Holy Mary, Mother of God, Eternal Queen of Peace
Help us as we respond to your call.
Guide us in all we do in the name of
your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Open the hearts of all your children
and grant that your message of peace
and conversion be joyfully accepted.
Help us most blessed Mother
as we help our brothers and sisters
respond to your call.
You always give to us completely
and without restraint.
Allow us to follow this example
and give all we have to your glorious service.
No one who has ever called upon you
for help has gone away unaided.
We call upon you now most blessed Mother
to guide us, encourage us and bless us
as we seek to do the will of The Father
The Son and The Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Brief Synopsis of Medjugorje Story

It was late afternoon on June 24, 1981. Two pretty girls were out for a walk, no doubt sharing the latest news or talking about a young man or two. Fifteen-year old Ivanka Ivankovic from the hamlet of Bijakovici (part of the parish of Medjugorje) suddenly noticed a light high up on Mount Podbrdo, the large hill behind her village. Glancing up, she saw a figure shining with light, hovering above the ground. It stood a good distance away, perhaps over 200 yards. As she looked, speechless, their conversation forgotten, the figure seemed to form the shape of a young woman. Although she wasn’t at all sure, she exclaimed to her friend, “Mirjana, look. There is Gospa.” (Gospa is the Croatian word for Our Lady.)

Mirjana was sure Ivanka was joking. She didn’t even bother to look where her friend was pointing. “Come on,” she said, mockingly, “Would Our Lady appear to us?”

Convinced, Ivanka said no more and they walked on. A younger girl, Milka Pavlovic, asked for help rounding up her goats. Arriving back at the spot, all three now saw the figure. This time they knelt down. Vicka Ivankovic, another friend, happened by. “Look up there,” they told her. Terrified, Vicka kicked off her shoes and ran. She met sixteen-year-old Ivan Dragicevic and his friend Ivan Ivankovic. Telling them what happened, they convinced her to take them to check it out. They, too, saw the vision. Ivan Dragicevic took off on a dead run for home.

Next day, four of the children felt drawn back to the spot. Vicka then ran to get her friend, Marija (Milka’s sister) and ten-year-old Jakov Colo. They, too, saw the apparition the second day. Milka and Ivan Ivankovic did not return and never saw Our Lady again. Gospa has appeared every day since then. The six young people say Our Lady looks about nineteen years old, is extremely beautiful, and has dark hair with blue eyes. She appears to the visionaries every day at 5:40 p.m.

Her overall message through the years is peace – to reconcile ourselves with God and with each other. Mary says she has come to bring the world back to her Son, Jesus. She asks us to pray, go to Mass, confess once a month, fast on Wednesday and Friday on bread and water and say the fifteen decade rosary every day. Three of the visionaries, Ivanka, Mirjana and Jakov have received ten secrets and no longer have daily apparitions. Vicka, Marija and Ivan have received only nine of the secrets and still have daily apparitions. The visionaries are all married and have two or more children.

Mirjana has been chosen to reveal the secrets and will tell a Franciscan priest, Fr. Petar Ljubicic, ten days before each one occurs. After prayer and fasting, he will tell the secret to the world three days before it happens. Our Lady also promised that a lasting sign would be left at the spot of her first apparition.

Each month, on the 25th, Our Lady gives a message for the world to Marija, who writes it down for the priests of St. James’ Church to translate and send out.

Between twenty and thirty million pilgrims have been to Medjugorje, including priests, bishops and cardinals.

Printed with permission of Medjugorje Magazine.


Want to learn more about Medjugorje?
Visit www.childrenofmedjugorje.com or www.medjugorje.org

Cardinal Schönborn speaks in Medjugorje

Breaking Medjugorje News

Cardinal Schönborn speaks in Medjugorje

On December 30, 2009, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a powerful, lengthy talk at St. James Church in Medjugorje.

Schönborn's talk revolved around the theme of God's mercy, and he did not hesitate to praise Medjugorje.

