Dear Children, Today I call you to a complete union with God. Your body is on earth, but I ask you for your soul to be all the more often in God's nearness. You will achieve this through prayer, prayer with an open heart. In that way you will thank God for the immeasurable goodness which He gives to you through me and, with a sincere heart, you will receive the obligation to treat the souls whom you meet with equal goodness. Thank you, my children.
Our Lady added: With the heart I pray to God to give strength and love to your shepherds to help you in this and to lead you.
Message to Mirjana, 2 October 2008
Dear Children, again I call you to faith. My motherly heart desires for your heart to be open, so that it could say to your heart: believe. My children, only faith will give you strength in life's trials. It will renew your soul and open the ways of hope. I am with you. I gather you around me because I desire to help you, so that you can help your neighbours to discover faith, which is the only joy and happiness of life. Thank you.
Dr.Fr.Ivan Sesar Provincial of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province former Pastor of Medjugorje responds to sensational news in the media
The media published in recent days a sensational news: that the Vatican began to square the accounts with the phenomenon called Medjugorje, and that the Pope himself called Medjugorje a fraud. In the background of this false information was the case of Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, punished by the Vatican for spreading of doubtful doctrines, manipulation of consciences, doubtful mysticism, disobedience and fault against the sixth commandment (fornication). As this is a priest who used to serve in Medjugorje, the authenticity of the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje was once again under suspicion. Dr. Fr. Ivan Sesar, Provincial of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province and former Pastor of Medjugorje responds.
A. I am surprised by these wrong, and I would even say malevolent, conclusions. It is well known that the Holy See is observing the events of Medjugorje with special attention, and that it has not pronounced any final judgment yet. The Vatican is not an institution that is squaring the accounts with anyone and with Medjugorje least of all.
Q.But the case of Fr. Tomislav, who was punished, is another proof for the skeptics that the phenomenon of Medjugorje has been invented by the Herzegovinian Franciscans?
A.It is a pure fiction that the phenomenon of Medjugorje has been invented by the Herzegovinian Franciscans. All those who are well intentioned and make an effort to find out the truth about the beginnings of the Medjugorje events, will easily find out that the Franciscans who were serving in Medjugorje at that time, approached these events with much precaution.
Q.The journalist Inoslav Besker pushed even further and asked if precisely Vlasic invented the apparitions. What is the truth about the activities of Fr. Tomislav in Medjugorje?
A. This is an equally absurd assertion. It is well known and easy to prove that Fr. Tomislav was not serving in Medjugorje in June 1981, when the first apparitions began, as the six children said. He did not even know the children. He came to Medjugorje by the will of his superiors in September 1981, after Fr. Jozo Zovko had been arrested. He was working in the parish less then 4 years, in 1985, he was transferred to Vitina, and in 1988, he left for Italy.
Q.Was Fr. Tomislav the spiritual guide of the visionaries? Was he presenting himself falsely, even to the Pope, as the one who by the providence of God leads the Medjugorje visionaries?
A. This provincial house has never proposed or appointed anyone as the spiritual guide of the visionaries. I think that not a single one of the parish priests of Medjugorje ever had a mandate to lead them spiritually. The fact is that some of the Franciscans were hearing confessions of some of the visionaries; they had, and still do have friendly relationships with them and their families. Who is whose friend or spiritual guide, you have to ask this the visionaries themselves. These days, we could read in the media that some of the visionaries denied this kind of leadership.
Q. Is the punishment that strikes Fr. Tomislav in any relation with his activities in Medjugorje? Mons. Ratko Peric, the Bishop of Mostar, is putting it in this context. - A. As much as I understood from the documents that I read, Fr. Tomislav Vlasic has been punished neither because of his former pastoral activities in the parish Medjugorje, nor because of the Medjugorje phenomenon, nor because of his personal attitude towards this phenomenon. When he was transferred from Medjugorje, the bishop did not take away from him any priestly faculties! I do not see the reason to connect this with his activities in Medjugorje or with the phenomenon itself, and even less reasons to interpret this as a negative attitude of the Vatican towards Medjugorje.
Q. What is the position of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province towards the case of Fr. Tomislav Vlasic ?
A. In 1992, he officially joined the Italian Franciscan Province of Abruzzo, where he is living and working. This means that since then this Provincial house has no access to his occupations, and to what he is doing. According to the rules of our Order, he is not obliged to give an account about his activities to the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the BVM, and he has not done it. He is under the authority of the Provincial and the provincial Government of the province to which he belongs. I have never been officially informed about the details of his activities in Italy.
Q.The Vatican has announced a new commission that will reexamine the phenomenon of Medjugorje. What do you know about it?
A.The rumor about a new commission that is supposed to examine the phenomenon of Medjugorje is becoming louder and louder, but our provincial office has not received any officinal written confirmation.
