complaining, uniting my sufferings with Jesus for the salvation of souls, to pray for priests, bishops and the Holy Father, and most especially to a profound love and a deeper belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

In trying to respond to Our Lady’s messages to you at Naju, my marriage has been saved after twenty-two years of enormous struggles and pain. My husband has had a profound conversion. He is now the husband that Jesus calls all husbands to be. We pray together daily as a family and share our joys and sufferings.

On October 25, 1994, when you walked into the Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto, a beautiful perfume emanating from you filled the room. You smiled at us all with such love I felt the presence of Jesus and Mary in the room. The vision you shared with us that you had during the Eucharistic miracle on September 24, 1994, about the large ships which were sailing in the ocean showed me I was stepping out of the safe boat with the Eucharist—Jesus, Mary and the Holy Father into the other boat where my desires for worldly happiness would be satisfied.

Later that evening I cried and I heard many others crying while you prayed out loud on our behalf for the healing and loving hands of Jesus and Mary to touch our hearts. I felt a great hope and renewed courage to follow only Jesus and Mary as you left the room.

To my great amazement, you gave me the awesome gift of inviting me to meet you after you spoke. Before going to Toronto, I told my spiritual director my great fear of being in your presence because I had heard you had been given the grace to read souls. Because of my sinfulness, I was sure you would ask me to leave the auditorium before speaking to us that evening. Father promised me not only would you not throw me out but I would get to meet you personally and that you would hug and kiss me! You did just that. You stood up as I came downstairs and walked towards me, took both my hands, smiled at me and hugged and kissed me! I truly felt Jesus and Mary telling me through you that they still loved me even though I was a terrible sinner and that they were helping me to stand up and begin again with their love and strength to support me.

Whenever I have sinned again since then, I have received the grace to make a sincere Confession and begin anew. I sincerely believe it is because of your suffering and prayers for the conversion of poor sinners that I have received these graces. I feel Our Blessed Mother’s powerful intercession and her merciful love for her children. I feel her leading me ever nearer to the Eucharistic Heart of her Son.

I have always believed in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but after seeing the video on Naju and reading about the seven miracles that you have had, my love and devotion for Jesus in the Eucharist has increased hundredfold.

Thank you, Julia, for being Our Blessed Mother’s most humble and obedient servant. In doing so, you are showing me and others the narrow way Jesus and Mary want us to follow so as to bring peace to our hearts and homes and to enter Heaven someday.

‘Mother, are you weeping because of this sinner?’

Viviana Lee, Gyeongnam Province, Korea (January 1995)

Praise Jesus!

I had been a Catholic for many years, but had not paid much attention to the Blessed Mother’s love. I was just too busy struggling with my own illness and for my own survival. I went to Mass on Sundays and offered the morning and evening prayers daily, but that was about all I did as a Catholic.

I had surgery eight times for my vertebra caries (decay of the spinal column). I suffered so much pain and got goose bumps when I even thought of surgery. Because of this illness, I was not able to do anything: I could not sleep on a mattress, but only on the bare floor; I could not ride a car; I could not wash my own socks; I could not walk up stairs; I could not do anything. It was my husband who did everything for me.

I needed another surgery, but it would cost us ten million won (about US$10,000). My younger sister, who was a nun working in the Naju Parish at that time, told me about the Blessed Mother’s statue weeping in Naju. I went to see her statue, but it was so crowded that I came back without seeing her. The statue was in the beauty salon owned by Julia. Actually, I did not believe that a statue could weep.

Later I went to Naju again and saw the Blessed Mother’s weeping through her statue. I wept, too, and I wept a lot. I said, “Mother, why are you weeping? Are you weeping because of this sinner?” By that time, my health had deteriorated even further. I also had cholelithiasis (the presence of gallstones), bloody urine, and jaundice. I said to the Blessed Mother, “Mother, please do not cry. If I am to die, I can accept it.” Moved by the Blessed Mother’s weeping, I repented my sins and wept so much—for the first time in my life. “Mother, you are asking us to pray, because you feel so much sorrow in your Heart.” I began praying the Rosary fervently.

I did not ask for the healing of my illness, but, while I was offering prayers of repentance, I realized that my pains were gone and I was completely healed.

Since that day, I have never been sick; I have never taken any medicine; and I have never gotten any injections. I came home and told those in my home and parish, but they had a hard time believing my words. Later, they also visited Naju and believed when they saw the Blessed Mother’s weeping.

My love for the Blessed Mother has been growing, and I have been visiting Naju again and again in response to her calls. Other people who have visited Naju with me for the past ten years have also experienced many spiritual and physical miracles. I will introduce just one of them.

There was a young woman named Mi-Sook Yoo. She was so sick that she visited many hospitals and tried many medications. She even needed help in the bathroom. None of the treatments or medicine worked. She even visited a fortune-teller who told her that her illness had been caused by devils and she needed an exorcism. When I invited her to go to Naju instead, she refused, saying, “I even have trouble sitting up. How can I ride a car?” I insisted, “Let’s leave everything to the Blessed Mother and go.” She came along. I let her remain sitting up in the Chapel throughout the overnight prayer service.

Mi-Sook spent the night in the Chapel crying so much. She received abundant graces from the Blessed Mother.

When she came home, her husband was in good mood. “The Blessed Mother gave us lots of fragrance at home last night. I feel so good. How were you?” He asked his wife to join the Catholic Church. Mi-Sook was completed liberated from illness. They were baptized and began a fervent devotional life in the Church. Mi-Sook received the baptismal name of “Mary” and her husband “Joseph.” I became their godmother.

Besides Mi-Sook, many others who had been staying away from the Church came back to the bosom of the Lord. Many who had not experienced the Blessed Mother’s love before began living a life of fervent prayer and love after their visit to Naju.

I believe that we should double our prayers after we receive special graces. I had been facing death, but was cured. Now, I pray eighty to a hundred decades of rosary per day and attend Mass every day. Some say, “You have been cured already. Why are you still going to Naju?” Maybe they need to be scolded by the Lord. Too many people forget about giving thanks after receiving graces.

My brothers and sisters! Let’s not think about worldly things but about heavenly matters. Let us all hold the Blessed Mother’s hands, get on board Mary’s Ark of Salvation and sail to the Harbor of Heaven. Thank you.

‘These were changes that had been unthinkable before’

Catarina Cho, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (January 22, 1995)

My husband, Pius Jung-Ryul Ha, and myself, Catarina Jung-Ki Cho, came to the United States twenty-nine years ago and now live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both of us are medical doctors. Our children are now grown up and are doing fine. Ours has been a successful family that many people envy. Inside us, however, we were unhappy and suffered from spiritual dryness. My dream was to go to church together with my husband.