His first words as he stepped to the podium were "Hvaljen Isus i Marija," a Croatian phrase that means "Praised be Jesus and Mary." This is a common greeting among the visionaries and Medjugorje villagers. The Cardinal repeated it several times and urged the crowd to repeat it with him.

He went on to say "When you look at a place like Medjugorje, you can see a superpower of mercy. Many merciful deeds were born here or they were supported here."

During one poignant moment of his talk, Cardinal Schonborn urged the crowd to stand and join him in singing the well-known Medjugorje song Gospa Majka Moja. He smiled warmly as he sang along.

Delving further into the topic of mercy, Cardinal Schönborn said, "What a deep feeling of compassion there is in Jesus. Many deeds of mercy in the Church were born exactly in this way, like Mother Teresa, who couldn't accept people dying in the street. Or Mother Elvira, here in Medjugorje, the founder of Cenacalo Community rehab center: she couldn't stand to see young people on drugs, destroying their lives with drugs. What is this deep, profound emotion that we call compassion?"

While concluding his talk in Medjugorje, Cardinal Schönborn said, "I believe that many experiences in the Church demonstrate something that is impossible from a human point of view."

Cardinal Schönborn has been in Medjugorje since December 28. He will celebrate New Year's Eve Mass at St. James Church. The visit and implied endorsement from such a prominent Vatican cardinal is seen by many as a very positive indication of the Church's stance on the apparitions.

While some had expected Cardinal Schönborn's visit to Medjugorje to be private, he has instead surprised the town by being very visible. He has spent his time concelebrating Mass at St. James Church, climbing Apparition Hill with visionary Marija Lunetti, hearing confessions, praying in silence at Adoration, and, perhaps most notably, giving his talk today in the parish church with the Franciscan friars at his side.

Queen of Peace Productions
12/31/09

Cardinal Schonborn Highlights the Importance of Medjugorje

By Sister Emmanuel

On September 15th, 2009, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, welcomed the visionary, Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti. The Cathedral, packed with people, hosted a beautiful evening which included Holy Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. It lasted from 4pm to 9:30pm! At the end of the evening a very powerful and happy surprise came when Cardinal Schonborn gave the final benediction to the whole assembly.

Afterward, he highlighted the importance of Medjugorje for our times. He told of the graces of liberation obtained in Medjugorje. In particular he featured stories about addictions (drug, alcohol, etc) and the graces that come to those who participate in the life of the Church.

Here are a few words from the Cardinal: “We can give thanks to Our Lord because through His Mother, so many people are led to the Love of God, so many conversions happen, people go back to Confession and they develop a love for the Eucharist. Reconciliations happen in families, and some people are cured from drug and other types of addictions. The fact that the Mother of God wishes to be close to all Her children is an immense gift. She has already showed this proximity in many places and for many years in a special way in Medjugorje.”

Such events speak for themselves! They spare us fruitless wars against those who publish negativity on Medjugorje. Let us recall here that Cardinal Schonborn is one of the main authors, with Pope John Paul II, of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Children of Medjugorje,
www.childrenofmedjugorje.com (Sept. 15, 2009 report)

Cardinal Vinko Puljic speaks on Medjugorje...

Cardinal Vinko Puljic has commented on the events of Medjugorje during a visit to Rome this week. In an interview with Zenit, the Sarajevo Archbishop said that what is happening in Medjugorje is the responsibility of the Bishop of Mostar, Monsignor Ratko Peric, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF).

As head of the Bosnia & Herzegovinia bishops’ conference he added, “We look forward to suggestions and proposals on how to accompany this phenomenon, and I think the Holy See wants us to work in this area.”

The cardinal also said that he expected that the Holy See will give indications on Confession and Eucharistic celebrations, and then added “and maybe even set up a Committee to follow the phenomenon by recording contents of the apparitions and messages, in view that there are over 30,000.”