Q.Is this commission going to be under the patronage of the Pope, has any member been appointed yet?
A. As much as I have been informed unofficially, it is supposed to be an international commission to be appointed by the Holy See. As a provincial of the province to which the parish Medjugorje has been entrusted for pastoral care, and as a former pastor of Medjugorje, I declare that we are totally open and ready to collaborate with any commission appointed by the official Church. From the very beginning, the parish Medjugorje has been legally led by the Franciscans who, according to the rules of the Church, are appointed by the local Church authorities. The pastoral staff desires all the events to be in conformity with the rules of the Church and the doctrine of the Church. Medjugorje is not, as some think and say, a project of some individuals or some groups, but a graceful gift of Heaven offered to todays people and humanity.
Q.Is there anything happening behind the scene?
A. In Medjugorje, there is nothing secret or behind the scene, hidden from the public eyes. Everyone, a believer or an unbeliever, can come and see what is happening and why so large crowds of pilgrims from the whole world gather there. The numbers confirm that, in spite of everything, Medjugorje is today one of the most famous places of pilgrimage in the world in the Catholic Church, and an irresistible magnet for many who seek God.
(Source:Medjugorje Parish website:www.medjugorje.hr. 21 September 2008)
Apparitions of the BVM: Between history, faith and theology was the theme of the 22nd mariologic congress, which was held in Lourdes from September 4 to 8, 2008.
The most famous experts in theology, history of art, literature and ethnology from all over the world gathered together, and among them also the members of the Croatian section of the Croatian Mariologic Institute of the Faculty of Catholic Theology in Zagreb. During the morning, the Congress worked in plenary sessions, and in the afternoon in 15 language sections, among which also the Croatian section. Two lectures treated the theme of Medjugorje: The Medjugorje apparitions and the universal Church, position of the Church dignitaries (Edo Pericic), and The Medjugorje apparitions and theology (Adalbert Rebic). Croatian theologians, whether in favour of Medjugorje or fervently critical towards it, speak positively about what is presently happening in Medjugorje. The fruits of the Medjugorje phenomenon are not disputable. Medjugorje is already now at the level of Fatima and Lourdes, says Dr. Adalbert Rebic. The apparitions and the visionaries have to wait the main problem is in the fact that the local bishop is reserved towards this phenomenon, and we should neither neglect the fact that the visionaries are still quite young, explains Rebic and adds that everything that is presently happening in Medjugorje is in conformity with the Church teachings, not only recognised but even recommended by the Church, and that the Bishops Conference already recognised these fruits. Dr. Ivan Karic, a theologian who also participated in the congress, underlines that Medjugorje has de facto already become a shrine. But the Vatican, because of a certain lack of clarity, has not yet recognised the authenticity of apparitions. He adds that the destiny of Medjugorje depends very much on the position of the local bishop. Another theologian, Dr. Mato Zovkic, considers that Medjugorje can go on even with the restraint connected with the apparitions and the visionaries. He considers that the phenomenon of Medjugorje is unusual, because of the important number of the apparitions which last an exceptionally long time. It is impossible to give an official position as long as the apparitions are still happening.
Apostolate Retreat 2009
The annual retreat is being held at the Emmaus Retreat Centre West Wickham Kent near London from the evening of 30th January - Sunday 1st February 2009.
For details of how to book and travel directions please go to the UK Events page
Message to Mirjana, 2 September 2008
Dear Children, Today, with my motherly heart, I call you gathered around me to love your neighbour. My children, stop. Look in the eyes of your brother and see Jesus, my Son. If you see joy, rejoice with him. If there is pain in the eyes of your brother, with your tenderness and goodness, cast it away, because without love you are lost. Only love is effective; it works miracles. Love will give you unity in my Son and the victory of my heart. Therefore, my children, love.
Message to Mirjana, 2 August 2008
Dear Children, In my coming to you, here among you, the greatness of God is reflected and the way with God to eternal joy is opening. Do not feel weak, alone or abandoned. Along with faith, prayer and love climb to the hill of salvation. May the Mass, the most exalted and most powerful act of your prayer, be the centre of your spiritual life. Believe and love, my children. Those whom my Son chose and called will help you in this as well. To you and to them especially, I give my motherly blessing. Thank you.
Message to Mirjana, 2 July 2008
Dear Children, With motherly love I desire to encourage you to love your neighbour. May my Son be the source of that love. He, who could have done everything by force, chose love and gave an example to you. Also today, through me, God expresses immeasurable goodness to you and you, children, are obliged to respond to it. With equal goodness and generosity behave towards the souls whom you meet. May your love convert them. In that way my Son and his love will resurrect in you. Thank you.
Our Lady added: Your shepherds should be in your hearts and your prayers.
