Leaders Retreat in Naju Shrine (January 15 to 21, 2026)

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to listen to a hymn while reading💗

Day 1 – Arrival at the Holy City of God: Naju Shrine for Our Retreat

Mama Mary, we are coming! 💗💗💗

Preparation

Receiving name tags filled with the fragrance of rose and oil!

Welcoming Greeting by Fr. Su at the Opening of the International Leaders’ Retreat 

Offering Our Intentions for the Retreat

Introduction of International leaders of Naju
A special gift from Mama Julia, filled with a heavenly fragrance.

Day 2 – What Is Naju? Entering the Mystery of Naju

 Group Love

Group Joy

Group Peace 

Group Hope 

History of the Chapel of Our Lady of Naju

The Naju Shrine is very unique and different from other shrines. Jesus and the Blessed Mother are truly present in Naju, especially through Mama Julia. 💘💘💘

Rainbows appeared in the chapel while the retreatants were praying.

All were amazed by seeing rainbows
Praising and worshiping as children of Our Lady of Naju!

Lucy shared her testimony that she was healed of knee pain on the first day of the retreat.

Mama Mary! Here We Are!

Beginning of the Miracle ofthe  Sun at the Blessed Mother's Mountain 

MIRACLE OF SUN unfolded before the international leaders of Naju through Mama Julia’s prayers.

A~men! Amen~ Amen~!
Special Opening of the Adoration Chapel for the International Leaders of Naju

Picking Up the Message of Love Wording Card
Visiting the Tomb of Fr. Aloysius and Mr. Julio Kim

Studying the Message of Love, conducted by Fr. Su

First Meeting with National and International Leaders of Naju

Day 3 - Joining the General Assembly with National Leaders

Very nutritious porridge lovingly provided by Mama Julia

Why Mama Julia Shared Her Life

Mama Julia’s life changed me. Now I no longer talk back to my husband and am practicing the Five Spiritualities.  

Studying the Truth about Naju, Prepared by John

Discussion on How We Can Recruit Pilgrims to Naju

Mama Julia feeding us both spiritually and physically

Mama’s gift to each of us is Jesus of Mercy in Glory.! 💘💘💘

Day 4 - Following in the Footsteps of Mama Julia

Watching her re-enactment video showing how she drew water to wash the blind man, Andrew Bong.
Sharing of one of the participants : Visiting Grandpa Andrew Bong’s well (episodes 714-763), near the place where he once lived, stirred something deep within me. Standing there, the story of Mama Julia’s life felt suddenly alive—not just words on a page, but a living memory. Watching her re-enactment video, and then stepping into the scene ourselves, I felt drawn into the mystery of her journey.

Sugang Apartment, where Our Lady first shed Tears of Blood in 19 Oct 1986

The room where Mama Julia and Mr. Julio offered their conjugal relationship to the Lord on the first day they moved into Sugang Apartment. For the next 40 years, they lived as brother and sister in Christ, working together in Mary’s Ark of Salvation.  

The room where Mama Julia carved fourteen crosses into her thighs with a heated knife. She offered those wounds for the sanctification of priests, for the conversion of souls caught in impurity

The former site of Jeong Beauty Parlor.
The place where the Blessed Mother first shed tears through her statue.
Reflection of one of the participants: "Reflecting on the life of Mama Julia and witnessing the very places where her journey as the 'little soul' began allowed me to understand how she was meticulously prepared by the Lord- through suffering, sacrifice, and extraordinary grace. Visiting these sacred sites and learning the truth about Naju amid the many false allegations deepened my understanding and strengthened my conviction."

Day 5 – Mystery of Suffering and Grace in the Attic & the Way of the Cross

Explanation of the attic

Reflection from One of the Participants :

The greatest moment, though, was entering the “Attic.” I have always look up at the ‘Attic’ from outside. Mama Julia lived there for twenty years, including seven years of hidden seclusion in obedience to the Archbishop of Gwangju. This small, suffocating space—with no heating in winter and no cooling in summer—was the place where countless supernatural events unfolded, where messages from heaven were received.

Seeing it for the first time, I was struck by how impossible it seemed for anyone to live there. Yet, in that very poverty and discomfort, God worked marvels. The contrast between the harshness of the space and the richness of grace that flowed through it left me humbled.

Each site visit added layers of authenticity to Mama Julia’s story. They are not just places but living witnesses. And when I share her life with others, I can now speak not only from what I’ve read, but from what I have seen, touched, and felt in my own heart.

We witnessed how Mama Julia crawled the Stations of the Cross for the sanctification of the clergy, without sleeping for a year.

In freezing temperatures, the leaders of Naju offered the Stations of the Cross barefoot.

What is true confession?

Father shared: We should not confess the sins of others 😅 by saying things like, "because of my husband, I did this..." True confession means acknowledging our own fault, based on the Five Spiritualities. 

👉For example: "I was angry. It was my fault. I did not offer up my anger well."

Each retreatant received a Message of Love wording card. Fragrant oil descended upon the card, and every word pierced the hearts of the leaders, bringing them to tears. 💧

Day 6 - Five Spiritualities Activities 

When we live out the Five Spiritualities, the greatest fruits of life are borne! 🍎
Remembering 積羽沈舟: Even light feathers, when piled up in great abundance, can sink a ship.