I had been a Methodist since my childhood and made efforts to lead a good faith life. My husband has been a Catholic since his college years. He received both Baptism and Confirmation, but afterwards became an atheist. He did not go to Mass at all after he came to this country and even criticized the children and me for going to the Methodist church. The clergyman and others in my Methodist church prayed for him, but to no avail. His heart was always filled with anger and hatred. Our life was a hell day after day.

In 1991, I met Maria Moon-Ja Kim, who began working in our hospital, and became close to her. Her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Kap-In Kim living in Seattle, Washington, were also devout Catholics. One day in January 1992, Maria brought to our home a video about Naju, which her parents had sent her. The video had scenes of the Blessed Mother shedding tears of blood and the messages calling us to repent and return to God. While watching the video, nobody noticed what was going on in my husband’s mind. We only noticed that he was unusually quiet while watching the video. A few days later, he set out to go to church. I asked him, “What happened?” He replied, “I wept a lot inside while watching the Blessed Mother shedding tears of blood. I cannot insist any longer that God does not exist or persecute Jesus any longer.” He made a Confession to a priest and began going to Mass every Sunday. He also began praying the rosary. It was a miracle. I suddenly remembered what I uttered a long time before: “He will never to go church, unless there is a miracle.” He also became a more peaceful and gentle person. In May of the same year, I was also baptized into the Catholic Church. These were changes that had been unthinkable before.

Next year, in May, we went to Naju, saw the Blessed Mother’s statue, and met Julia. We smelled an intense fragrance of roses, saw the fragrant oil flowing down from the Blessed Mother’s forehead, and felt a live pulse in the Blessed Mother’s hand. We also experienced spiritual healing during the overnight prayer meeting.

On August 20 of the same year, we received the Sacrament of Matrimony in a Catholic church. We have changed so much since our trip to Naju and are continuing our faith life.

We believe that all these have been possible thanks to God’s graces through the Blessed Mother of Naju. We thank the Blessed Mother and Julia for suffering pains in reparation for our sins. We also thank Maria Kim and her parents in Seattle for helping us grow in the Faith.

‘In Naju, Korea, the Blessed Mother has been giving us very special signs and messages’

Rev. Tae-Hyung Kang, Kwangmin Presbyterian Church, Kwangju, Korea (1995)

I am a Protestant clergyman at Kwangmin Presbyterian Church in Kwangju. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Lord for allowing me an opportunity today to write a testimony on the numerous graces that I have received from the Blessed Mother and also on my beliefs.

Earlier I had worked in the Gyeonggi Province, but the Lord led me to the city of Kwangju in 1993. One of the most important events that have happened to me since I moved to Kwangju has been that I have been frequently visiting the Blessed Mother’s House in Naju. In the course of these visits, I have clearly experienced the love and graces from the living Lord and have acquired an understanding that Jesus, in whom I had believed since a long time ago, sent the Blessed Mother to all of us, sinners. In other words, I have discovered the important lesson that the Marian devotion, as taught by the Catholic Church, is pleasing to Jesus. For this reason, I, a Protestant minister, am ready to face any disadvantages that may fall upon me because of the call by my loving Jesus and my devotion to the Blessed Mother. The fact that I, who am unworthy, have acquired the Marian devotion, has not been associated with anyone in this world. I only hope that the Lord will protect me to the end. Sometimes, I have also refrained from visiting the Blessed Mother’s House to avoid inconvenience to the workers of Our Lady by frequent visits by a Protestant clergyman, even though I have not made these visits out of mere curiosity.

The Bible says that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:9). Therefore, my Marian devotion is also a gift of the Holy Spirit, which may have some bearing for my vocation, which I don’t know yet. On September 24, 1994, the Blessed Mother gave us a message of love especially for the Protestants:

The small, separated churches have not accepted me yet, but will gradually accept me as the Mother of the Church… Spread my words of love not just to Catholics but to all my children.

How wonderful it would be if the churches which have been divided since the 16th Century discontinue all the enmity and fighting and become one based on brotherly love through the grace from the Blessed Mother! St. John of the Cross said, “Most merciful God! Please give the Spirit of Thy Son to all the souls. Without Thee, we cannot do anything.”

The Bible further says that not even a bird will fall from the sky, unless God allows it (Matthew 10:29). It can also be said that the Reformation would not have occurred without God’s permission. The important lesson from this is that this unfortunate event in Church history was caused by human sins and represented a chastisement from God.

Anyhow, the Blessed Mother’s messages give a new mission and hope to both Catholics and Protestants. All of us should walk toward the Blessed Mother, hold her warm hands, listen to her loving voice, be embraced in her bosom and become one as brothers and sisters and, thereby, accomplish the important historical event of becoming one in the Love of Jesus.

The Blessed Mother has appeared and given messages at many places around the world during the past several centuries. Particularly, in Naju, Korea, she has been giving us very special signs and messages. In Naju, she has been revealing to us numerous signs, such as tears and tears of blood, fragrant oil, fragrance, and Eucharistic miracles, and messages for the past ten years since 1985. I understand that there is no other place in the world with such powerful and objective manifestations for such a long time at one same location. Until now, numerous people have personally seen, heard, touched, smelled, and received the miraculous Communion; have drunk the water from the mountain; and have experienced graces! Many people have also experienced cures of incurable illnesses. In addition, countless people who had lost faith and left the Church have repented and returned to the Lord!

In the Bible, we find two persons who are contrasting examples. One is Judas Iscariot, who had accompanied Jesus for three years and yet betrayed Him and fell into eternal perdition. The other is the thief on the right of Jesus on the Cross, who believed the Lord and was saved at the moment of his death. What made the difference was “faith.” No matter how long one may have been a believer, how lofty a position one may be in, and how much recognition one may get from others, he will be deserted if he does not have the kind of faith that Jesus can accept (Matthew 7:21-27). The leaders of Israel at the time of Jesus believed in God, but refused to believe in Jesus. Even the great St. Paul had not only been an unbeliever in Jesus, but judged Him as the head of the heretics and persecuted His disciples before his conversion. We need to remember the following words of God which apply to our world as well as to the past: “But I know that you do not have the love of God in you” (John 5:42).

This means that those who believed in God but lacked the love for God failed to recognize Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah. “The Kingdom of God is not in speech but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). According to John 7:31 and 9:30, a person who had been blind from birth and was cured was wondering why the Jewish leaders and Pharisees were not believing Jesus. The same kind of things are happening in today’s world. Again, it is a matter of “faith.” At the time of Jesus’ public life, humans were tested on their belief in God’s work through their acceptance of Jesus. Now in this end time, we are being tested in our belief in the work of Jesus through our acceptance of the Blessed Mother. What is important is the ability to discern. This ability is a power from the Lord which He gives to those who truly love Him.