Medjugorje: Vatican announcement of the appointment of a new commission
The Vatican has recently announced that it is setting up a new commission to look into the events surrounding the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje. This will be the first time the Vatican is officially to visit the Shrine. The present situation permitting private pilgrimages continues.
(Source: Balkaninsight.com, 27 June 2008)
An article worth reading
Visitors to the site will be interested to see the article by John Ellis Until the Vatican rules, don't dismiss Medjugorje in the current issue of the Catholic Herald. It provides a prudent and objective overview of the present situation regarding Medjugorje in relation to the Church.
Message to Mirjana on 2nd June 2008
Dear Children, I am with you by the grace of God, to make you great, great in faith and love, all of you! You whose heart has been hard as a stone by sin and guilt, but you devout souls, I desire to illuminate with a new light. Pray that my prayer may meet open hearts that I may be able to illuminate them with the strength of faith and open the ways of love and hope. Be persevering. I will be with you.
Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti - Witness in London on 10th May - the Vigil of Pentecost at the Church of St Mary and St Michael London E1
Marija is one of the six Medjugorje visionaries - please go to the Features page on this website to read a summary of her inspiring testimony. A full version of her talk can also be obtained on a CD, details for which are also on the Features page.
Message to Mirjana, 2nd April 2008
Dear Children, Also today, as I am with you in the great love of God, I desire to ask you: Are you with me? Is your heart open for me? Do you permit me to purify and prepare it for my Son? My children, you are chosen because, in your time, the great grace of God descended on earth. Do not hesitate to accept it. Thank you.
Our Lady's message to Mirjana Dragicevic - Soldo on 18th March 2008
Dear Children, today I extend my hands towards you. Do not be afraid to accept them. They desire to give you love and peace and to help you in salvation. Therefore my children receive them. Fill my heart with joy and I will lead you towards holiness. The way on which I lead you is difficult and full of temptations and falls. I will be with you and my hands will hold you. Be persevering so that, at the end of the way,we can all together,in joy and love,hold the hands of my Son. Come with me; fear not. Thank you.
Mirjana is one of six visionaries in Medjugorje, who have been receiving messages from Our Lady since 24th June 1981. Mary is urging us all to turn back to God, to pray for peace,reconciliation,and conversion of the heart.
Message to Mirjana, 2 March 2008
Dear Children, I implore you, especially at this Lenten time, to respond to the goodness of God because He chose you and sent me among you. Be purified of sins and in Jesus, my Son, recognise the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the entire world. May He be the meaning of your life and may your life become service to the divine love of my Son. Thank you my children!
Our Lady's Message to Mirjana - February 2, 2008
Dear Children, I am with you. As a mother, I am gathering you, because I desire to erase from your hearts what I see now. Accept the love of my Son and erase fear, pain, suffering and disappointment from your heart. I have chosen you in a special way to be a light of the love of my Son. Thank you.
THE HIDDEN CHILD OF MEDJUGORJE
New Book by Sister Emmanuel:
In the spirit of:
Medjugorje. The Triumph of the Heart
UK Distributor - F & R Fenlon, 59 Colchester Avenue, Cardiff, CF23 9AX. For more copies of the book please call tel: 029 2046 0189 email: r.fenlon@ntlworld.com Recommended price: £7.00 Details of other Sister Emmanuel items can also be obtained.
Praise for the book from Father Jozo Zovko, OFM. Pastor of Medjugorje when the apparitions began.
'Books are like seashells; at first they all look alike. However,they are far from being indentical and their value varies greatly. Some of them are packed with riches and so well written, that they hide rare perils within.
Sister Emmanuel's book is one of those; it contains the most beautiful pearls, and with them enriches the reader. Through her accounts and anecdotes, the reader is pleased to meet people of great worth and to be filled with the teachings of so many events. Through this book, one will explore more fully a way still too little known: The way of the Queen of Peace.'
Sister Emmanuel Maillard was born in France in 1947. She studied Theology under Cardinal Danielou. She graduated from the Sorbonne University Paris with a degree in fine arts. In 1976 she joined the Beatitudes Community - She has lived in Medjugorje since 1989. By turns moving and humorous, she recounts inspirational testimonies about Medjugorje,or,at times about the missions she has carried out round the world. She confides in us as well the most intinate memories of her own spiritual experience.
Message to Mirjana, 2 Jan. 2008
Dear Children, With all the strength of my heart, I love you and give myself to you. As a mother fights for her children, I pray for you and fight for you. I ask you not to be afraid to open yourselves, so as to be able to love with the heart and give yourselves to others. The more that you do this with the heart, the more you will receive and the better you will understand my Son and His gift to you. May everyone recognize you through the love of my Son and through me. Thank you.
Annual message given to Jakov, December 25, 2007
Dear Children, Today, in a special way I call you to become open to God and for each of your hearts today to become a place of the birth of Jesus. Little children, through all this time that God permits me to be with you, I desire to lead you to the joy of your life. Little children, the only true joy of your life is God. Therefore, dear children, do not seek joy in things of this earth but open your hearts and accept God. Little children, everything passes, only God remains in your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.
