In the following interview Vicka responds to Fr. Livio during a programme on Radio Maria at the start of the year 2000. Through the replies readers will be able to see in her an authentic witness of this time of grace, not to mention her profound spirituality and her continuous and intimate union with the Lord and Our Lady.
Vicka: It is enough to be with her to mature. I did not expect to receive so much from Our Lady, however, it is true that I have done my part. I have never asked anything for myself, and I don't intend to... Even before Our Lady began to appear I was very happy with the gift of life; but now it is up to me to transmit this light which is in the heart, and slowly draw the many people out from the darkness, especially the young people who are tired of living, and are weighed down by fleeting things, and ignore the beauty of spiritual things...
When you look at Our Lady the beauty of her face is so wonderful that words can't describe it. She herself has said that she is beautiful because she loves. This is the way we must be beautiful - above all, beautiful inside - so that our faces can radiate this beauty too... Unfortunately, we hide our faces behind many types of masks; we hide everything inside.. We have to begin to love to be beautiful. With all our hearts we should begin by loving those in our homes, our family and then the others around us. True beauty is spiritual beauty.
Some say that it is easy for Vicka to encounter the Lord because she sees Our Lady every day. Vicka replies: "It is not so important to see Our Lady, as it is to feel her presence inside you. It is particularly important to practise what she tells us with her messages."
"God has given me the great gift of peace, and I don't have words to express my gratitude. It is a grace which corresponds to Our Lady's mission as Queen of Peace. Peace grew in me, and grows with each day, because I wanted it and I continue to want it, and for this I pray every day...
My smile and my joy? There is nothing I want to do more than fulfil Our Lady's wishes. I am her servant; I gave my life to her and so I am ready to face whatever she asks of me. This is where my joy lies. I wish others could feel the way I do and be granted the grace to transmit the love which Our Lady has for each of us... I know that it is a desire of the Blessed Virgin to transmit her presence to the others, i.e. to show us that she is amongst us..
Knowing that every day I have to meet pilgrims who come from all parts of the world - and who suffer for various reasons, or are distant from God - I am not able to be sad.
Each morning as I wake I pray thus: "Here I am Lord; here I am Holy Virgin, do with me as you wish." We cannot have peace, or tranquillity if we let ourselves be upset by problems. Unfortunately, many today live stress filled lives and are upset by insignificant things. People who do not have peace have to find the time to stop a little and think about their soul; to speak personally with God; to tell the Lord what it is that makes them upset; ask Him to free them of those burdens. Once you've found true peace, it is not easily lost.
It makes me very happy when, at times, someone who doesn't know anything about God comes to me, because then I can transmit to that person the love of God, who is Father and so close to each of us. Then that person can slowly begin to seek His presence in and around him. Sadly, there are many who rather than blind, are closed in their hearts to God." Suffering is gift from God Vicka has been sick a number of times; including recently, with physical disturbances which doctors aren't always able to diagnose with precision.
Vicka: No! Never. I ask for healing for the others, but not for myself. Our Lady knows. For me, suffering and sickness are gifts, and I am happy for them. I thank God with all my heart for these gifts. I want to tell all the sick people that when Our Lady appears, I pray especially for them, then for the others. I would like to urge the sick people to pray thus: 'Oh God I beseech you, through my suffering may I still have something good to offer you. All I ask for now is the strength and courage to bear my cross with all my love and with joy.'
Personally, I am happy that I have been able to suffer and offer in the knowledge that when you offer your pain to Our Lady you are helping her.
Our Lady says that today there are very few people who readily accept their sufferings as a gift. With all my heart I say that suffering is a great gift. I say it because I have experienced it. Suffering is a gift because through it God's plans are realized for the benefit of those who are close to us and those who are far from us. The offering of your sufferings and sicknesses to God is the best offering one could ever make.
Vicka: Above all, each person must know himself and ask himself how to best live his vocation. If this is done with earnestness, we become aware of the Lord's response, of His suggestion, in our heart. For example, a priest must be aware that he takes the living Jesus in his hands when he consecrates the bread and wine. The Eucharist is an even greater gift than Our Lady's presence - She herself has affirmed this. .. Each of us has a task; it's up to us to see how to fulfil it in the life of the Church..
Vicka: We believers should be more aware of how immense the gift of faith is, and feel the need to dedicate time every day to prayer and be good examples for others. The excuses offered by non-believers who think that God should intervene directly are not valid. It takes personal commitment by each person to obtain God's grace, and God who is Father full of mercy will not fail to answer us.
God is infinite love.We have to do all that we can to obtain His intervention. So, besides praying, we should make an effort to know the revealed Truth and keep away from evil. Unfortunately, Satan is a tireless seducer: he hides evil beneath a good appearance; he tempts people (these days especially the young people and weak families), making them prefer fleeting joys, which lead inexorably to tragic unhappiness, thereby inducing them to renounce the immense joy which God grants straight away to those who resist temptation and live their Christian lives in an orderly and honest manner.
Vicka: Young people who wish to get married should discern whether their plans correspond to God's plan for them. At the same time they should put God first in their lives and pray to Him so that He will help them with their life as a couple.
They should also accept with joy the children which will make up their family. God will be close to them if they always invoke Him and if they help one another to form the family. It takes serious preparation and real, total dedication. Faith, prayer and communion are essential elements for today's family to be saved. And today there is a new style of life, where often both parents are away at work all day, and when they get home they don't find the way to stay together or have the time to pray. There is no more dialogue between parents and children! More than once Our Lady has said that young people and families are in a very difficult situation. Unfortunately today, many young people have lost the sense of Christian marriage and choose to live together without feeling the need to receivethe sacrament of marriage.
In these situations, besides prayer, there is need of families to witness the serenity which comes from the sacraments. Families in crisis should turn to prayer: father, mother and children should decide for a moment in the day when they can pray together. Young people also need to be wary of everything fleeting that the world offers, and seek, rather, the valid realities of the spirit.
Vicka: Our Lady has said a number of times that this time of the Jubilee year is a moment of great grace, and that she would like to give us many more messages, but can't because we have not listened to those She has given us so far. We have lost that initial zeal. That is why she insists that we pray, so that other, more generous, people will correspond. Her hope is that we will decide to listen to her.
Our Lady is very patient. At the end of each message of the 25th, she adds: 'Thank you for responding to my call.' and she does this to incite us to correspond with ever more commitment to her requests. We are in the time of the great conversion, and we should take advantage of it. Our Lady also says that many people listen to the messages, but then get tired. She is happier when we take the messages seriously and live them day by day, a little at a time, with constance, rather than live them with great fervour immediately and then forget them.
We should not worry about tomorrow; but care about living God's will today, for "this moment" is the most important one of our earthly existence.