The first time I went to Conyers, Georgia was in September 1993. I went
there with my family for the September 13th apparition. I did
not know much about the specific events that take place there. The only
thing I knew was that Jesus and Mary appear to Nancy Fowler particularly
on the 13th day of each month, between noon and 1:00 PM, to
give messages for the United States.
On September 13, 1993 at around 11:45 AM in Our Loving Mother's Farm,
I heard a commotion that prompted me to look up into the sky. There I saw
the sun spinning, and moving sideways and up and down. Then, in front of
the sun, I saw a gigantic silhouette of Our Lady. She appeared to me as
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. I saw her silhouette in gold complete
with the folds of the majestic gown she was wearing. Both of her hands
were spread, and rays radiated from her hands down to the farm. I did not
see her face, only her silhouette. With joy, I told everyone around me
"She is here! She is here! Our Lady is here!" But nobody else saw her except
me. Immediately after seeing Our Lady's image, everything my eyes would
set on turned to gold. By gold I mean my hands, my watch, people's faces,
people's clothes, the trees, etc. looked gold. Again, I told everyone around
me that everything looked gold. They just stared at me and said nothing.
Upon my return to New York City, I gladly shared my experiences to my
family, friends, and co-workers. As expected, the majority of them were
skeptical. Their skepticism made me doubt myself, as well. The more I talked
about my experience, the more I doubted it. However, my story would be
confirmed several days later by some materials that I read. The Newsletter
of Our Loving Mother reported that Our Blessed Mother appeared to Nancy
Fowler on September 13, 1993 before noon (11:50 AM if I remember correctly).
In addition, pages 31-33 of the book entitled Mother of Great Love,
Mother of Great Sorrow by Ron Tesoriero includes an account of an apparition
at Conyers that is very similar to mine. It states:
Another witness was Barbara of Ashville, North Carolina, who told
me "At the time all of the people were reacting, I noticed that there was
a very strong sudden wind that began to blow, and then I looked up at the
sun. I saw what was like a host come out in front of the sun, and it was
pulsating and spinning in the sky. It was coming forward and going backwards,
that sort of thing." I asked Barbara what drew her attention to the sun.
She replied, "I noticed that the sun had come out, and I heard people saying,
'Look' and pointed to the sun." Mary Jane of Conyers, Georgia, said to me, "I saw the sun spinning and
pulsating. It was very bright, but I could look at it without hurting my
eyes." Other witnesses also claimed that at the same time they saw the sun
spin and pulsate, they saw the silhouette of the Blessed Virgin in the
sky. I asked Carol of Atlanta what she saw at the time of the crowd's reaction.
She replied, "Besides thousands of people, before the Rosary was recited,
we were gathered around the house. One of the pilgrims had said the sun
was starting to spin. So all of us who heard her say that, turned around
to look. The sun was spinning and it was turning pink. We all looked at
the sun directly without hurting our eyes. That was the first thing that
I saw. With that, we went down on our knees feeling that something was
about to take place, and started praying the Rosary even though we had
not officially started. Then, all around us became gold." I asked, "What
do you mean, it became gold?" She replied, "I mean our hands looked gold,
my Rosary looked gold, our clothes looked gold, it became like gold all
around us. And with that, I went to look back up at the sun to see, and
when I did, I saw the full figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary." I asked,
"When you say the full figure, what do you mean?" She said, "The silhouette."
I asked, "Was it distinct enough to see her face and eyes?" She replied,
"I could not see her face or eyes. I saw the silhouette. It was big, and
it was to the left side of the spinning sun." The consistency of my story with the newsletter and the book made it more
credible to my family, friends, and co-workers.
My experience in Conyers, Georgia on September 13, 1993 was only the
beginning. I experienced more manifestations while in New York City. These
experiences were mysterious, and they all happened shortly after my return
from Conyers.
On September 23, 1993, the Lord revealed to me the meaning of grace.
This came to me in a form of thought that was just provided to me without
even thinking. It was almost like an inner voice that you could hear, but
with no sound. Grace was defined to me as "desires coming from God to do
something good or virtuous". This definition of grace is completely different
from my understanding of grace as a child. I understood the meaning of
grace as all the necessities in life that God provides us with. For example,
my parents always reminded me not to waste food, because these are graces
from God. In addition, they reminded me not to complain about my clothes
that I was wearing, because these are graces from God. Three days later,
at the Sunday Mass, the priest in my parish talked about grace in his homily.
He defined grace as God's love… "And if you open your heart to let God's
love flow in you," he continued, "your heart will be filled with desires
to do good things that will draw you closer to Jesus."
The lesson on grace would continue a few days later. I had flashbacks
of all the incidences in my life, from the first time I was young up until
the present, when I have been hurt by someone. This gave me the desire
to forgive all those people who had hurt me. Then, I had flashbacks
of all the incidences in my life when I had hurt someone else. This gave
me the desire to ask forgiveness and to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I am very grateful to God for this wonderful lesson on grace. God did
not only define grace for me, but He filled me with graces such as the
desires to forgive and to reconcile with Him. With grace, I am able to
do things that I never thought possible in my life. Grace made it easier
for me to forgive and to ask forgiveness.
