We do not receive messages from Our Lady in Medjugorje every day, but only twice a month. The visionaries do talk to Her every day but can this be considered as receiving a message from Her every day ? So it is not certain at all that the Pope talks about Medjugorje when saying: "But she is not a post office sending messages every day"
I think we should be cautious and not take words spoken by the Pope out of its context because the Pope talks here about the Spirit of Curiosity, especially when we consult those messages who are given daily, like the one given by MDM, which are almost given every day and which content are to satisfy our curiosity. The entire speech from the Pope : Pope: the spirit of curiosity distances one from God (Vatican Radio) The spirit of curiosity generates confusion and distances a person from the Spirit of wisdom, which brings peace, said Pope Francis in his homily during Thursday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta. The Pope began his homily by commenting on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which describes “the state of the soul of the spiritual man and woman”, of true Christians, who live “in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit”. “This is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham—‘Walk in my presence and be irreproachable’—is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women… because they follow the movement of God’s patience.” In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”. “And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.” Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”. And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messagesevery day.” Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.” “Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.” “ ‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.” “Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity. “The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.” Link: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/201..._curiosity_distances_one_from_god_/en1-746498
'But she is not a post office sending messages every day" I take it that when the Holy Father says, 'Everyday' he may not literally mean every single day; that he is using hyperbole to make a point. Twice a month might, for him, be more than enough. But I cannot put words in his mouth. I suspect we will understand his meaning perfectly very shortly, not by his words but by his actions. Again perhaps I am totally wrong; we will see.
ME THINKS WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS...MORE. Medjugorje aside, I have always considered myself a self-professed journalist. Thats what I went to College for, but didn't finish. God has given me a tremendous curiosity my whole life. He also has given me answers. So, where does this line end? I have a long email list of people who I inform regarding worldly/spiritual events. I would drop them today if I thought I was sinning. There is so much going on in the world and I know we are not to be worldly. Every one stands on their own before God. But there are MANY uncatechized people out there aching to know God more. Teaching about Fatima and the events leading up to it and all our Lady's apparitions is an important job. EDUCATING about God's love and mercy is of the utmost importance. Pointing out evil and its intentions is important!! I do look and read alot of messages. I don't know any visionary but John Leary who receives them daily (and I don't subscribe to his messages). It has given me a wider view of discernment of what to toss and what to retain... I know that trying to keep a timeline is confusing and its like nailing jello to the wall. I try not to get involved in that to much. Uggg. Its all confusing to me today.... SUMMARY IN ENGLISH: (Source: Vatican Radio) Dear Friends and Colleagues, The spirit of curiosity generates confusion and distances a person from the Spirit of wisdom, which brings peace, said Pope Francis in his homily during this morning's morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta. The Pope began his homily by commenting on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which describes “the state of the soul of the spiritual man and woman”, of true Christians, who live “in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit”. “This is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham—‘Walk in my presence and be irreproachable’—is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women… because they follow the movement of God’s patience.” In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”. “And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.” Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”. And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.” Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.” “Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.” “‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.” “Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity. “The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”
Padre Pio was silenced. Would not surprise me if the Medjugorje seers are likewise. There are testing times ahead.
Anyone know where the info on the quote that one of the seers said, "The apparitions will be stopped (or another word) before they will be approved..."
I never, ever heard of such a thing Marti. I think Bobby is right and they're going close it down. The Pope is just beating down a few bushes to prepare the way.
The message of Medjugorje are the same as Fatima and Garabandal indeed the 5 stones of Medjugorje are prayer, fasting, Holy Mass, The Bible and confession. There are two public messages each month. On the second a message for unbelievers and on the 25th message for the world. Almost all messages emphasize prayer, fasting and conversion. Nothing too controversial there. But there are dark forces at work that want to silence Medjugorje especially masonic influences withim the Church. A few years ago I noticed that in the messages on the second of the month began to change because out Lady began to speak of unbelief within the Churh and the unbelief that can seep into our hearts because we live in an increasingly secular world. She has also asked us to pray for our Shepherds. Days of confusion are coming upon us and our faith will be tested. But the five pillars remain a good foundation for our lives as darkness seeks to blot out the light of Christ in the world.