JAKOV COLO (Visionary) speaks on CONVERSION
...those who say that the messages are always the same, those are the people who do not live the messages of Our Lady. - Jakov Colo October 12, 2007, in Medjugorje
Jakov giving his testimony to the pilgrims. Day after day, year after year, these visionaries, instructed by Our Lady, have cheerfully continued to speak Our Lady's words to those who visit Medjugorje.
I am going to share with you the most important things about the apparitions of Our Lady. What is even more important, I am going to share with you the main messages of Our Lady.
When the apparitions got started here in Medjugorje, I was ten. I am the youngest visionary amongst six of us. I had the same life, like every other child in the village. I was with my friends. I was playing with them. I lived a very simple faith, the faith of one child, and the faith which I was told about by my parents. I knew that God existed, that Our Lady existed, and I was always praying. Sometimes I had to pray, but you know, I had to pray but I did not really want to pray. I attended Holy Mass, and sometimes I could not wait for Holy Mass to end. It was very hard for me to sit for one hour in the church. I had never thought about the apparitions. I had not known that the apparitions were possible. This was my life before the apparitions a simple life.
Then my life changed completely. On the 25th of June, 1981, I received this great gift from God, and that gift was to see Our Lady. I can recall these first moments with Our Lady, when we found ourselves on Apparition Hill and when I saw the eyes of Our Lady for the first time. I saw this enormous love coming out of Her. Then I felt the same love in my heart and I felt so much love, protected. In that moment, there are not really any words that can describe that moment. When you see Our Lady, only your heart can talk. At that moment, my heart told me, -I hope this moment will never end- because that was the most beautiful moment in my life. I had never experienced anything like that in my life. In the same moment, I understood in my heart, that a new life had started for me. I always say that I received a great gift, and that gift is to see Our Lady. But at the same moment, I received an even greater gift. This is the gift that Our Lady desires to give us all, that through Her we get to know Jesus Christ. Our Lady wants to lead us all towards Jesus and that is why She comes over here and the apparitions have been going on for 26 years. I know that is strange for some people, and many people ask themselves, why so long, why so many messages. Many people say the messages are always the same. We always ask ourselves why, but we should say something else. We need to say thank you. We need to give thanks to God for the gift that He gave to us because we are not able to comprehend what a great grace we have received – that God has been sending Our Lady for 26 years. If each one of us today opens our hearts, then each one of us will be able to understand why He sends His Mother. And that is very simple. Our Lady is a mother. She loves Her children. She wants to bring Her children to peace and to joy, and that peace and joy can only be found through Jesus Christ. That is why Our Lady comes over here, that is why She gives us Her messages. Her messages are only the way to get to know Jesus Christ. And those who say that the messages are always the same, those are people who do not live the messages of Our Lady. If we accept all the messages She gives to us, if we live these messages, then we will be able to understand that Her messages are the strength for our lives. And at the same moment, they are the answer for everything that we ask.
These are the messages of peace because Our Lady came as the Queen of Peace. The message of prayer, fasting, Holy Mass, and conversion. I know that there are many messages, like it was at the very beginning for me as well. I first asked myself whether I would be able to accept these messages because these messages were new messages for me as well. You see, I had never prayed before fifteen decades of the Rosary every day. I had never fasted twice a week. I had not known what the word conversion meant, and why to pray for peace. But Our Lady says, and She teaches us, and She said here in Medjugorje, -Dear children! It is enough that you open your hearts and I will do everything else. This is the first thing we must do in Medjugorje. And in a special way, you pilgrims who come here to Medjugorje, you need to start this pilgrimage. But how? With pure hearts and that means the sacrament of Confession, Reconciliation. If we do not have clean, pure hearts, how are we going to be able to accept these messages? We will not be able to reach anything. So the first thing we must do is go to Confession, and then we have to surrender ourselves completely to God. I can recall pretty well from the beginning of the apparitions, I said so many times to God, I want to live Her messages. I want to feel these messages in my heart. I am ready to accept these messages, but You please help me. Then slowly I started understanding. I understood that prayer was not difficult for me any more. On the contrary, I felt good. I felt joy. I started feeling peace in my heart. It was not difficult for me to attend Holy Mass. I started understanding Holy Mass. Holy Mass became the center of my life. And this is what all of us can reach.
