Now let me tell you about my journey to Medjugorje. I went with a small group of pilgrims and two priests from the same religious order, one a very devoted soul and lovely man and good confessor and an adherent and believer in Medjugorje; and one also a very staunch, well educated Catholic priest (had lived ad worked all over the world and fluent in French, Mandarin, German, English), but skeptical about Medjugorje.
I came into the town as an excited, curious pilgrim. I hadn't been able to come to a landing on whether or not to believe in Medjugorje, so my expectations were high. I had been looking and searching for truth for years, as I said taking a strong interest in Fatima, Akita and Lourdes. I had developed a strong Marian devotion but wanted to explore Medjugorje with a skeptical mindset, just like the other phenomena. My hopes were high as we drove into town. Deep down I was perhaps hoping to experience our Lady there, but I was going to stay rational.
The first thing I noticed was the cars. Now that may sound curious, and it is. I clearly wasn't looking out for cars but a certain German luxury brand was all over Medjugorje, I couldn't help but notice. The percentage of cars in Medjugorje that were of that brand was unusually high, much much higher than in the place where they are produced in Germany. I had the impression (without counting), that almost one quarter or a third of all cars in Medjugorje were of that certain luxury brand. This really struck me, it stood out so much.
I didn't think much about it at the time, other than: 'Oh well, these people are wealthy, there is nothing wrong with it'. But there are quite a few German luxury car brands, and in Medjugorje they all seemed to like one brand in particular. Years later as I read more about occultism, I saw a certain occult symbol that is quite similar to that car brand's symbol. I prefer not to discuss this in more detail.
Travelling with a priest who was a strong Medjugorje devotee and who had connections there, we had the privilege of visiting one of the potential visionaries at her house, with a pilgrim group of only seven. We had a chance to speak to her, the potential visionary, at her porch for about twenty minutes. As we had that chat, I noticed her beautiful, modern and surely expensive home. Again, I didn't think much about it. Then and there, her daughter came around and was briefly introduced. Afterwards, the daughter drove off in a new car which also happened to be of that particular brand.
Believe what you want, but I was in Medjugorje during the war. I met with Fr. Jozo at the Parish where he was sent by the Bishop at that time (we drove there despite gun fire going off around us, blown out vehicle, etc.). I will not go into detail, but what I experienced during my time in Medjugorje and at Fr. Jozo’s parish was way beyond what I could ever have imagined. Fr. Jozo is a very holy Priest and the people of Medjugorje are very devoted to Our Lady and Our Lord. Mass was filled every night with the towns people, and they are loving and kind to outsiders. My prayer partner and his family, took us the Oasis of Peace and the first thing he did with his wife and four young children was to go into the Chapel where all five of them crashed to their knees on a hard floor before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We were so blessed to have experienced the miracles we saw before our very eyes. I came into the Catholic Church just before our pilgrimage to Medjugorje, but it was because of a video tape that I received from someone of Fr. Jozo that brought me to the Church. For myself, I will never disbelieve in Our Lady’s presence there. For those of you who do not believe, I will pray to Her for you. May Her loving arms surround you and grant you peace. God bless you. Lynne
I forgot to mention one thing about that Fr. Jozo tape that was given to me - after listening to it, I spent three days unable to go out of my house and all I could do was cry because I knew what he was saying was true. This is what lead me on the path to the Catholic Church. The truth hit my heart like a led weight!
We were also shown the house of a male potential visionary or Franciscan priest, can't remember exactly. It was a very nice home, too. There was a new car in the driveway of said brand.
I went to cue at the large statue of our Lord in front of the Church of Medjugorje. This statue struck me as odd, it looked very thin and almost ugly. It almost seemed like a mockery of our Lord. People were cueing there to wipe off some water from the statue. The said it is miraculous. They were rubbing clothes around the knee area of the statue. When it was my turn, I climbed up the stairs to the statue and started rubbing my piece of cloth around the knee area of the statue. Sure enough, water appeared. It seemed to come out of the metal statue. I have no explanation for this. The whole experience struck me as very strange. I didn't feel particularly peaceful, I found it a bit disturbing. I didn't know quite how to discern it at the time. My experience of Holy Mass in Medjugorje was a bit unfortunate. The inside Mass had a lot of noise and lack of reverence as I thought. The outside Holy Hour seemed a tiny little bit like a big festival celebration. Just my impression.
I discerned Fatima, Akita and Lourdes in comparison to Medjugorje: The first three are "approved" as worthy of believe, the latter is not. The first three have miracles that have been widely examined and published, the latter has not.
The messages of Our Lady in Fatima and Akita are consistent, this has even been highlighted by Pope Benedikt. They are succint. They represent a severe warning. They speak of sin and call to repent. The tone of our Lady is serene. On the other hand, the messages of Medjugorje seem to stand out. They are too many for me to read. From what I've seen, they appear longish, the tone is soft.
There seems to be a distraction from the messages of Fatima and Akita and Our Lady of Good Success (also approved). Medjugorje seems to have a tendency to embrace modernism and its pitfalls, although staunchly rebuked by our Lady in Quito (Our Lady of Good Success) and Akita ("Cardinal against Cardinal, Bishop against Bishop").
