5 August 2024
ST. OSWALD
OUR HEAVENLY MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY
August 5 is Our Lady’s birthday according to what she herself revealed in 1984.
What took place in Medjugorje on August 5, 1984, the day of the Gospa’s 2,000th birthday, has perhaps not yet been fully understood.
It was a unique event in the history of Medjugorje because for that day Our Lady was allowed by God to give a special blessing so solemn that it *chained Satan for 24 hours.
The consequence was an extraordinary *enlightenment of consciences* for thousands of people who, inexplicably, felt driven to confession in Medjugorje. Here is in this regard the recollection of one of the Medjugorje friars:
“On August 5, 1984, already at the crack of dawn, thousands of people were asking for confession. So we friars of the parish phoned the neighboring friaries to ask for help and immediately more than 70 priests came. All the people of Medjugorje, the pilgrims and many who came from all over, without saying a word to each other, as if moved by an irresistible inner force, lined up to go to confession. We had inexplicable cases where tourists on their way to the sea felt an irresistible force pushing them here to pray and confess. There have been cases of confession after 10, 20, 35 years. We priests at that time were sitting on chairs outside in the big lawn around the church and people were confessing on their knees on the ground. We confessed all day and all night. We had never experienced anything like that. The amazing thing was not only that everyone was lining up to go to confession, but especially that everyone was crying and saying they were ready to convert and change their lives! Which was unheard of! They wept over their sins, of course, but what wrung their tears was realizing Jesus’ infinite love for them. Tears of love and true contrition! Tears of joy at knowing they were so loved and deeply forgiven. And we priests wept too, to the point that our stoles were soaked with the tears of the penitents that mingled with our tears of joy because God’s grace that day was extraordinarily tangible.”
And appearing that evening Our Lady said tearfully: “Dear children, today I am happy, so happy! In my life I have never cried so much with sorrow as I am crying with joy tonight. Don’t forget, however, that tomorrow Satan will be free from his chains again! So keep praying and fasting!”