Our Lady invites us to pray. Our Lady invites us to pray the Holy Rosary. She invites us to renew the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Our Lady always says, pray with your hearts. Feel peace and joy of the prayer. Make the prayer the peace and joy of your life. Nobody is able to pray if he feels that he must pray. All our hearts must feel a need for prayer. Prayer must become our food. Our Lady said also that prayer is the answer for everything you ask. In a special way, Our Lady invites us to pray in our families. She says to place God in the very first place in your lives and find the time for God in your families. If God lives and exists in our families, then we possess everything. We have peace in our families. We have love. We have joy. Then we will be able to talk to our children, and television is not going to bring up our children. Unfortunately this is what is happening all over the world. We have forgotten to talk to our children. Parents have great responsibility before their children. Let us recall what the late Fr. Slavko used to say. From the very beginning of the lives of our children, we need to place the rules of faith in their hearts. And even if they distance themselves from God one day, they are always going to come back. The little we gave them stays forever in their hearts.
These pilgrims are intent on listening to Jakov's words. For some it may be their only time of hearing the witness of the visionaries. All leave changed within their hearts.
Our Lady says fast, Wednesdays and Fridays. Today is what day? (the crowd answered Friday) How many of you have started fasting? (Very few pilgrims raised their hands and Jakov responded) Unfortunate! Many people ask why fasting is so important. It is important because Our Lady says fast. But there is something greater. Our Lady says, Dear children! With prayer and fasting, you can reach everything. You can even stop wars. That is why fasting is important. I am bothered so many times because we always ask something from God. God give me this and that, and we always want this immediately, at that moment when we really ask for that like we blackmail God. And then, if something we ask for does not come. I am hearing people say that I have been praying for one year and nothing is happening. Time with God is not our time. We must pray always. We must have firm faith, not only to remember God when we need Him. God must always be in the first place in our lives. If God is really standing in the first place in our lives, then we will be able to understand. We must not ask many questions. Who can know us better but God? Who can know better what we need in this moment but Him? The only thing we have to do is to pray and to believe in Him.
In our lives, it happens that we get sick. We go and see the doctor. He gives us a prescription, then we go to the pharmacy, and then we heal ourselves with medication. You see Our Lady gives us prescriptions how to become better. Are we doing this? Are we healing ourselves with this medication She gives to all of us? On the contrary, many people do not do this. We go around and we ask, What are we to do? But we truly know what we are to do. God is everything in our lives. If we have God, then we have everything. Then we can say we have a life because the only life we really have is a life with God. And talking about fasting, when we fast, we do fasting out of love and in silence. All people should not know that we are fasting today. Maybe many of you did not raise your hands because you did not want other people to know that you are fasting. When you come here to Medjugorje, why do you come here? I know that it is not to see us visionaries in the first place because we are human the same way you are. The greatest gift that you can receive here in Medjugorje is your conversion. We can change our lives here. We can start the new life, the new life with God. And what is even more important, we need to take this gift back to our homes. I believe your true pilgrimage starts when you go back to your homes. There you can see what you have received here. How do we tell somebody to fast if we have not started fasting ourselves? This is the place where we have to start living the messages of Our Lady. Our Lady says all of you should become my apostles. But how to become an apostle of Our Lady? It is very easy to talk, and when we talk we are very good. But we have to talk to other people with our example, with our lives whether we accepted Her messages. That is the true example we give to others. Other people should recognize God within us and how God acts through us.
Our Lady says pray for peace. The first thing She asks is to pray for peace in our hearts. If we do not have peace in our hearts, we cannot get to God. If we do not have God, how are we going to accept the messages and everything that is given to us here? So the first thing we should have is peace in our hearts. We know how much peace todays world needs. If Our Lady says that with prayer and fasting, we can reach everything, we can even stop wars, the only thing that remains within us is to open our hearts and to start praying. God will do everything else. Thank you very much. (With thanks to the website - Mej.com)
PRAYING THE ROSARY ACHIEVES HOLINESS
Cardinal Bertone Promotes Rosary in Peru AUG. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).-
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told seminarians in Peru that their task is holiness, and that one of the ways to achieve it is by praying the rosary.The Secretary of State said this Wednesday when visiting an archdiocesan seminary in Peru.He recommended the rosary saying that, "in praying it, we follow His Holiness Benedict XVI, who recites it with frequency each morning and uses it to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ."The Salesian cardinal assured the seminarians that he would tell the Pope of their encounter.
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Scientific examination of the Medjugorje Visionaries in Ecstasy
A brief summary of this scientific report can be found on the Features page of this website.
- an important statement on Medjugorje -
Fr Tomislav Pervan speaks on Medjugorje In Remembrance of the 25th Anniversary of the Events in Medjugorje by Dr. Tomislav Pervan, OFM
For the past twenty-five years, Medjugorje has been an actuality on the world scene. Today, it has its zealous advocates; however, it also has its fierce opponents. Opposing front lines in the battle are not likely to sue for peace any time soon. Advocates are tireless in their visits to Medjugorje all the while believing the authentic voice of Heaven is the starting point, namely, the appearance of the Gospa—Our Lady. Meanwhile, the opponents are fierce in their opposition and seek out elements of contention surrounding the entire set of events.