The cardinal also recognised that Medjugorje continues to attract thousands of pilgrims and acknowledged that the fruit of prayer has resulted in many conversions and vocations to the priesthood and religious. “Praying is not a sin,” he said “Where a man prays with faith, God gives the rewards of his grace.”

He continued: “Praying in Marian shrines is part of the identity of the Catholic faithful. Throughout history our people have been found in various shrines in the region, seeking comfort, light and hope, and the Madonna is a sign for our faith.”

Friday, November 20, 2009

Jakov’s Last Daily Apparition and Tenth Secret

Jakov Colo calmly prayed as he waited for Our Lady to visit him, just as he had done every day for the previous 17 years of his life.

It was Sept. 11, 1998, and Jakov was a world away from the arid hills of Medjugorje, having come to visit his dear friend Marija Paulic and her family in Sunrise, Florida, near Ft. Lauderdale. During his overseas trip ~ a rare feat for this young man who had always been afraid to travel on airplanes ~ Our Lady appeared to him in the usual way, every afternoon.
As he waited and prayed in the living room of Marija’s home, this day seemed no different. The Virgin finally appeared ~ a blissful moment which, according to the six seers, is impossible to describe in earthly terms no matter how many times it happens.

To Jakov’s shock, however, the Blessed Mother announced that this would be Her last regular daily apparition to him. No reason was given. She concluded their meeting by requesting that Jakov prepare to receive the 10th and final secret during a special apparition the following morning.

After the apparition, Jakov struggled to understand what he had been told. He couldn’t comprehend the thought of no longer seeing Our Lady every day. In Many ways, the Virgin was the paramount maternal figure in his life. She had been with Jakov longer than his own mother, Jaca, who had died soon after the apparitions began.

On Sept 12, Our Lady appeared to Jakov at 11:15am (EST). According to Jakov, “When She came She greeted me as always with “Praised be Jesus.” While She was confiding the 10th secret to me, She was sad. Then with a gentle smile, She said to me”: “Dear child! I am your mother and I love you unconditionally. From today I will not be appearing to you every day, but only on Christmas, the birthday of my Son. Do not be sad, because as a mother I will always be with you and like every true mother I will never leave you. And continue further to follow the way of my Son, the way of peace and love and try to persevere in the mission that I have confided to you. Be an example of that man who has known God and God’s love. Let people always see in you an example of how God acts on people and how God acts through them. I bless you with my motherly blessing and I thank you for having responded to my call.”

Ending at 11:45am, approximately 30 minutes after it began, this apparition was especially long.

The parishioners and priests of Medjugorje, including the late Fr. Slavko, were taken aback when they received word of Jakov’s last daily apparition occurring in the USA. They had always thought it would take place in Medjugorje, where Mirjana and Ivanka had each received the 10th secret.

No one, however, was more affected than Jakov. He became depressed and withdrawn for many months, struggling with the absence of seeing Our Lady every day. Eventually, through ardent prayer, he came to understand that he had to be like everyone else who did not see the Virgin every day. Anyone, he allotted, could be close to her by praying with their hearts.

Three years later, the symbolic reason for the date and location of Jakov’s last daily apparition became apparent when, on Sept . 11, 2001, Al Qaeda terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon. The attacks killed thousands and ushered in a new era of war, fear and uncertainty. It would later be revealed that many of the terrorists who piloted the planes had spent a substantial amount of time in Florida, preparing for the attacks and attending flight schools. Their plans, in fact, were being hatched at the same time that Jakov received the 10th secret.
A beautiful statue of Our Lady sits in Marija Paulic’s living room where Jakov received his last daily apparition and 10th secret. The statue often weeps inexplicably, leaving the believer to decipher what it could mean.

When asked in 2003 if the secrets he has received have anything to do with the 9/11 attacks and the problem of Islamic terrorism, Jakov paused and then reluctantly said, “I should not answer that.”

Jakov lives in Medjugorje with his wife and three children. He waits impatiently for the one day every year that Our Lady has promised to appear to him for the rest of his earthly life: December 25th, Christmas day. When that day comes, Our Lady appears holding the baby Jesus, dressed in a radiant gold gown. Jakov’s eyes fill with childlike anticipation and excitement in the days leading up to Christmas.