As stated in John 10, we should become God’s people who recognize His Voice through Jesus. By the same token, we should become the Lord’s sheep who recognize His Voice through the Blessed Mother.

As stated in John 17:20, God and Jesus are One and the Blessed Mother is with Jesus. The early Fathers of the Church had this faith and the Saints possessed it. We should become people who inherit this tradition of faith. True faith means that one should have a sincere desire for childlike innocence and truth and courage to deny oneself, and willingly carry the cross for the Lord.

If anyone refuses to believe, continues to doubt, and throws vicious accusations despite so many signs and anxious calls by the Blessed Mother in Naju, he would not only be persecuting the workers of the Blessed Mother, but foolishly poking at the eyes of Jesus. The Blessed Mother is the Mother to all people. She is the loving Mother to Catholics, Protestants and unbelievers. I sincerely hope that her messages be spread to many people. As the Blessed Mother says, the corruption of humans worsens day after day, and the world is standing at the edge of a cliff, inviting its own destruction. Even the Church has been affected by the secular spirit and is sick. All of us must hurriedly arm ourselves with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, wake up from sleep, and change our lives based on the Blessed Mother’s messages, which, in turn, are based on the Gospels. I pray in the Name of Jesus that we become one in the Lord and the Blessed Mother. Amen.

‘Indeed, nothing is impossible in the Name of Jesus and through the powerful intercession by our Mother Mary!’

Rev. Jerry Orbos, Manila, the Philippines (May 1995)

I have visited Naju many times together with other pilgrims. Among the numerous miracles and healings that I have witnessed, the most important one is that I always become more aware of the Blessed Mother’s love through Julia. I feel that the Blessed Mother is willingly and unsparingly giving her unconditional love to us through Julia. Despite the enormous pains and fatigue that she experiences, as she has been chosen as a victim soul for the reparation for the sins in the world, Julia generously gives her time and attention to so many people. As I am also busily involved in pastoral work and in the work of spreading the Faith, I understand how hard and tiring it is to look after other people and their souls. I am amazed whenever I see Julia, who is so simple, gentle, and filled with love no matter how severe her pains and fatigue may be. Not only I but also numerous other pilgrims also see and feel the unconditional and overflowing love of the Blessed Mother that comes through Julia. Truly, coming to Naju is coming home where the Blessed Mother is present through Julia.

On May 16, 1991, I celebrated Mass and gave Communion to Julia in the Naju parish church. During that Mass, more than thirty pilgrims from the Philippines and I witnessed a Eucharistic miracle. We saw that the appearance of the Eucharist was changing into those of flesh and blood in Julia’s mouth. Because of this experience, a major change has occurred in my life. My love for the Eucharist has especially increased, and I am giving thanks to the Blessed Mother who has drawn me closer to her Son.

Some time afterwards, the Lord tested me. I was celebrating a Mass at Ripa in the Phlippines. When I finished consecrating bread and wine, I saw three flies floating in the Precious Blood (in the form of wine) in the chalice. I was surprised and did not know what to do. I thought that if I remove the three flies, Our Lord’s Precious Blood would be removed also, as the flies were wet with the Precious Blood. Our Lord was asking me, “Do you love me? Do you believe that this is My Blood?” When the time for Communion came, I said, “Lord, I love You and believe that this is Your Blood,” and drank the Precious Blood in the chalice together with three flies in it. At that moment, I smelled an intense fragrance of roses. In the past, I had thought that the fragrance only came through Julia, but realized that the Lord is with us whenever we respond to Him saying, “Amen,” like a child. I was able to do this because I had love for the Lord and believed that the Lord was truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. As I recall this experience, I again give thanks to the Lord for allowing me to experience Him in such a special way.

In June 1993, I again came to Naju together with a group of pilgrims from the Philippines. I asked Julia to pray for my younger brother, Tim, and her wife, Ditas, as they had been praying for a baby for five years. About one month after Julia began praying for them, Ditas became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy, good-looking boy. I praise God and give thanks to the Blessed Mother who gave us graces through Julia.

Tim and Ditas later told me that, when Julia was praying for them with her hands on them, they felt a warmth and peace in their whole bodies. Indeed, nothing is impossible in the Name of Jesus and through the powerful intercession by Our Mother Mary!

‘You have been chosen as witnesses for the Lord. Spread what you saw to people around you’

Seraphina Myung-Ok Chun, Bethesda, Maryland (June 1995)

I belong to St. Andrew Kim Parish in Washington, D.C. For sixteen days from the sixth of last month (May 1995) I visited, together with several other parishioners, Toledo, Spain (a shrine of St. Teresa of Avila); Lourdes, France; and Banneux, Belgium. I am writing this testimony, because I feel impelled to do so after the pilgrimage. Also, I remember what Fr. Jerry Orbos said when a Eucharistic miracle occurred through Julia Kim during a Mass in St. Francis Church at Lanciano, Italy, three years ago: “You have been chosen as witnesses for the Lord. Spread what you saw to people around you.” As I begin writing, I pray to the Blessed Mother to be with me.

Five years ago, in 1990, there was an international Marian conference at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I decided to attend the three-day conference, because I thought that my devotion to the Blessed Mother was weak. The conference was attended by about seven thousand people including several hundred priests. Among the guest speakers was Julia Kim from Korea.

For the past twenty years of my life as an immigrant to the United States, I had felt constrained because my English was not fluent and had never felt proud to be a Korean. Before Julia began speaking, the rosary prayer was offered; the first part was said in Korean and the second part in English. I prayed the Korean part as loudly as I could, feeling proud to be a Korean. The languages were different, but our hearts were united in prayer to the Lord and the Blessed Mother. This beautiful scene was made possible by Julia’s visit! Besides, the Koreans attending this conference received so many kisses. A large photograph of the Blessed Mother weeping tears of blood in Naju was on display above the platform. Every word that Julia said penetrated and moved the hearts of many people and provided them with a turning point in their individualistic, self-centered lives. Many were shedding tears of repentance. I also repented the superficiality of my faith life. There were several very long lines of people waiting to make Confessions during the conference.

