The apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje are an extraordinary event, which has grown in intensity over the course of over forty years. The small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina attracts millions of people from all over the world.
Our Lady’s messages are spread everywhere in real time, thanks to modern means of communication and constitute the most widespread form of evangelization present in the Catholic Church today.
Even though a lot of time has passed and the apparitions are still ongoing, everything Our Lady has accomplished to date is only a preparation for what is to come. The plan of the Queen of Peace, begun in Fatima, is entering its decisive phase in recent years. Our Lady is present with her person and her word to help the Church and humanity overcome a crisis that could become fatal.
(Taken from the book by Fr. Livio “Medjugorje, paradise on earth”)
Our Lady of Medjugorje
Our Lady of Medjugorje is the name with which Mary is venerated in one of the longest ongoing Marian apparitions currently underway.
Medjugorje is the name of the place where the apparitions began and where the six visionaries come from: Vicka Ivanković, Mirijana Dragičević, Marija Pavlović, Ivan Dragičević, Ivanka Ivanković and Jakov Čolo.
In the first apparition, which took place on 24 June 1981, the six visionaries saw the Virgin Mary who presented herself to them with the title of “Queen of Peace”. The protagonist of the apparitions invites conversion, prayer and peace.
The visionaries of Medjugorje report that Our Lady of Medjugorje asks above all to pray for others with humility and love.
In particular she asks us to pray for the following intentions: for the conversion of sinners, for young people and families, to be able to put her messages into practice and be an example with our lives.
Following the apparitions, Medjugorje became the destination of numerous pilgrimages.
Even today the Virgin Mary appears to the visionaries, leaving them the so-called messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje.
Prayers for Our Lady of Medjugorje
The two prayers that Our Lady of Medjugorje wants to be recited every day are: the prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the prayer of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The two prayers to Our Lady of Medjugorje bring with them important messages from Our Lady of Medjugorje.
The first is a prayer that feels like a wish for peace and love between men and at the same time, it is a search for protection in faith, in the Madonna and in Christ, in her good heart. An appeal to the mercy of Christ, who died and rose for us, to redeem our sins.
The second is a prayer, a heartfelt appeal to the mercy of the Madonna, so that she may imprint in the hearts of the faithful the right spiritual strength necessary for conversion.
Prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
“Jesus, we know that you are merciful and that you have offered your Heart for us.
He is crowned with thorns and our sins.
We know that you constantly implore us so that we do not get lost.
Jesus, remember us when we are in sin.
Through your Heart let all men love each other. May hatred disappear among men.
Show us your love.
We all love you and want you to protect us with your shepherd’s heart
and free us from every sin.
Jesus, enter every heart! Knock, knock on the door of our heart.
Be patient and never give up.
We are still closed because we have not understood your love.
He knocks continuously.
Grant, oh good Jesus, that we open our hearts to you at least in the moment in which we remember your passion suffered for us. Amen”
Prayer of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
“O Immaculate Heart of Mary, burning with goodness, show your love towards us.
May the flame of your heart, O Mary, descend upon all men.
We love you so much.
Imprint true love in our hearts so that we have a continuous desire for You.
O Mary, humble and meek of heart, remember us when we are in sin.
You know that all men sin.
Give us, through your Immaculate Heart, spiritual health.
We can always look at the goodness of your maternal Heart
and that we convert through the flame of Your Heart.
Amen”
The five stones of conversion are:
- Prayer with the heart: the Rosary
“Children, pray, pray, pray. May prayer reign throughout the world.” At the beginning, Our Lady of Medjugorje recommends to the visionaries the daily recitation, following the Croatian tradition, of the Creed, seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Be. At a later moment she also invites them to recite the Rosary. “May the Rosary always be in your hand as a sign, for Satan, that you belong to me”
- The Eucharist
The Holy Mass seen as “the highest form of prayer” and the Eucharist the center of every Christian’s life. “May the Holy Mass be your life”
- Daily Bible reading
“Dear children, today I invite you to read the Bible every day in your homes and to place it in a visible place so as to encourage you to read it and pray”
- Fasting
To acquire spiritual freedom and to purify oneself. Through fasting a person is able to listen to God and man, to perceive both more clearly. Maria recommends fasting twice a week: “I would like people to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays”. “The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer one can stop wars, one can suspend the natural laws of nature.”
- Monthly Confession
The Virgin Mary asks for monthly confession. She speaks of confession from the first apparitions: “Make peace with God and among yourselves. For this it is necessary to believe, pray, fast and go to confession.” Confession is seen not as a simple purification of sins but as a radical transformation to become a new person.