By Sean Bloomfield

“ I Saw The Madonna Cry Five Times!”

‘The Time Is Ripe.’

“The Madonna said: ‘the time is ripe.’ She said it ten years ago. The Church hasn’t understood. Today, Russia is waiting for a thousand priests. If the Church had understood immediately, in ten years we would have had the priests, the missionaries, ready. Instead, we hear that sects are going there.

If my Provincial Administration asked it of me, I would go to Russia. Today, many young people in Slovenia, in Croatia, enter seminaries, ready to go to Russia. I believe that the Bishops don’t understand this grace.

Our Bishop hasn’t loved Medjugorje; if he loved it, he wouldn’t have changed his opinion. On July 28, 1981, he said to me: “The visionaries tell the truth.” But later, due to fear of imprisonment, he always spoke against the visionaries and the pilgrims. This was an error.

A Mexican bishop went to him, and he told me that he had gone to help our bishop understand this great grace of the presence of the Madonna in Medjugorje – but he turned a deaf ear. For this reason, Fr. Rupic got the idea of writing the book The Truth on Medjugorje.

Fr. Rupic is worthy of great praise, not only for the five years he spent in prison for his loyalty to the Gospels, but also for the many invaluable things he did for our Church in Croatia. He was the first to translate the Gospels into Croatian after the Communists removed the prohibition.

In response to the question if he had seen the “Gospa” weep, Fr. Jozo admitted: “Yes, many times I have seen the Madonna cry. The first was when the Communists helped me bring pilgrims to the church. At this time, during that first month of August, people could no longer climb Padbrdo, and the visionaries were kept in their houses by the Communists, so that the only place people could come to pray was the church.

It was the day when Jakov came to bring me the Madonna’s message to pray the Rosary. As we began the Rosary, the Madonna appeared to me above the pews of the church and thanked me for having begun the Rosary, and asked me to say the Rosary every evening, as we always have done, up to today.

The second time She appeared to me, She cried for priests. She said to me: “The Church doesn’t love its priests. We must pray the Rosary, believe strongly, and defend the Church and its faithful.” While saying this, She was crying.

The Madonna loves the priests. She wants to develop love for priests; all the Church and the faithful are responsible for the love towards each priest, and all must be put right in order to understand the man that God gave us.

The Madonna cried three more times over the Bible. She did not tell me all, because Her word is like a flourishing seed, which given time, grows. A book cannot explain the mystery of the words of the Madonna, words whose meaning grows through time, like a seed.

It was the same for Peter when Christ asked him, “Who am I?” Peter’s answer was that, “He was the Revelation of the Father,” and that only the righteous will be able to understand. This is a gift of the Father, as is also the Bible.

Read the Bible Every Day!

The Madonna appeared to me. She was sad. She was crying: “I am sad,” she said, and she paused; then she continued: “Take the Bible! Read the Bible every day.” Because of this, I tell all the pilgrims, make a family altar and put the Bible, the Rosary, the Cross, a picture of the Madonna, and holy water on it.

They Burnt Our Bibles

For half of our History, we Croatians have been slaves under the Turks, and then under the Communists. With the Turks, studying was prohibited. After the war, the Communists came into our homes; they took our Bibles and burnt them in front of us. Now things are different. The Word of God creates a new man, a new son! It is a great mystery! She invited us to live and love the Holy Mass, so that our lives may become holy and Eucharistic.

The Madonna cried in front of me five times. For ten years She has desired to talk to us through Her tears, which are like the word. All the encounters have been a blessing. The Madonna isn’t like a person. She resembles an ocean – She is just like one. In Her, there is joy with tears. Her messages are seeds that bring life and conversion. All of them are important. Medjugorje is like a tree. The word of the Madonna creates a new situation; it fills the heart with grace that illuminates everything. It creates new, unforgettable situations.