During Julia’s talk, seven thousand people including several bishops and many priests and religious gave a standing ovation more than ten times. There also was a miracle of the sun witnessed by many during the conference. Julia’s visit was reported in several newspapers including the New York Times and TV stations. The presidential staffs at the White House invited her for a talk. In one of the rooms at the White House, Julia encouraged them to work harder to stop abortions. Those who invited Julia made a reservation at a hotel, but, because Julia and her companions preferred to stay at a Korean home, I volunteered to invite them to my home. At that time, I had no idea about what it involved to have Julia as a guest in my home. After Julia and her companions arrived in my home, many people found out about it and began swarming to my home. For the next fifteen days while Julia was in my home, many were healed of their illnesses, and their sorrows and anxieties turned into joy by Julia’s prayer. I was awestruck.

One day, Julia went to give a talk at a church in Baltimore. This church was located in the middle of a poor, predominantly black district. There was no unity among the Koreans, because the new Korean priest wanted to start a Korean parish there, but many were against it because of the problems in the neighborhood. Julia visited this church and spoke for three hours. One of the priests in the audience said that it was a miracle for him to remain sitting for so long because he had suffered from much pain in his side. Later I heard that he did not have any more pain after that. There also were many others healed during Julia’s visit. That church became quite famous.

Also, a friend of my husband had a son who had temporarily withdrawn from high school because of an illness in his head. Nobody knew the exact nature of the problem, but it was found that some bacteria were eating away the upper portion of his skull, causing an intense headache and keeping him awake at night. He had surgery several times to remove the bacteria but to no avail. Because the part of the skull on which surgeries were performed was becoming thinner, additional surgeries were not possible. Even at the reputable Walter Reed Hospital, doctors did not have any answer. I asked the boy’s father to bring him to my home for Julia’s prayer, but he hesitated. When I asked him again later, he agreed on the condition that a confidential, private meeting with Julia could be arranged.

Julia met the boy in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima in my home. She asked the boy, “Will you become a Catholic, if you are healed?” The boy said that he would if he could enter a college. After the boy made the promise, Julia prayed the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be asking the boy to repeat after her. Then, as Julia stretched out her hand to touch the boy’s head, he suddenly stepped backward, saying, “Why did you press it?” Julia asked his father who was watching, “Did I press his head?” The father said that she did not even touch it yet. Nervously, the boy remained calm while Julia prayed for him, and then went home. On the way home, he told his father that, after so many visits to famous hospitals, Julia was the first person who touched exactly where his pain was.

That night, the boy’s father called us with much excitement in his voice, “He is sleeping!” Later, he called again, “He is still sleeping!” The boy slept for fifteen hours, and, when he woke up, he said, “Can I visit her again?” Because Julia only had three more days before leaving for Korea and there were so many people seeking her prayers, another private meeting was not possible. However, the boy was prayed over two more times in public gatherings. He was completely healed and is now a college junior.

Because there were still many Koreans wanting to see and hear Julia, a retreat was quickly arranged at a Korean Catholic church in Washington, D.C. Many Americans learned about this and called the Archdiocesan office about the location of the Korean church. So, many Americans also came to the retreat. Julia spoke for five hours without an interpreter, but everyone listened intently. Some Americans in the audience later said that, even though they could not understand a word, they were happy because they felt the Blessed Mother’s presence.

A Korean woman, whom I had known, also came with her mother-in-law. She was the one among several daughters-in-law whom their mother-in-law hated most. This woman first hesitated to tell her mother-in-law about Julia’s visit even though her mother-in-law had an aching side. But, with courage, she told her mother-in-law about it, and they came together. After Julia’s prayer for her, the mother-in-law was healed. Afterwards, she said, “From now on, I only listen to her,” referring to her daughter-in-law whom she had hated most but now loved most. They became a holy, harmonious family.

I remember another healing. After Julia arrived for that retreat about twenty minutes before it began, she went to bathroom four times, once every five minutes. Julia told me that someone in the audience would be healed of kidney disease. After the retreat, I could not find anyone whose kidney disease was healed. So, I forgot about it. Then, about one year later, after Mass at the Korean church, a woman by the name of Mrs. Yoon said to me, “Mrs. Chun, I have a confession to make. I was healed of a kidney problem during Julia’s visit. I had suffered from it for a long time. My urine had been mixed with blood. I was completely healed and offered a Mass in thanksgiving.” I said, “Why are you telling me now?” She said, “I was not sure at first.” I complained, “Still, you should have told me sooner.” Mrs. Kim, who was listening, said, “I was also healed. I had suffered from this disease for more than twenty years. I even went to Seoul for treatment, but no improvement followed. While Julia was praying for the whole audience that day, I felt my whole body becoming very warm, and some rash appeared on my body. A few days later, the rash disappeared and I was healed. Until now, I have not had any problem. I think that at least four persons were completely healed that day. I thank God for them also.”

On the day Julia and her companions were leaving for Korea, many people came to the airport. People who hosted the conference told me that more than 50 young men decided to enter the seminary after hearing Julia’s talk and that they still receive about 50 phone calls every day about spiritual and physical healings. The presidential staffs at the White House told them that, as soon as the message book in English became available, they would keep several copies in the White House library. Soon after Julia left for Korea, President George Bush issued a statement discouraging abortions.

Two years later, in 1992, I joined Julia’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Europe. Because it was a sudden decision for me, the airfare was several times higher than normal. But my husband gladly encouraged me to go. In Jerusalem, we were doing the Stations of the Cross at the Via Dolorosa, where the Lord carried the Cross two thousand years ago. Julia was suffering severely that day, but said that she would carry the cross from the Third Station. It was too heavy for any one person to carry. Because of the weight of the cross and the warm weather, Julia was sweating a lot. At the Sixth Station (where St. Veronica wiped the Lord’s holy face), a woman from the Philippines spontaneously wiped Julia’s face with a white handkerchief. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the handkerchief was wet with red blood instead of sweat! Also, the surrounding area became filled with an intense fragrance of roses. Even the passers-by and merchants were experiencing the Lord’s living presence. “The Lord saved the whole world with His Cross.” There were many Arab merchants on both sides of the Via Dolorosa. We were surprised when we heard some of them speaking Korean fluently, “Ma’am! Ma’am! I will give you a good price. Hurry up and come. I will cut the price of this bag by half.” Even at this moment when I write this testimony, how many people would be selling Jesus’ name and crucify Him on the Cross again? While being crucified on the Cross, Jesus prays for them, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” Praise and glory to Jesus forever and ever!

We were on the airplane again and landed in Paris. Even though it was a long flight, we began sightseeing in Paris right away instead of checking into a hotel first in order to save money. We were so tired. When we got off the bus, I tumbled to the ground and sprained my ankle. The ankle was swelling a lot, and I could not walk. With much difficulty, I managed to arrive at my hotel room, supported by others. I had to discontinue the trip. That evening, Julia came to my room and said, “Let’s pray together.” We prayed the rosary, and then she prayed more, holding a photograph of the Blessed Mother shedding tears of blood. In the middle of the prayer, I suddenly smelled an intense fragrance of roses and, at that moment, the pain was gone and the swelling on my ankle subsided like a deflating balloon. I was able to continue the pilgrimage.