In the meantime, the ever-increasing daily flow of pilgrims to this place does not allow us to be indifferent. Facts and numbers speak for themselves. The number of pilgrims is ever increasing. They come from all corners of the earth, are of all colours of skin, and from all nations and nationalities. While other places of pilgrimage mark a decrease in pilgrims and pilgrimages despite being advertised widely, the number of pilgrims and faithful of all languages and locales constantly increases. As a phenomenon, Medjugorje does not have an active propaganda machine: individuals spread its fame by word-of-mouth, witness, and personal experience.
On the one hand, the priests who work in Medjugorje feel they are over-burdened in their daily work and that they are stretched to their physical limits. They are faced with innumerable calls for personal counseling, endless confessions, and constant evangelization. On the other hand, they are also faced with the suspicion that they are teetering at the edge of heterodoxy. The constant criticism is hurled at them that they are fostering something that is contrary to the Church, namely, the non-existent apparitions and the like. We, on the other hand, cannot fail to speak, fail to give witness about that which we have heard or seen, or that which we experience daily by way of our senses. (Cf. Acts 4:20) Hence, we invite all to come and see. So many bishops and priests had their doubts; however, after many hours of hearing confessions, they changed their minds and the doubts vanished.
The voice of conscience forces upon us the obligation to be of assistance to those who are in misery and who come here. We wish to be in harmony with the Church to the very end, and not to sin against the Church's teachings or practice. Meanwhile, the accusations and reproaches hurt. Quite frequently, questions are raised that ask: What need did we have of all of this? Were we not able to be as every other parish, that is, carry out the well-entrenched pastoral patterns within the usual norms of the Church and Gospels? Who was it that cooked this stew, such that, to this very day, the river of pilgrims has not dried up, but, to the contrary, continues to grow greater and more dynamic?
For this reason, and as a friend and participant of these events from their beginnings in 1981, I give consideration to what must be done to change the present situations to escape the entrenched position of persistent denial, constant disputation, or, in fact, indifference and silence on the part of the Church's media all of this while the flow of thousands of pilgrims to this place continues. It is obvious that all the denials, disputations, and silence find no acceptance on the part of the faithful. Meanwhile, Church circles continue to be deaf, and the prohibition against this activity on the part the faithful persists on the part of the media.
It is the inner voice of conscience and the experience of faith that motivate the faithful. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit Himself is the initiator of all these events. I am further convinced that, after twenty-five years have passed, the principle of the locus theologicus (the theological position), according to the notion of the sensus fidelium (understanding on the part of the faithful) and the consensus fidelium (unanimity of the faithful), applies as offered for acceptance by the documents of Vatican II and post-Vatican II, and by statements of Popes following the Council. Things we read about in the Acts of the Apostles are happening here. I am convinced that the Church is being gathered in this place from the four winds and every corner of the earth into the one Kingdom as what took place in Jerusalem at Pentecost. In this place, we find mirrored the universal—“Catholic” Church in miniature.
It is in this sense that I believe the instruction of the Congregation for the Faith entitled, The Criteria for Judging and Differentiating Revelations and Apparitions, dated the 27th of February, 1978, and signed by the then Prefect, Cardinal Franjo Seper, should serve as the vade mecum (that is, the constant companion, the manual) when considering, passing judgment upon, and making decisions about Medjugorje and the Medjugorje phenomenon. The text has lost nothing of its immediacy and value to this very day. It can be fully applied to the events of Medjugorje with all its implications. It can examine the events of Medjugorje from the positive or negative side with all the arguments presented pro and con.
The Congregation for the Faith in its instructions reduces to three levels, or degrees, the norms that relate to reactions to alleged apparitions.
The seers must be examined to determine if, perhaps, it is a question of self-styled visions. Then, all the messages must be gathered and examined and viewed from the point of view of the degree of education of the seers. The mental and physical state of the seers must be examined thoroughly, as well as their moral integrity. All that is explainable from the purely human point of view must be taken into consideration; however, by the same token, all that cannot be explained in purely human terms and with the aid of the most contemporary psychological or physical sciences, and which, in the end, has no cause within human power, must also be taken into consideration.
Following the first phase, if the matter has not died on its own, has not come to a halt or fallen into oblivion, the principle ad experimentum (for the purpose of experiment) comes into play. At the same time, of course, it must be emphasized that the employment of this principle in no way suggests or recognizes the authenticity of the alleged apparitions. It simply channels events to proper and healthy Church routine: practices regarding prayer, devotions, the sacraments, constant spiritual growth and holiness.
When an appropriate period of the ad experimentum phase has elapsed, and in the light of experiences, especially after a close examination of the spiritual fruits occasioned by the alleged apparitions, and of the devotional practices surrounding them, a competent judgment of the events must be given if circumstances demand it.