I would urge caution before trying to read too much into the Pope's remarks here (maybe that would be the very spirit of curiosity he is rightly challenging?), and particular his off-the-cuff sense of humour, which I admit can come across as a little abrasive at times. Perhaps it's worth setting this in a Latin American/Spanish-language context, as there is a veritable explosion of alleged visionary activity in the Hispanic world right now. I remember watching a video with faith-science specialist Dr Castanon-Gomez, in which he said that he turned up to speak at one venue and found 80 so-called seers waiting for him!! Pope Francis's basic point about the psychology behind the wrong kind of curiosity - as opposed to a legitimate passion for knowing the truth - in contrast to the search for wisdom is of course well-taken. But there is a great difference between the 'crystal ball'-type approach and that of those who make a responsible attempt in prayer and fasting to discern supposed messages in an effort to pay attention to what God may be saying and wanting us to hear. That's a good Pauline principle, and I don't read Pope Francis as taking issue with it. And do remember that this is the Pope who consecrated his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima and is on record as saying 'I love the mystics'. So he can't be opposed to the notion of ongoing private revelation as such. The problem is that even authentic visionaries can be surrounded by those driven by curiosity - just as Jesus was.
I hope you are right Peter. I am approaching what the Holy Father said from a somewhat different direction than you are I think. Rahter than actually breaking down the words themselves I am placing them in the context of ongoing events in the Vatican and elsewhere. Events like the Papal Nuncio placing a certain embargo on the visit of visionary Ivan to the USA. The calling in of priests from Medugorje to Rome. The ending of the Vatican Commision on Medugorje which will occur shortly and another homily the Holy Father apparently gave (the link to which is above) in which he does appear to have mentioned Medugorje by name. Now if in fact he did intend to chop down the Medugorje tree he would have to prepare the way first by stepping in himself. This he does appear to be doing. But I hope you are right and it is all a storm in a tea cup. We will see and since the Commision is due to report we will see very shortly. Thank the good Lord we do not have to wait too long.
Padraig, I think you are right. I just read the article that you linked and it all signs seem to be pointing to a preperation for a negative judgement. Everything is in God's hands though. BIG speculation here.... I think Medjugorje will have to prove itself with the unveiling of secrets. Meaning a negative judgement will happen and shortly after the first secret will come to fruition. Well at least I hope it is " shortly after ".
I'm trying to think positive,..but I'm starting to think like yourself, there appears to be a little prepping going on with these recent comments by the Holy Father. We do have to think about the possibilities should there be a negative judgement. When I think about the discouragement people will feel and especially those who have really listened to the messages and fasted. Will they think it was all in vain? Time will tell,..but I would rather prepare my heart for any outcome,..because no one can be sure. In Fatima Our Lady asked us to sacrifice for poor sinners who are headed for hell,..what better way than fasting,..which is not an easy thing to do. If there is a neg decision, and I do say "if" will people stop fasting on the Wednesdays and Fridays? It is biblical and how much more we need it today than ever.
That's an important point. Remember that the ultimate verdict on Medjugorje, or any other apparition site, lies not with any Vatican commission but with God. If it's authentic, the unfolding events will speak for themselves.
I have no doubt that the Immculate Heart of Mary wil lTriumph ..as promised. One thing makes me also look at things from another perspective. That is that since the case of Judas I have always been convinced that there are people at the very top of the CHurch who actively work for Satan. People who are quite capable of whispering poison in the Holy Father's ears.
Our Lady of All Nations was a negative decision in the 50's before it was approved in 2002...so I have to agree with Ang..should there be a negative decision on Medjugorje, I think the secrets will come to fruition shortly after... http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/amsterdam/
I can only speak for myself in reference to the bolded sentence above. Medjugorje, to this moment, has provided me nothing new from the messages of Fatima, Akita or Garabandal. I have taken the good from Medjugorje and have practiced the fasting and other requests and I have no reason to discontinue them, since they are words repeated throughout scripture and history. I have heard and read many accounts of miracles that have come from Medjugorje, so I will continue to believe regardless. My faith is not shaken the the least if Rome gives a negative statement on it. If the Vatican were prudent in all matters regarding messages from heaven, they would have heeded the Fatima request to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary years ago. There is much confusion and division within the Church and I do not put my full faith in her discernment in all prudential matters, as it is so politicized. Now if they come out and state where the seers are speaking false doctrines (heresy) and show this to be true, I would drop Medjugorje like a hot potato. I do not see this happening though.