Then, we went to Lanciano, a small city about three hours’ drive northeast of Rome, where the first recorded Eucharistic miracle occurred twelve hundred years ago. In 1970, there was a thorough investigation by scientists from different countries. They found that the Eucharist that had miraculously turned into visible flesh and blood during a Mass in the Eighth Century still kept all the normal properties of human heart muscle. After the investigation, all the non-Catholic members of the investigation team converted to Catholicism. In the same church where this miracle occurred, we offered a Mass celebrated by Fr. Jerry Orbos. During Communion, the Sacred Host Julia received changed into visible flesh and blood on her tongue. After I took a photograph, I saw more blood. After taking another photograph, I saw the flesh becoming thicker. I took two more photographs. I saw the Lord’s flesh and blood! Why did He reveal to us through Julia the Mystery of the Eucharist? Why does He have to suffer cruel physical pains? I made a resolution to show and tell others that the bread and wine consecrated in every Mass are truly the Lord’s flesh and blood. Fr. Orbos’ words that we, who saw this miracle, were witnesses for others always remain in my heart. I regretted that I had hesitated to make the trip because of the high airfare, and was grateful to my husband. I thought how much better it would have been if he had come also.

In Lourdes I saw that the Blessed Mother’s visit and message to St. Bernadette had already been approved by the Church, and, as a result, huge crowds of pilgrims were coming from all over the world, receiving so many graces of conversion and healing. In Banneux, Belgium also, I saw that the Blessed Mother’s apparitions had been approved by the bishop, and a beautiful church had been built, where pilgrims could visit and offer Masses. I felt pain in my heart when I thought that the Blessed Mother loved Korea so specially, as it is a land soaked with the blood of so many martyrs, and gave many messages and signs for the past ten years, but we have done very little so far and so many people are not accepting them yet. Of course, the investigation will take time. But if one rejects it, jumping carelessly to the groundless conclusion that it has all been a human fabrication, while it actually is coming from God, it would be a grave mistake. It gave me a chill in my spine to think about that. In fact, I have always been a “realistic” person, not easily moved by reports of miracles. But how can I explain away what I saw and experienced on this trip? I still pray that the Lord will lead me to become a person of faith acceptable to Him, instead of having to rely on miracles to have faith. I am trying to practice this faith by continuing to testify to others about what I saw and experienced.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

‘Looking back, I realize what a preposterous pride and arrogance it was’

Maria Soon-Ja Park, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk Province, Korea (June 8, 1995)

Praise Jesus and Maria! I write this testimony to give thanks to the Blessed Mother for not abandoning this sinful soul but saving me and bringing me graces and joy. I hope that this testimony will be of some help to other souls and, thus, become a reparation for my sins of not having trusted the Blessed Mother of Naju. Because it is impossible to write all the wonderful experiences that I have had, I will select just a few that seem more important.

I first visited the Blessed Mother’s House in Naju on September 3, 1994. For several years before that, I had been hearing that the Blessed Mother’s statue in Naju was shedding tears of blood, but I did not believe it. I thought that it might have been tricks by the devil and, therefore, there was no need to visit that place. I thought that it was quite sufficient to lead a good life, faithfully carrying out the duties as a Christian and diligently attending Mass every day. Looking back, I realize what a preposterous pride and arrogance it was.

The reason for my first visit to Naju was that a woman in the prayer group to which I belonged had been healed of her breast cancer after she began pilgrimages to Naju and invited me to come along several times. At first, I refused. Unable to say, “No,” repeatedly, I reluctantly promised to go along. Still with some reluctance, I took an express bus with her from Daegu to Kwangju. When I stepped into the Blessed Mother’s House, I smelled the fragrance of roses. I thought that the fragrance probably was coming from the flowers on the altar, but soon realized that it was coming from the Blessed Mother’s statue. The overnight prayer meeting began at 9 p.m. The Chapel was completely packed. I wondered why so many people took so much pain to be there. I even felt sorry for them. While the prayer meeting was in progress, I suddenly heard loud sounds of a rainstorm and a hailstorm. I was wondering, because the sky was clear before I entered the Chapel. During the first break from 11:40 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., I went outside and saw the sky filled with stars and no clouds. I asked other women if they heard the sounds, but they said that they did not hear anything like that.

After the break, Julia came out and spoke. She said that the Holy Spirit came down that evening like a hailstorm and like a waterfall and that some of the people in the Chapel might have heard the sounds. Ah! Ah! I thought that the merciful and loving Mother allowed me to hear the sounds of the Holy Spirit coming down. I began shedding tears. I wept continuously. I did not know that I had so many tears in me. I had never wept so much in my sixty-year life. I think that they were tears of repentance, which was a grace from God. Before leaving Naju, I bought several videos: The Blessed Mother Weeps in Naju, Fr. Ki-Sun Oh Interviews Julia, and Marian Apparitions of the 20th Century; and seven audio cassettes containing Julia’s reading of the Blessed Mother’s messages.

While watching these videos at home, I cried so much, loudly. I understood that the Blessed Mother and Julia were suffering pains because of the sins of the human race and because of my sins. I realized that I had hurt the Blessed Mother’s Heart, as Saul had persecuted the Church by consenting to kill Stephen and arresting more Christians and bringing them to Jerusalem. I made up my mind to do penance like Saul, renamed Paul, who became an apostle for spreading the Word of God. I decided to spread the Blessed Mother’s messages energetically.

The following Saturday, the woman, who led me to Naju, and I brought 119 pilgrims in three buses. We continued to bring more pilgrims in subsequent First Saturdays. Afterwards, the Pastor stopped us, and we could not be disobedient. Instead, we began lending the message books, videos, and audio cassettes to other parishioners and also inviting them to my home to watch the videos, without letting the Pastor know about it.

On November 12, 1994, I was visiting my eldest daughter in Ansan (in the Gyeonggi Province). While we were watching a video of the Blessed Mother of Naju shedding tears of blood, Andrew, my seven month-old grandson, who had been suffering from a congenital fever and rashes all over his body, was unable to sleep and crying continuously because of the itchiness. I carried the baby in my arms and fervently prayed to the Blessed Mother, “Blessed Mother, please show us your sign. Please heal this baby.” Immediately, the baby turned his head to the television screen and stared at the scenes of the Blessed Mother’s weeping. Then, he fell asleep. At the same time, the whole family smelled a powerful fragrance of roses and became totally amazed. The baby’s fever decreased, and he did not have any fever next morning. Rashes disappeared also.