As regards the first point, everything can be reduced to a simple conclusion: To the present day, in the entire history of the Church, no Marian apparitions were so intensively and extensively investigated (from 1984-2005) on the part of numerous and independent qualified, international experts in the fields of medicine and psychology, or whose investigations and their results were found to correspond to and complement each other. All of the experts concluded that the subjects investigated were found to be spiritually, psychologically, and physically healthy individuals. They were found not to be hallucinating, subject to confabulation, (auto) suggestion, hysteria, hypnotic or other loss of consciousness, deceit, suggestion or exterior inducement of any sort. Hence, it is irresponsible to publicly proclaim them to be liars or inventors of false visions and messages.
Many experts from the fields of medicine, psychology, and parapsychology have occupied themselves with the Medjugorje seers. They failed to uncover any sort of pathological deviation from the norm in their lives. The scientific experts are capable of reaching the full limit of their tests. However, once they have arrived at that limit, their ability to explain ceases. They are able to discern what does or does not pertain to medicine and pathology and what must be excluded from a medico-psychological perspective. The experts have done so and have left behind a record of their findings. Because of that, and because of intellectual honesty, we, who have regard for the truth, must take their investigations and judgments as to the phenomena of Medjugorje into serious account.
The convergent proofs in favour of the authenticity of the Medjugorje phenomenon are perceptible when one takes into consideration the theological, sociological and scientific experiments carried out upon the seers by French, Italian, and Austrian teams of experts from 1984 through 2005. According to the theologian and Mariologist, R. Laurentin, who has published works of capital value (17 books) on Lourdes, and has thoroughly investigated the apparitions in Medjugorje, the latter give evidence of being more powerful as regards the proof of their authenticity than those in Lourdes, to which the Church gave its formal approval.
According to the teaching of St. Ignatius on discernment of spirits, the causes of those or similar manifestations can be determined to be purely human, divine, or demonic. Effects must always be judged by their cause. In all that took place in Medjugorje, one must ask what the cause was, or where the causal beginnings had their roots. If we take into consideration the first days of the events that took place in Bijakovici in June and July of 1981, the experts who thoroughly examined the seers concluded that the seers had some sort of fundamental and key experience, some initial encounter that put them into the center of something that they could not begin to imagine or foresee, something against their will or inclinations, something they were scarcely able to predict.
Science as such can neither confirm nor deny whether the Gospa is, or is not, appearing (just as it would not have been able to utilize scientific instruments to register the resurrection of Christ were they to have been present alongside the Roman guards at the tomb of Jesus). All that science can say after twenty-five years is that the seers are physically and psychologically healthy, and that the seers had a deep-seated and far-reaching experience which continues to affect them to this very day, one that it is impossible to deduce from their biographies. All of that is, for the visionaries, a holy treasure. For that reason one must exclude a purely human cause, and, by the same token, one that is demonic, inasmuch as the Devil is unable to yield good fruit that is constant and so long lasting.
Since twenty-five years have elapsed, a review sine ira et studio (without rancor and [with] diligent attention) would be expedient, both in the local Church and the Church at large, as to the fruits which have been given and continue to be given through Mary's apparitions beyond all ideological suppositions and prejudices. When observed from the purely statistical point of view as a whole, close to some fifty thousand priests have passed through Medjugorje, hundreds of bishops, cardinals, and millions upon millions of the faithful. The Una Sancta et Catholica (the One Holy and Catholic [Church]) in miniature comes to pass here every day. Were there something to be found heretical, schismatic, or contrary to Church teaching, the Church would be obliged to undertake measures against such abuse. That has not resulted up to the present. Therefore, a fifteen-year ad experimentum period since the Zadar Pronouncement in 1991 is a sufficient amount of time so as to allow to conclude that no straying from official Church teaching and practice is taking place in Medjugorje. The Liturgy and devotions celebrated there are fully Christological, Marian, Eucharistic, sacramental, and in full harmony with Church regulations.
It cannot be asserted that the particular fruits of Medjugorje are those of intensive prayer and administration of the sacraments. To do so would be to create a circulus vitiosus (vicious circle): there are other places in the world where prayer and the sacraments are a fixed practice; however, what is lacking there are the efficacious effects that we note as attributable to Medjugorje. It is clear that prayer and the sacraments bear copious fruits for the entire Church throughout the world; however, from where and why do so many people come precisely to Medjugorje? Why do they come to this remote place where they have a concrete experience of God and grace, are converted, learn to pray, and subsequently carry the fruits of Medjugorje to their homes, give witness to what they have experienced, and become missionaries? It simply is not possible to separate the assertions of the seers regarding the apparitions from the fruits of the apparitions which we see in the Church.
