New Marian group prays to Jesus from the heart

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OREM — A Marian prayer group in English that began late last month meets every Saturday for an hour in the day chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Orem.

Mary Pobanz, who guides the group, said she felt the calling to form the prayer group at her parish after she visited Medjugorje.

Since 1981, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing  to six missionaries in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and giving them messages to the world. More than 40 million people of all faiths, from all over the world, have visited Medjugorje for spiritual reasons.

The Catholic Church has not approved or condemned the appearances, and has not determined them to be supernatural.

Last year Pobanz started hosting a Bible study at St. Francis of Assisi.“I was praying to Mary, and in my head I heard clearly and strong, ‘Why don’t you ask Father to start a prayer group?”’ she said.

She approached Father Omar Ontiveros, the parish pastor, about the idea, and was happy to hear him say, “‘Of course. Let’s have a meeting about that,’” she said.

After gaining Fr. Ontiveros’ approval, the group started meeting. Each week they pray the rosary, have reflections, sing a few Marian hymns and say St. Francis’ prayer for peace.

“Prayer is very important and sometimes people forget that praying to Our Lady is important, too,” she said. “Praying to Our Lady can be really hard, because sometimes it’s hard for us to grasp that Jesus has given us his mother and she is not divine.”

The most important thing Our Lady says is “to pray from our heart to Jesus,” Pobanz said, adding that, by doing so, people can have a personal relationship with God and “realize how much he loves us; and she teaches us how to come closer to God.”  

When prayer to Our Lady seems hard, Pobanz suggests people start with praying the rosary. “It doesn’t matter if it’s just a decade or three Hail Marys; from your heart ask Our Lady [for you] to come closer to Jesus, because that is her mission and that’s our call,” she said.

The mission of the Marian prayer group at St. Francis is “to become instruments of peace through Our Lady and, of course, what comes out of it depends on God,” she said, adding that participants tell her they feel at peace, “and there is such a joy in people’s faces, and that can only come from God.”  

God is the vine, and “we are the branches, and we can’t have the vine without Mother Mary,” Pobanz  said.  

Every Saturday, about 10 people gather for the prayer group. New members are welcome.

“I invite everyone to come and bring their heart; it is so important to have a relationship with Our Lady and with Our Lord, especially in the world today,” Pobanz said. “The world needs Jesus, the world needs peace and it begins with each one of us. ... With the foundation of prayer our lives are centered, and we are on our way to God.”

All are welcome to the Marian prayer group at St. Francis of Assisi Parish; it meets every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.