On April 11, 1995, I went to my daughter’s again, because the following day was Andrew’s first birthday. My daughter asked me, “Mother, your prayer is answered well. Please pray for Agnes (my granddaughter, a third grader).” I said, “It is not my prayer that heals. If you have faith, the Blessed Mother will heal.” Agnes had sinusitis and was blowing her nose repeatedly. While watching the video from Naju, I put my hand on the child’s back and prayed, “Please show us a sign of your presence with us.” Immediately, there was a bad odor from the child, as if something was burning. Agnes was feeling much pain in her nose and throat and could not talk because her nose and throat became stuffy. After the video ended, her condition improved fast. She was healed completely. She has not been blowing her nose since then.

Next day, which was Andrew’s first birthday, we had guests from a Protestant church—the clergyman and two women. There also were some of our relatives and parishioners. While we were all watching the Naju video together, I prayed, “Please show us a sign so that these guests, who are Christians but do not respect or love you, may recognize you as the Mother of God.” At that moment, we smelled a very powerful fragrance of roses. Everyone was amazed. I explained to them about the Blessed Mother of Naju with much fervor and enthusiasm. I believe that the Holy Spirit was speaking to them through my mouth. The clergyman and two women from the Protestant church promised that they would certainly visit Naju on June 30, the tenth anniversary of the Blessed Mother’s first weeping in Naju.

The Naju video cassette has been circulating among many families in the parish and has been an occasion for many miracles. Those who had abortions repent by smelling the odor of blood while watching the video. Many Catholics who had been away from the Church are repenting and are making Confessions. The families in disharmony are restoring peace and turning into holy families. The messages in Naju are being proved true through these fruits. I will be so grateful to the bishops and pastors, if they stop being stubborn as I used to be and make just one visit to Naju before making their judgment.

When I hear that some of the priests and nuns are spreading groundless, false accusations like, “Julia sprays perfume on her clothes and handkerchiefs,” I feel so much pain in my heart. I feel more pain when I think that these priests and nuns are committing sins by refusing to accept the Blessed Mother’s messages and signs and by spreading false rumors.

I go to Naju whenever I can. I have seen numerous people experiencing healings from their sins, evil deeds, and illnesses through the intense sufferings by Julia. I do not go there for curiosity about miracles. I go there so that my spiritual eyes may become more open, my life may become further reformed, and I may become more fervent and grow spiritually. During the short remainder of my life, I wish to unite with Christ and the Blessed Mother more closely and follow Their Way. Thanking the Blessed Mother of Naju and Julia, I will continue to try to live according to the messages.

‘Now, I am not the same me of the past!’

Luke In-Hwan Park, Naju, Jeonnam Province, Korea (June 11, 1995)

Praise Jesus!

For years I had known about the Blessed Mother’s statue shedding tears and tears of blood right here in the same town where I lived. Many times, I passed by the Blessed Mother’s Chapel without entering it because I lacked the courage and felt hesitant.

Then, on December 8, 1993, Anna, my wife, and I were on the way to the parish church to attend Mass. While we were walking, I suddenly felt an urge to visit the Blessed Mother’s Chapel. So, after Mass, we went to the Chapel without having been invited by anyone. Because it was the Feast of the Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Conception, there were many people at the Chapel to attend a special prayer meeting. Some of them were lighting candles before a large statue of the Blessed Mother in the front yard of the Chapel.

As we entered the Chapel together with other people, a strong, sweet fragrance greeted us and enwrapped us. When we went to the front, we saw fragrant oil flowing down from the Blessed Mother’s forehead to the left side of her mantle down to her feet. I was strongly moved, but also felt my sinfulness. (I smell the same fragrance again now, as I write this testimony at home.)

At that time, there was much tension in my family regarding the question of inheritance. We were blaming and criticizing one another, without paying attention to how other people might think of us. In the past, when we saw others fighting over inheritance, we wondered how such a thing was possible and thought that we would never be like that. It was a great embarrassment and frustration for us to have the same situation in our own family. Because I became a Catholic on June 13 of the same year, I was able to control myself quite well. However, much resentment still remained in my heart.

Then, after seeing the photographs of the Blessed Mother shedding tears and tears of blood and after reading her messages, I realized how stupid it was to keep hatred in my heart. Jesus died on the Cross for our sake, but many people continue living without repenting their sins. That is why the Blessed Mother is weeping tears and tears of blood and is giving us fragrant oil by squeezing herself, anxiously desiring us to repent and listen to her messages. How fortunate I am, since I realize even now how loving and merciful the Blessed Mother is!

Because I am trying to know more about the Blessed Mother and to practice her messages, I am not the same me of the past. Some people say that, in the past, they tried to avoid me, because I looked proud and angry, but, now, everybody likes me because I am friendly, meek, and always smiling. “Is that true? I have been trying, but have I changed that much?” Maybe, it is true, because now I can smile even when I am angry, thinking about the Blessed Mother’s weeping tears of blood.

In the past, every problem was others’ fault, not mine. I was also angry at my wife almost all the time and, sometimes, even struck her. Now, whatever others may do, I take a step back thinking about the Lord and the Blessed Mother and remembering Their messages. Then, whatever bad things others may do, they look so lovely.

All these are possible by God’s Love and the Blessed Mother’s help. Thus, if I have difficulties and pains again today, I will try not just to put up with them but to offer them up, holding tightly the mantle of the Blessed Mother, who is the string that ties Heaven and earth together.

‘This is your Mother’

Justus Il-Kyu Park, Tokyo, Japan (June 15, 1995)

“Mother!” Since a long time ago, I have found myself silently calling out to a mother from the deepest part of my heart. When I was burdened with difficult problems, feeling helpless and suffocating, and also when little troubles and worries kept me awake at night, I was calling out like this, unloading all my problems and concerns before the mother.

It was only quite some time later that I began realizing that this mother I had been calling even from my subconsciousness was not the mother who gave birth to me physically but the Mother whom the Lord gave to the Apostle John and all of us prior to the critical moment of His death on the Cross, saying, “This is your mother.”

Our true and irreplaceable Mother! Because all His children in the world needed help and care, as they cross the ocean of sins and death, at the most difficult time of His death agony, the Lord gave to John, representing all of us, a mother, and, to His Mother, gave all the children in the world as her sons and daughters so that she might become a real mother for all of us with a new Motherhood.