The consensus fidei et fidelium can be seen by the fact that all levels of God's people, all classes in society and the Church, all peoples, and all races are represented in Medjugorje, and by the fact that Church life is sustained by all of this in the form of witness, divine worship, sincere service, charity, (martyria, liturgia, et diakonia), and, by the fact that all grow in holiness. Medjugorje is a world-wide phenomenon. Its fruits can be seen in all parts of the world. In essence, Medjugorje is a laymen's movement, a movement of faithful laymen, laden with spirituality, devotion, and sincerity toward the Lord and our Lady. The seers themselves are ordinary lay people and, as such, are able more readily to touch the hearts of plain folks who easily identify with them.
Medjugorje is a peace and pilgrimage movement inasmuch as people come here for the sake of inner peace. It is also a renewal movement within the Church—Ecclesia semper reformanda (the Church ever to be renewed), as well as a humanitarian movement, inasmuch as it has accomplished tremendous charitable and Samaritan works throughout the world (a point made by the present Pope in his encyclical on the God of Love). Lumen Gentium (The Vatican II Document: Light of the Nations) clearly states: "Be they most illustrious, be they simple and more widespread, Charisms are useful and are especially suited to the needs of the Church and must be received with gratitude and consolidation." (LG 12:2) Meanwhile, Apostolicam Actuositatem (Apostolic Activity) states even more explicitly: "The receipt of Charisms, even those that are humble, give rise to the right and duty for each of the faithful to make use of them in the Church and in the world and for the good of mankind and the growth of the Church in the freedom of the Holy Ghost." (AA 3:3).
After the past quarter of a century, it can be asserted that Medjugorje is about a prophetic Charism—a prophetic revelation that calls for repentance. These Charisms are able to be found in all similar phenomena within the Church. Prophetic revelations and apparitions are about an imperative under the impetus of the Holy Spirit as to how one is to behave here and now, and what it is that the People of God must do in a specific situation. Accordingly, the Church must not relate to such phenomena indifferently. She is duty-bound to investigate such an imperative with openness and, congruently, to act if she recognizes the Will of God in the said phenomenon. It is obvious that the Ecclesia orans (the praying Church) has recognized God's Will and Mary's presence in this instance, of which our dear departed Pope spoke in his homily in Zadar (!) three years prior, on the feast of Mary, the Mother of the Church (Pentecost Monday, 2003). On that occasion, the Pope specifically mentioned the above cited sensus fidei fidelium (the understanding of faith of the faithful).
If, as is the case with ordinary beatifications and canonizations, the process begins with the local Church, and, after an appropriate interval of time, investigation, and conclusions based on the materials offered in favor of beatification or canonization, the matter is transferred to Rome, I think that would be appropriate in this case. After all has been investigated at the local level, the entire case of the Medjugorje phenomenon should be transferred to the appropriate Roman dicastery, especially in light of the fact that it has outgrown the local Church's boundaries and has become widespread so as to encompass the entire Church. The countless prayer groups throughout the entire world have come into existence because of the events in Medjugorje. They carry the mark of authenticity and veracity. The entire phenomenon is caught-up in the very being of the Church and, as such, carries more weight than does a beatification of one of God's chosen ones. If, as is the case for beatification, the People of God are asked their approval, why shouldn't we do so in this case as well, especially in light of Mary's efficacious presence in specific places (John Paul II, in Zadar), and in light of the personal experiences and miracles that individuals experienced precisely here in Medjugorje?
Throughout the entire history of Salvation, God has established communication with his creatures through apparitions. This form of communication is especially suitable for man's physico-spiritual structure: it immerses man's senses, especially his sight and hearing. The Medjugorje phenomenon can be explained in this manner or that manner; however, intellectual honesty demands that the entire affair engage us in light of revelation, mysticism, supernatural experiences and so many other similar experiences in other cases, and, for that matter, in other faiths.
If God has truly spoken throughout history, why should we be exempted from such a manner of communication wherein the Holy Ghost makes use of apparitions for the sake of the many needs of the contemporary world? The greater the misery in the world, so much the greater is the need for God's voice and communication. Hence, we might well conclude as did Paul: Do not extinguish the spirit. Do not disdain prophetic communications. Investigate all and hold on to what is good! (1 Thess. 5:19-21).
Medjugorje, July 13, 2006 Fr Tomislav Pervan OFM Former Pastor of Medjugorje (1982-1988) Former Provincial of the Franciscans (OFM) in Hercegovina (1994-2001)
The Rosary - an act of love
Click on the Features Page for a reminder:
A quick look at what Pope John Paul II said in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae(2002), on the method used by God, as he communicates with us, at the same time 'respecting our human nature and its vital rhythms'.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RECITE THE ROSARY?
You can read some reflections from Father Slavko by going to the features page on this website. They are taken from his meditation on how to recite the rosary in order to deepen how we pray.
This extract and others from different sources is the start of similar commentaries on the power of the rosary.