You notice that the rest of the world is superficial, false. After Medjugorje, as a just man, you see God, who loves you, who doesn’t make you suffer. You see the man who is with you in a new light. The Church lives and is ready for a new harvest.”

Fr. Jozo Repeated The Message

On April 13, 1991, speaking to Italians crammed into the church of Tihaljina, again and again he repeated a similar message: “During the first weeks, the Madonna appeared many times in the church of Medjugorje during the Rosary, and She gave us the principal messages – that of the Prayer of the Rosary, of Fasting, of Confession, of the Bible, of the Mass. I have seen the Madonna crying for priests…I have seen the Madonna crying, and She said: “I am sad. You have forgotten the Bible.”

Recite the Rosary Every Evening

The first time She appeared during the Rosary, She thanked us because we had replied to Her invitation through Jakov to recite the Rosary. Then She added: “Now recite the Rosary every evening.” On the first days, She appeared to us and said, “Satan is strong; fast, and Satan will fail.”

The Madonna was practical. She thought with exactness: “Pray the Rosary together! Make a Fast! Turn off the television and pray the Rosary in the family!”

by Fr. Jozo Zovko, pp. 44-46
from The Medjugorje Sentinel, #38, 6/98

Dear Family of Mary!

"I am with you, and I desire, dear children, that each one of you be ever closer to my heart. --- I will pray for you and intercede for you before God that you understand the greatness of this gift which God is giving me - that I can be with you." (April 25, 1990)

Yesterday was the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and Denis reminded me of a beautiful witness in defense of Medjugorje that was given by the Vicar of the Basilica, Bishop Domenico Pecile. Here is what he said:

"At other places of pilgrimage where Our Lady was appearing some miracles have happened, and this is beautiful. But here, for such a long time, Our Lady is giving messages, is continuing to speak. I would say that here Our Lady continues to speak to humanity. She is not doing it from a pulpit, but as a mother. Those who want to hear and to obey: they listen. Those who do not want: they don't listen. Our Lady is continuing to speak here. I think that this is because the time in which we live is powerful and important as no time before. In our time, Our Lady is observing as a mother, seeing our reality and coming to help us to think again about our way of life and about the world in which we live.

"In Eucharistic celebrations, I saw something extraordinary: pilgrims were attentive, concentrated, although we had Holy Mass in a conference hall. Nothing could distract them; they experienced something deep within them. The presence of the mystery can almost be felt in the air here. The faithful come to the churches elsewhere also, but you see them talking. But not here! Here, they are attentive! In all our churches throughout the world, it should be as it is here in Medjugorje." (Bishop Domenico Pecile, Vicar of St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, in a talk given in Medjugorje on October 4, 2005)

You can see that Bishop Pecile is convinced of Our Lady's presence in Medjugorje. How can he tell? It is through the devotion and deep prayerfulness of the people in Medjugorje. The presence of Our Lady shines on the faces of the pilgrims!

May we take heart at Bishop Pecile's words. Our Lady needs our steadfast commitment to her plan in Medjugorje. We are her ambassadors to the world. Through prayer, fasting and penance, reading the Bible, receiving the Sacraments, and faith, we will begin to reflect her presence everywhere!

In Jesus and Mary!

Cathy Nolan
©2009 Mary TV
www.marytv.tv

OUR LADY’S REQUEST
FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE APPARITIONS IN MEDJUGORJE
FOR EACH THURSDAY

DEPENDANCE ON GOD
Matthew 6:25-34

FROM A TALK GIVEN BY MIRJANA SOLDO
AT THE 1998 CHICAGO MARIAN CONFERENCE, SEPTEMBER 12-13

(Mirjana was the first of the six Medjugorje visionaries to receive all ten secrets from Our Lady. Her daily apparitions lasted through Christmas, 1982. Excerpted from “Center for Peace Newsletter.”)

