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Since 1981, in a small village in Bosnia-Hercegovina named Medjugorje,
the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing and giving messages to the
world. She tells us that God has sent Her to our world and, these years
she is spending with us are a time of Grace granted by God. She tells us, "I have come to tell the world that God exists. He
is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and peace, you must
return to God".
Our Lady's mission is one of peace and love and holiness. She has come to earth to
reeducate us and to help us convert and recenter our lives back to God.
Our Lady's role has always been one of guiding people to Her Son, Jesus.
It is important that we
understand both the magnitude and the urgency of Our Lady's call to
conversion, and that we respond to it with all our hearts.
Our Lady continues to give messages to six young people from the village
of Medjugorje: Ivan, Jakov, Marija, Mirjana, Vicka, and Ivanka. These
six young people (referred to as "visionaries") have had apparitions of
the Blessed Virgin Mary since June 24, 1981. In addition to these
messages, Our Lady is to give each of the six visionaries a total of ten
"secrets" or happenings that will occur on earth in the near future.
Some of the secrets pertain to the whole world while others concern the
visionaries themselves or their local village. Only one of the secrets
so far has been revealed by the visionaries. Our Lady has promised to
leave a supernatural, indestructable, and visible sign on the mountain
where she first appeared. Our Lady said: "This sign will be given for
the atheists. You faithful already have signs and you have become the
sign for the atheists. You faithful must not wait for the sign before
you convert; convert soon. This time is a time of grace for you. You can
never thank God enough for His grace. The time is for deepening your
faith and for your conversion. When the sign comes, it will be too late
for many."
When each of the six visionaries has received all ten "secrets", Our
Lady will stop appearing to them on a daily basis. Currently, Marija,
Vicka, and Ivan have received nine secrets, and Our Lady still appears
to them every day, wherever they are, at 5:40pm during daylight savings
time, and 6:40pm the rest of the year, Medjugorje time. Mirjana, Jakov,
and Ivanka have received all ten secrets, and Our Lady appears to them
once per year, and will do so for the rest of their lives. For Ivanka
who received her 10th secret on May 7, 1985 it is on the anniversary of
the apparitions, June 25 each year. For Jakov who received his 10th
secret on September 12, 1998, it is on Christmas day each year. And for
Mirjana who received her 10th secret on Christmas 1982, it is on her
birthday, March 18 each year. Our Lady has also been appearing to
Mirjana on the 2nd of each month since August 2, 1987 for the express
purpose of praying for all unbelievers. Mirjana tells us that it is very
important that all of us pray for the unbelievers in the world, who are
defined as those who do not yet know God's love. Sometimes these
appearances on the 2nd of each month are in apparitional form, and
sometimes as locutions. No one knows when Our Lady will give the tenth
secret to Marija, Ivan, and Vicka.
There will then be three secrets revealed as warnings to the world.
Mirjana will witness the warnings and they will occur on the earth. Ten
days before each of the warnings, she will advise the priest of her
choice (Father Petar Ljubicic), who will then fast and pray for seven
days. Then, three days before the warning is to take place, he will
announce to the world what, where, and when the warning is to take
place. Mirjana's testimony will be a confirmation of the validity of the
apparitions and an incentive for the conversion of the world. After the
first warning, the others will follow within a rather brief period of
time. So it is that people will have time for conversion. After the
three warnings, the permanent visible sign will be left on the mountain
where Our Lady first appeared in Medjugorje. Those who are still alive
will have little time for conversion. For that reason, the Blessed
Virgin calls for urgent conversion and reconciliation. The permanent
sign will lead to many healings and conversions before the messages
become reality.
The ninth and tenth secrets are grave matters. They are a chastisement
for the sins of the world. The punishment is inevitable because we can
not expect the conversion of the entire world. The chastisement can be
lessened by prayers and penance, but it can not be suppressed entirely.