About a year later, on September 15, 1994, I read on page 196 of the
book entitled The Thunder of Justice by Ted and Maureen Flynn that:
"very recent reports from pilgrims in Medjugorje describe how they
experienced an illumination of conscience, seeing their entire life pass
before their eyes as in a film. They reported that they were able to see
precisely and clearly each event of their life when they had said 'Yes'
to God, and each time when they said 'No'. Their consciences were flooded
with such light that they saw themselves as in an X-ray from the Holy Spirit,
with shadows of sin and the light of love which they had given. They felt
a profound repentance."This validated my story concerning flashbacks of my life experiences described
in the previous paragraph. I could not wait to talk to my family, co-workers,
and friends about my new discovery. And when I showed them the passage
from the book, they said that it was awesome.
Another lesson taught to me was how we must act immediately, while we
are in the state of grace. Otherwise, we may never be able to respond to
it. For example, we have cousins who have never spoken to their father
for years, because of some disagreements. They had desires to reconcile
with him, but their foolish pride held them back. And then it was too late!
Sadly, my uncle passed away without my cousins reconciling with their father.
In June 1993, my father had disagreements with all of us, (his children).
We had ill feelings toward him that lasted some time. Upon our return from
Conyers in September, we had desires to reconcile with our father. We responded
to God's grace, and have been on good and loving terms with our father
ever since.
I became excited about all the wonderful things that were happening
to me. The Lord brought a new meaning into my life. He had given me so
many graces that transformed me, and as a result, that helped to transform
others. Some of my family and friends have noticed a drastic change in
me. While some expressed their approval, others evaded me. I did not care,
because I was in love with the Lord.
Now that the Lord has caught my attention, it was time for more serious
matters. On separate occasions between September 16 and October 19, 1993,
He conveyed the following messages to me: First He asked me, "I want you
to practice simplicity. Simplicity means detachment from material things.
No man can serve two masters. The only way you can follow Me is by detaching
yourself from all earthly things… My first commandment tells you not to
have strange gods before Me. 'Other strange gods' refers to greed for sex,
money, power, food, and other material things. The only way you could center
your life on Me is by detachment from all these worldly things." Then He
said, "I want you to be holy. Holiness can be achieved by being pure and
chaste in your thoughts, words, and actions." And then He said, "I want
perfection from you. Perfection is the surest way to attain your highest
goal in life, which is to share the eternal happiness with God in Heaven.
This can be achieved by knowing and following my commandments."
On October 23, 1993, at the Consecration during the novena and Mass
in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at St. John's Church in Manhattan,
I had a vision. There was this man dressed in a white garment lying on
his belly on the floor. His arms were spread out. I could not see his face.
I tried very hard to see his face. When he slowly raised his head, I could
not believe what I saw. I saw myself! I was startled by this incident.
I refused to believe what I saw. The thought of the Lord calling me into
the priesthood came across my mind. But I never thought about becoming
a priest in my whole life. I had always wanted to get married and raise
a family. So I dismissed that idea.
Two days later, on October 25 while at work, I had another vision of
myself dressed in a white tunic. I was standing before a crowd. My right
hand was raised with a Rosary. It appeared as though I was preaching. Why
was I holding the rosary in the second vision? I heard stories about rosaries
turning gold from Medjugorje and other Marian apparition sites. I thought
that perhaps the rosary I brought with me to Conyers had turned gold. So
when I got home that evening, the first thing I did was to check to see
if my rosary had turned gold. To my disappointment, the chain-links, medal,
and the Jesus Christ on the wooden cross, remained silver. The beads and
the cross of my rosary were made of wood.
At this point, I recollected all the mysterious events that were happening
in my life. I gave them more serious thought. The religious vows of Poverty,
Chastity, and Obedience paralleled the previous messages I received on
Simplicity, Holiness, and Perfection, respectively. Combining these messages
with the two visions I had, made it difficult to misconstrue that the Lord
was calling me to become one of his priestly servants. But why me, I thought.
I am unworthy to become a priest. I am a sinful person. How can a sinful
person like me lead the flock of our Lord, Jesus? And then I recalled the
very first lesson the Lord taught me on GRACE - that nothing is impossible
with grace from God. Still, I asked the Lord for a final sign, that if
He really wanted me to become a priest, to transform my rosary from silver
to gold. Shortly after, right before my eyes, the Jesus Christ on the cross
and the chain links of my rosary turned gold.
I am presently pursuing a vocation to the priesthood. I am in a program
with the Capuchins. Though I am still far away from becoming a priest,
when I finally become a priest by the grace of God, I will always bear
in mind the Conyers prayer:
God, Our Father, please send us holy priests, all for the Sacred
and Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, all for the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, in union with St. Joseph.It was through Conyers that I was called to the priesthood. Therefore,
it would be for the causes ingrained in the Conyers prayer, that I primarily
shall live my life of servitude to God - all for the Sacred and Eucharistic
Heart of Jesus, all for the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, in
union with St. Joseph - all for the glory of Our Father in Heaven.
Romualdo A.
September 19, 1994
New York