“Our Lady always says, ‘Do not talk about the secrets—pray—because the one who experiences me as their mother and God as their father, should have fear of nothing. Those who do not believe are the only ones who have fear.’…

I have heard about lots of different apparitions, some here in America, where reportedly Our Lady is talking about some horrible times to come where there are going to be floods and all kinds of disasters. And I always say, with a full heart, that that’s not truly Our Lady speaking because Our Lady is our mother and she loves her children, and it is not her desire that people love her because they fear. That is not true faith. She changes us with her smile and with love. And so we don’t need to fear anything, but we need to place our lives in her hands and we must not think about what will happen tomorrow. Our Lady desires that we think about what is going to happen now, in this moment, because who among us here can say if in ten minutes we will still be alive? Our Lady desires that every second of our lives we’re prepared to return to God….

Our Lady asks in our daily prayers that we place as a priority prayers for unbelievers (but Our Lady never says ‘non-believers,’ she always says, ‘those who have not yet experienced the love of God’) because she says most of the evil things that happen in the world, like drugs, war, abortion, divorces—that these things stem from unbelievers. So Our Lady says, ‘My dear children, when you pray for them, you really pray for yourselves and for your future.’ And in addition to our prayers, she is also asking for our example. She is not asking that we give lectures and talks….Our Lady desires that we speak through our lives, that unbelievers can see God and the love of God in our lives. I would like to ask you most sincerely that you understand this with you whole hearts….I always say that we don’t need to tell Our Lady about the things that we desire because she is our mother and can read our hearts. Let us pray so we help her, so that we can change our brothers and sisters who have not been as lucky as we have to have encountered the love of God.

Each one of us six visionaries has a special mission in these apparitions. Our Lady chose me to pray for unbelievers, Vicka and Jacov pray for the sick, Ivanka prays for families, Marija prays for sisters and souls in purgatory, Ivan prays for young people and priests….I want to conclude, asking you to pray for unbelievers….Our Lady asks, first of all, that we love unbelievers, that we experience them as our brothers and sisters, and that we do not judge them because God will judge all of us. And when we can experience this love for them, then we should pray for them because that is the only way we can change them. I am sure each one of us has an unbeliever close in our vicinity, and that unbeliever is our responsibility.”

(Mirjana also spoke about Mary’s call to frequent Mass, Confession, Bible reading, and fasting.)

Here is the official letter circulated on Father’s behalf by his assistant, Mrs. Vesna Curic:

The Lord knows why He sometimes allows a gap or a painful absence to enter into our lives – He always has a plan. Remember when Abraham renounced his son Isaac, only to bear even greater fruit for humanity? When Saint Joseph thought that he had to give up marrying Mary, it was to finally find Her in a more pure and beautiful way. But he had to go through an agony so that his own heart would enlarge to match Hers!

If Fr. Jozo’s absence is a painful pruning process for the pilgrims and for each one of us here, it would be good nevertheless for all of us to welcome the event with a positive attitude, not as a calamity, but rather as a gift from God Who will use it for a greater purpose. Just imagine, it is quite possible that this time of sabbatical may save Fr. Jozo’s life, and prevent him from collapsing from exhaustion without warning as Fr. Slavko did! Isn’t it also possible that a change in his life pattern may permit him to perceive other aspects of Mary’s plan for Medjugorje that he may reveal to us later on? The possibilities for why God chose this time to give Father Jozo a break are endless.

One thing we can be sure of is that if we welcome this time of trial with faith and even with gratitude, we will free the way for the Lord to harvest all its fruit, in our day and in Eternity. But if we mourn what was ours before and now seems lost, or even worse, if we attempted to blame someone for having robbed us of it, we certainly would be wasting our time and ruining God’s plan.

I’m sure that Fr. Jozo is expecting us to display an attitude of faith. Let’s make this our way to thank him for his 27 years of service to us! Let us also pray for him, and continue to study his teachings that are still available on CDs, DVDs and books at Siroki Brijeg.

Children of Medjugorje, www.childrenofmedjugorje.com