An evil which threatened the world according to the seventh secret, had
been eliminated through prayer and fasting. For that reason the Blessed
Virgin continues to ask for prayer and fasting. The invitation to prayer
and penance is destined to ward off evil and war and above all to save
souls. Our Lady says: "You have forgotten that with prayer and fasting
you can ward off wars, suspend natural laws."
Since the apparitions began in 1981, millions of people of all faiths,
from all over the world, have visited Medjugorje and have left
spiritually strengthened and renewed. Many bring back stories of
miracles in the form of healings (of mind, body and soul), supernatural
visual events, and deep conversions back to God. We should open our mind and
our heart to the
messages which are given to us by Our Lady of Medjugorje and how will
affect our life and that of your family.
Our Lady has asked that we continually read, study, and meditate on the
messages which she has given us. She has said: "Little children, read
everyday the messages I gave you and transform them into life. I love
you and this is why I call you to the way of salvation with God."
(December 25, 1989).
Our Lady reeducates us to be
Christians and leads us to perfection. She accomplishes this by walking
with us and guiding us step by step, message by message. Today, many
people think it is not important to be a Christian. Others want to live
a superficial form of Christianity which is easier or more convenient
than living a true Christian life. Our Lady wants to show us through Her
messages the real face of Christianity. This is a very long process
because we as a society have strayed far from the truth and God and are
slow to learn. This is true both in the church and outside the church.
We have to accept being totally reeducated, little by little, by the
Mother of God. The problem with mankind is not so much that people have
bad intentions, there are plenty of good hearted people. The problem is
that we sometimes don't see the truth; we are in darkness, and many of
us are just blind. We do not realize that we have put ourselves into the
hands of Satan because we do not know how to tell the difference between
right and wrong.
No one could argue, regardless of religious
orientation, that today's world is in a state of crisis. All one has to
do is read the newspaper or watch television to be see how eroded the
morals of our world have become. It is shocking to see and hear of the
examples of inhumanity, cruelty, corruption, immorality, violence,
abuse, drugs, war, crime … Much of the world has strayed far from a life
centered around God and family. The answers which we need to redirect
our life can be found by reading and living Our Lady's messages and the
Scriptures.
"You are ready to commit sin, and to put yourselves in the hands of
Satan without reflecting." (May 25, 1987)
"Do not allow Satan to gain control of your hearts, so you would be an
image of Satan and not of me." (January 30, 1986)
"Children, darkness reigns over the whole world. People are attracted by
many things and they forget about the more important."
"Light won't reign in the world until people accept Jesus, until they
live His words, which is the Word of the Gospel."
"Dear children, this is the reason for my presence among you for such a
long time: to lead you on the path of Jesus. I want to save you and,
through you, to save the whole world. Many people now live without
faith; some don't even want to hear about Jesus, but they still want
peace and satisfaction! Children, here is the reason why I need your
prayer: prayer is the only way to save the human race." (July 30, 1987)
We must realize that Satan is real. He uses us for his own end and
purposes. His main purpose is destruction. Destruction of love, peace,
faith, family, life, and the Church. Just as God gave David 5 stones with which to
defeat Goliath, Our Lady is also giving us 5 Stones or Weapons we can
use to defeat satan. They are:
Daily Prayer and the Rosary
Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays
Daily Reading of the Holy Bible
Monthly Confession
Holy Communion
We must realize that Our Lady's plan is for the entire planet, that this
war is a war of love against destruction, and that Our Lady's goal in
this struggle is the reign of love, and the return of souls to God.
Our Lady tells us that our personal role is great. We cannot do enough
to live the messages. We must be willing to abandon ourselves
completely to God. When put in proper perspective, our homes, our money, and
our businesses are not nearly as important as gaining eternal life in
Heaven after this life.
Matthew 16:25-27 "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it. What will profit a man if he
were to gain the whole world and loses his soul? What can a man offer in
exchange for his soul?" |