🙋‍♀️When we turn our daily lives into prayer, though they may seem trivial and insignificant, they can fill the abyss between the Lord’s greatness and our lowliness. In this way, we can reach perfection and go to Heaven, without passing through purgatory!

Making Sandwiches Contest – Turning Our Cooking into Prayer! 🍰

When you are cleaning, how do you pray? 😊
👉"Lord, cleanse my soul, the souls of my family, and the souls of the whole world."

When it’s raining, 😅how do you pray?
👉 "Lord, change this rain into the Precious Blood of Jesus and wash the souls stained by the sins of the world. Amen."

When it is foggy, how do you pray? 🤣
👉 "So many souls are going to hell, spiritually blinded. Please help us bring them to Heaven by leading them into Mary’s Ark of Salvation!"

Game – Bringing Souls into Mary’s Ark of Salvation

Peter shared how he was called to serve Naju — a touching testimony, like St. Paul’s conversion.

Day 7 – Sent Forth with a Spirit of Mission 

Through Mama Julia’s prayers, the weather forecast changed from no snow to snow. A farewell snow from the Lord in the Holy City of God.

Receiving the Certificate of Completion for the Naju Leaders’ Retreat

Receiving the fragrant oil–soaked cotton from the Blessed Mother, the filtered paper of the special phenomenon from Mama Julia’s bodily fluid, and Mama Julia’s rosary  

One of the retreatants: "Thank you, Mama Julia, for your immeasurable love for your children. Just as you loved the blind old man by caring for him daily, even giving him a shower from time to time, you showed us your love by nourishing each of us personally because you are our spiritual mother."

Loving Farewell with Mama Julia "Let us meet again this October, on the 40th Anniversary of Our Lady’s Weeping Tears of Blood, with many, many souls!"  

"All My beloved children in the world! I will build anew over what Satan has destroyed, with the help of you who are working in unity with My beloved Little Soul (Julia). If you do not turn back but practice the Five Spiritualities, you will surely see that My Sacred Heart will triumph.

When you spread the Messages of Love from Me and My Mother who is pleading with her Tears and Tears of Blood, you will experience pains. But I will lead those of you, who have been specially called from all over the world, to a lofty sanctity so that you may throw off the mask of errors with your mouth as with a double-edged sword, make known the truth clad in the armor of the Five Spiritualities, and spread the light of My Mercy in glory throughout the whole world."

-The Message of Love from Jesus on June 28, 2023

Post Script

Rose received the Precious Blood that had seeped into the plastic bag, and she took it as a comforting sign from Our Lord as she was struggling through persecution, helping her to move forward.

Rita also received the Precious Blood that had seeped into the plastic bag, even though there had been nothing when Mama Julia first gave it to her.

We believe this is a great sign that she is being called to work for the salvation of souls through Mary’s Ark of Salvation. Amen!

Lilibeth : "Had I chosen not to join the retreat, it would have become the deepest regret of my life. All these experiences - and so many more beyond words - touched my soul deeply. This retreat did not merely inspire me; it opened my heart to a clearer understanding of who I am before God and the Blessed Mother.  I asked myself in humility: How can I be chosen? Am I capable? Am I influential enough?  what I know with certainty is this: I can help, and I desire to help - to propagate devotion to Our Lady of Naju, to the Shrine, to the 5 Spiritualities through the life of Mama Julia, and to the revelations that will be made known. I am like a new soldier,  willing to take the battle, spreading the 5 Spiritualities in schools/ parishes and an invitation to Naju/pilgrimage." 

Raudres : Mama Julia, through every presentation, every moment in the Attic, and especially when we stepped into Grandpa Bong’s old home, I came to understand so much more deeply the immense suffering you have carried, the tremendous sacrifices you have made, and how you have lived out the Five Spiritualities with such complete selflessness—all for the conversion of sinners. Your life is a living testament to what a true saint looks like on earth. 

Mama Julia, you have become my role model, my teacher, my mentor, and the quiet aspiration of my soul. Watching you has awakened in me a longing I can hardly put into words: to deepen my faith, to grow in unwavering loyalty, and to offer whatever remains of my life in humble service to our Lord and our Blessed Mother in Naju—to pray and work tirelessly toward the day we receive the Nihil Obstat. The journey forward will undoubtedly be difficult, and there will be more persecutions, but we are not afraid.

"Now, the time of my triumph is approaching. If you totally arm yourselves with the Five Spiritualities and put into practice the messages of love, the mistakes and errors of the Gwangju Archdiocese, which had been forcing others to accept as true what was not true and tried to deceive others with shallow tricks, will soon and surely be exposed; the greatest victory, which will lead to the establishment of the glorious kingdom of Christ, will be achieved in the fierce battle of these last times; and, instead of the cup of chastisement that was to descend on this world, the cup of God’s blessing will come down.

Thus, when my Son Jesus Christ comes back to this world, my Little Soul who has been working for God’s plan of salvation and you who have been working in unity with her will emerge with Christ in glory. Therefore, follow me with the best heroic loyalty and utmost earnestness combined with your whole heart and energy." 

- Message of Love from the Blessed Mother on January 1, 2015