The Mother who brought the Only Son of God into this world with her Immaculate Heart! It is truly a cause of our great amazement, gratitude, joy, and hope that she conceived the Lord, gave birth to Him, brought Him up, experienced poverty with Him, supported and accompanied Him during His public life, participated in His Passion, and, for two thousand years since her resurrection and assumption, has been together with the Lord and with us, enlightening for us the way to the Lord’s glorious kingdom and guiding and helping us on the way. Even the Apostles were with the Lord on earth only for three years. Then, how much more reliable our Mother is!

I thank God for allowing me to realize that, even though the Mother is a creature, she is a new bud and flower in the Holy Trinity’s garden, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, and the surest shortcut to the Lord. Who can teach and guide us better than the Mother who has been with the Lord for two thousand years?

While I was on a retreat for a week in Japan, I first came across two books written by St. Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort, and consecrated myself to the Mother even without knowing well the meaning of consecration.

Next year, Bernard from Switzerland, a volunteer worker at the same retreat house, sent a short fax to Fr. Raymond Spies in Korea introducing me to him. Soon I visited Naju with Fr. Spies, and was also able to associate with many renowned priests in Japan. Among them, Fr. Louis de Rucoru sent me more than a total of about 200 books on the Blessed Mother. I feel ashamed that I learned about Naju, where apparitions no less significant than at anywhere else in the world were occurring and many messages that filled a book were received, as late as June 14, 1994, nine long years after their beginning.

I began reading the message book with some doubts at first, but soon became totally absorbed in it, spending a whole night to finish reading it. Somewhat casually, I began listening to the audio recordings of Julia’s reading the messages, but soon became totally moved, shedding tears.

Mother! Your profound love enters our hearts by the power of grace, not through analysis, research, or scientific investigation. As people lead their faith life, they often imagine what Heaven is like and develop their own ideas about it. After a long time, these ideas, which are often self-centered and do not necessarily conform to reality, settle and harden in their minds. Thus, even now, while hearing the Heavenly Mother’s words, many people cannot readily accept them, because, when they compare her words with their own hardened concepts of Heaven, they find big discrepancies. Many people refuse to listen to the Mother’s words or find out about them, feeling offended by them from the beginning. They remind us of the Pharisees two thousand years ago, who could not recognize Christ Who was standing before their eyes, because of their hardened prejudices.

Gentle Mother! Thank you for being with us even today, shedding warm tears in Naju, a small city in the southern part of this country, worrying about your children who are so immature and unfaithful. I don’t know how to describe my gratitude to you for ceaselessly telling us to overcome the world and sins with love.

Mother! Thank you for choosing Julia, a little and simple soul, so approachable by anyone, as a channel of your love, life and words that you, together with the Lord, bestow upon this world.

You chose her, who grew up in poverty and cruel mistreatment, but without losing her innocence, as an instrument for making your most sublime wishes known to others, because you loved all of us so much despite our poverty, weakness and unworthiness. This is why your words sound so much kinder and more precious to us and your signs look so much more amazing to us.

Now, I cannot help giving testimonies to a few of the marvelous, hard-to-believe things that have been occurring to me and those near me since the time I learned about the Blessed Mother of Naju.

My mother, eighty-two years old, had been suffering a deep pain in her chest since her youth because of an accident. This pain disappeared completely after Julia prayed for her. I am so grateful for this, and know that my mother prays every morning with a candlelight lit.

One of my grandsons, a seventh grader, had a severe case of atopic eczema for years. He even had to be hospitalized for one month. Soon after I asked Julia to pray for him, I was shocked to see that Julia suddenly had the same disease, with an itchy, inflamed rash all over her neck and shoulders. When I came back to Seoul, I found my grandson completely healed. However, his father, who is a doctor, still does not accept this as a miraculous cure.

Mother! It seems that human knowledge sometimes makes one become closed to the workings of the supernatural graces from you.

Mother! You are in my heart and around me. How can I possibly put down the rosary from my hands? How can I possibly neglect the early morning Masses? Help me know how to make known to others what I feel in my heart.

For the past ten years, you have been confirming your presence in Naju, a small, insignificant city in the southwestern corner of the peninsula, which has been traditionally most neglected among the regions in Korea. You shed tears and bloody tears of love for a total of 700 days for us, who are miserable like dust. You squeezed your whole body to give us the fragrant oil for 700 consecutive days. On November 24, 1994, you called the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Naju and sent down the Eucharist two times during his visit. All those who witnessed these miracles in the Chapel received Communion from the hands of the Archbishop, who was the representative of the Pope.

Mother! You called me also to that place and let me witness all that occurred that day from a close distance. The Eucharist that came down looked unusually white and bright! I wished that this Eucharist could be preserved for many years, but instead was able to participate in consuming a small piece. I do not know how to thank you enough for this.

The more love I receive and feel, the more pain I also feel for not being able to share it with more people. Especially when the love that I pass on to others is ignored, scorned at, and sometimes comes back to me as hatred, I seem to understand a little about why you have been shedding tears and tears of blood.

Mother, who is spotlessly beautiful and immaculately pure! How improper, presumptuous, and dangerous it is when we, who are so lowly, become “adults”! I wish to conclude my testimony by quoting your message on February 28, 1993:

Become children. Know clearly that Satan leads you to judge with your own ideas and behave as adults, feeling confident and sure, and, thus, makes you fall into a trap. You must gain Heaven by totally offering yourselves up with a child’s heart.

“Let’s tear down our old houses! Let’s get out of the graves! The Lord is coming!” Mother! I will scream like this ceaselessly—to myself who always hesitates before the Lord Who is the way, the truth, and the life, and to everyone else who is like me!

‘Ad Christum per Mariam’

Rev. Antonio Ha, a missionary priest from Germany and the spiritual director for the Blue Army in Korea (June 1995)

Many of the clergy, religious and lay people have asked me what I think of the report that the Blessed Mother’s statue shed tears in Naju. I often answer them that we should leave the question of discernment to the Church, we should not interfere with the Church’s investigation, and we should be obedient to the Church.

I have known Julia for many years. She has attended many of the Blue Army retreats and has worked hard to promote the Blue Army publications. I know her as an exemplary woman and mother as well as a fervent Catholic.

Later, the phenomenon of the Blessed Mother’s tears began, and Fr. Raymond Spies, who is well equipped with knowledge in that area and is deeply devoted to the Blessed Mother, became involved in the events in Naju. I think that was God’s Providence.