What are the fruits of Medjugorje? I have a few friends (including the priest I mentioned) who experienced a strenghtening of their faith in Medjugorje. However, one of the main fruits seems to be this: Confusion and division among faithful, staunch, God-seeking Catholics. This is unfortunately evident on this very wonderful forum which I love and which I'm grateful to be a member of, thanks especially to Padraig. I've written this in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Not sure if that's a holy way to spend Adoration, I came late and then typed and didn't look up much. May God bless all of you here. May we we have our Lady and the Holy Spirit to guide our feet safely and with caution and care. May we have humility to stay peaceful and respectful, able to listen to each other and to hear.
three messages speak against modernism May 25 2010 message (in part) Dear children! God gave you the grace to live and to defend all the good that is in you and around you, and to inspire others to be better and holier; but Satan, too, does not sleep and through modernism diverts you and leads you to his way. Therefore, little children, in the love for my Immaculate Heart, love God above everything and live His commandments. March 25, 2015 message Dear children! Also today the Most High permits me to be with you and to lead you on the way of conversion. Many hearts have shut themselves to grace and have become deaf to my call. You, little children, pray and fight against temptation and all the evil plans which the devil offers you through modernism. Be strong in prayer and with the cross in your hands pray that evil may not use you and may not conquer in you. I am with you and pray for you. Thank you for having responded to my call. January 25, 2017 message Dear children! Today I am calling you to pray for peace: peace in human hearts, peace in the families and peace in the world. Satan is strong and wants to turn all of you against God, and to return you to everything that is human, and to destroy in the heart all feelings towards God and the things of God. You, little children, pray and fight against materialism, modernism and egoism, which the world offers to you. Little children, you decide for holiness and I, with my Son Jesus, intercede for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Does Our Lady have anything to say about the current abuse crisis? Should those in the know "speak less" about the sexual abuse crisis in the Church? Or who Francis truly is? It is my impression that while there may have been some initial valid events at Medjugorje, that the vast majority of messages from then onwards have been the visionaries making things up. Realizing that these continued messages were popular, and that pilgrims gathering longed to hear from Mary, it was simply easier emotionally and financially to continue to behave as though the locutions and visions continued. One would expect Our Lady to say more at present than "speak less". Especially with everything happening right now. If the messages of Fatima and Akita were shrill and specific decades (or a century) ago, how much more clear and dire should valid apparitions be now? It is possible that Medjugorje is real. But it seems more likely to me that it is not. Positive emotional responses to phenomenon, events, or ideas do not mean that the phenomenon are from God. I know many, many Protestants who feel very positively about heresy. Who feel drawn closer to God through heretical preaching. And error. That is sad, but true. That doesn't negate any other aspect of their spiritual lives, but it does give us hints that feeling good about something does not make it true.
A question regarding the picture, who are the girls in the background that seem to be wearing liturgical vestments, are they so-called altar girls?
Our Lady speaks in general terms. She has said often, dozens of times to pray for our shepherds. She has said and implored us to pray for the shepherds for at least 13 years. Quite insistently Our Lady has said to pray for our shepherds and that along side them, her immaculate heart will triumph. There are Masses, Confessions and many traditional devotions like praying the Rosary, praying the stations of the cross while climbing Mt. Krizevac and there is daily Eucharistic Adoration available. The picture of Vicka with Bishop Peric was taken on the occasion of the sacrament of Confirmation for the young people at Saint James. Vicka's child was confirmed by Bishop Peric on that occasion. I would guess that the young ladies behind were confirmed and that they were wearing white and red robes for the sacrament.
That is very vague. We should always pray for priests. That is nothing new. Fatima was far more specific 100 years ago. It seems highly unlikely to me that a valid apparition happening at this point in Church history would have little more to say than "pray for priests" and "speak less". It is great that Masses are said there, but that does not make Medjugorje valid. Nor does the faith of those devoted to something they believe in deeply make that thing true.
There is many things that are conveyed in the messages. One recurring phrase is 'time of grace' This phrase was given again just the other day. To me, this conveys a sense of urgency for conversion. That once this time that we are living in now, this chance that we are given to choose for the Lord or satan passes, we will have run out of time to make the choice. There are several messages where Our Lady laments that people aren't converting. Here is an early message where Our Lady explains Medjugorje Message, April 4, 1985 - (Holy Thursday) “Dear children! I thank you for having started to think more about God's glory in your hearts. Today is the day when I wished to stop giving the messages because some individuals did not accept me. The parish has been moved and I wish to keep on giving you messages as it has never been in history from the beginning of the world. Thank you for having responded to my call. ”
To be clear... My skepticism is in no way based on an individual's wealth. In fact, I have no problem with a visionary profiting from truth or what they perceive as truth. It's between them and God whether its truth. I just think the visionary's reason for her "flinch" in the you tube video was revealing. But i still believe "good fruits" have resulted for some Catholics from Medjugorge.....but I believe they received these "fruits" through faith that Jesus or his Mother still communicate with us supernaturally.