Some years ago, when I was at the Naju parish church to celebrate Sunday Masses, I learned that Most Rev. Harold Henry (Archbishop of Kwangju at that time) had first become Pastor of Naju soon after his arrival in Korea (from the United States). When he was appointed a bishop, he asked a friend of his in New York, also a bishop, what his episcopal motto should be. His friend in New York suggested “Ad Christum Per Mariam”. I think that was also God’s Providence. Through Archbishop Henry, Legio Mariae was introduced to Korea. Legio Mariae’s motto is also “Ad Jesum Per Mariam.” according to the teaching by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. Archbishop Henry became a great benefactor for Korea. In my opinion, Archbishop Henry must have consecrated the Naju parish to the Blessed Mother while he was the pastor there. That probably was how the Blessed Mother chose a lay person in that parish to bring special graces.

I have also known Rufino Park for many years. I was surprised to learn that Rufino had been practicing the spirituality of St. Louis Marie de Montfort since the time he had been working at a mission chapel on an island.

According to Fr. Laurentin, there are more than two hundred places in the world where the phenomena of the Blessed Mother’s apparitions or weeping through her statue are occurring. If so, it is no surprise that the same phenomenon is happening in Korea also.

The faithful must pray, offer sacrifices and work hard so that the Blessed Mother may bring many graces to the Church in Korea through her tears in Naju and that the Church may be renewed and become more fruitful. Also we need to pray hard that the Church leaders may make a correct decision according to God’s Will.

‘Darkness and sorrows in my life were replaced by hope, love, and light’

Rufino Yun-Hoon Park, Naju, Korea (June 18, 1995)

My name is Rufino Yun-Hoon Park. I am a volunteer worker at the Blessed Mother’s House in Naju. I would like to give testimony to my experiences in Naju.

In the summer of 1983, I first met Mrs. Julia Kim while I was participating in a retreat hosted by the Blue Army in the Kwangju Archdiocese. It was a very warm day. Julia was selling books, rosaries and other items displayed on a table, shedding much sweat under the hot sun. I asked her if it was not too hard for her. She answered, “I wish I could go inside and hear the sermon, but if I don’t do this, someone else will have to. So I would rather offer it for a soul who suffers in Purgatory.”

After the retreat was over, Fr. Anthonio Ha, a missionary priest from Germany and the spiritual director for the Blue Army in Korea, came to Julia and said, “We have a real worker here.” Fr. Ha invited Julia and me to a restaurant, and, after the meal, Julia and I consecrated our families to the Lord and the Blessed Mother with Fr. Ha’s blessing. Then, Julia and I visited Mrs. Veronica Kim’s family and prayed all night together.

At that time, I had the responsibility for spreading the Faith at a mission chapel on an island in the Yellow Sea. I had a deep spiritual thirst, and traveled all over the country attending many retreats. My spiritual thirst was not easily quenched. Sometimes, I prayed on a mountaintop crying out and imploring the Lord loudly. Sometimes, I prayed on a beach. But the emptiness and wounds in my heart continued.

At that time, there were many people around the mission chapel who had tuberculosis. It was unavoidable that I ate and drank together with them. Gradually, I developed coughing and chest pains. Because of financial difficulty, we grew some garlic in the yard near the chapel. My wife gave me the money she received from selling garlic and asked me to go to a large hospital on the mainland. I thought that I had to do as my wife said, but did not know where to go on the mainland. After thinking for a while, I went to Julia in Naju. She suggested that we pray together. For three days and nights we prayed together fervently, and during those three days, I was healed both spiritually and physically. Julia suffered so much in my place, coughing and even vomiting blood.

A few days later, Julia took me to a hospital for examination including an X-ray. The doctor said, smiling, “I do not see any problem. How can I help you?” From this experience, I learned that, when we are sincerely repentant, God embraces us in His loving arms and heals the wounds in our souls and bodies even without going through human doctors. Because I was not sick any longer, I did not have to spend the money that my wife gave me. So, I wanted to buy a gift for Julia and her family at the parish gift store, but Julia plainly refused to receive any gift. After much persuasion, she agreed to accept an inexpensive rosary. Then, I overheard Julia whispering to herself, “Ah, this Blessed Mother is so beautiful,” looking at a statue. When I offered to buy that statue for her, she refused to accept it. But when I said that it was the Lord’s Will, she finally agreed it. I paid 7,500 won (about US$15) for the statue.

Thus, darkness and sorrows in my life were replaced by hope, love, and light. I began to live a new life after meeting Julia. For the first time in my life, a fire of love was flaming up in me, and an immense peace and joy was overflowing in my heart. The whole world now looked so beautiful and fresh.

About a year later, I was informed that the Blessed Mother’s statue in Julia’s home shed tears (on June 30, 1985). On July 18, I went to Naju and saw tears in the Blessed Mother’s eyes and, on July 20, saw the tears flowing down.

Afterwards, I continued visiting Naju from time to time. One day, when I arrived in Naju, Julia was about to go somewhere. I asked her if I could go with her. She said I could. While we reached the entrance to the Naju market, she stopped and could not go any further. I asked, “Should I call a taxi?” Julia said, “No. We should walk one step after another thinking about the Golgotha Hill which Jesus climbed carrying the Cross and praying for the conversion of sinners.” As she walked slowly, she was trying to hide her tears. After a while, Julia stopped again, because there were many little white round bottle caps all over the ground. Many of them were trampled and dirty. Julia were suffering much pain that day, but began picking up the bottle caps, saying, “Many Sacred Hosts are being trampled like this (by the people who receive Communion sacrilegiously).” After picking up all the bottle caps, she continued on her way, singing a hymn:

Step after step, His footprints are filled with warm tears and red blood.

Step after step, the wicked Jewish soldiers and cruel Roman soldiers inflicted blows on Him.

A way that you cannot walk without tears, a way that you cannot walk without blood, it is the narrow way of Golgotha outside the city gate.

We need to walk this way if we want eternal life and happiness. Let us keep walking, even if we are hungry, even if we may die.

Julia was taking so much time at each step that it took one and a half hours to walk the distance that normally takes five minutes. When we arrived at the destination, I saw a little shabby house, where a blind old man was living.

Because I felt like going to the bathroom but that house did not have any bathroom, I spend some time looking for one. When I came back, Julia already finished bathing the old man with warm water. I felt so sorry. I was also amazed and wondered where Julia found that kind of energy, as she had been quite sick and weak while coming to that house. When I asked her about it, she said, “Uh! I really became okay.” We laughed together. She said that while she was burning the little white bottle caps to heat water, praying that the Lord will forgive those who received Communion sacrilegiously, the pains in her body disappeared. I thought, “The Eucharist! That is right! It is the Eucharist that gives salvation to those who believe! I did not know much about the importance of the Eucharist while working at the mission chapel. Now the Lord is awakening me through a special way!”