In the midst of conflicting reports and opinions, what are we to believe about Medjugorje?
Here
are facts regarding Medjugorje.
May they provide help in discerning the authenticity of these daily reported apparitions.
(I've written much about Medjugorje. To find out more, click on the links at the end of this article.)
May they provide help in discerning the authenticity of these daily reported apparitions.
(I've written much about Medjugorje. To find out more, click on the links at the end of this article.)
Fact: St. John Paul II praised Medjugorje often - calling it “the spiritual heart
of the world.”
For more information about St. John Paul II’s belief in Medjugorje, I write about this extensively here:
For more information about St. John Paul II’s belief in Medjugorje, I write about this extensively here:
Fact: Medjugorje is a
village where tens of millions have visited since 1981. It has been reported consistently and undeniably, for nearly 38 years,
that Mary, the Mother of Jesus has been coming to earth every day to call
people to conversion and prayer.
The International Investigative Commission on Medjugorje, presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, was established by Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican Commission studied the
alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje for 4 years, from 2010-2014. This study, confirmed by Archbishop Hoser below, reportedly voted overwhelmingly to recognize as supernatural the first seven appearances of Mary in 1981.
The commission also reportedly recommended Medjugorje to be designated as a pontifical shrine.
Pope Francis commented on the study, saying:
Fact: POPE FRANCIS HAS AUTHORIZED DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGES"The 'real core' of the commission’s report is 'the spiritual fact, the pastoral fact' that thousands of pilgrims go to Medjugorje and are converted. 'For this there is no magic wand; this spiritual-pastoral fact cannot be denied.'" First Medjugorje Apparitions were Real Vatican commission Reportedly Found
[May 12, 2019]“Pilgrimages to Medjugorje…can now be officially organized by dioceses and parishes and will no longer take place only in a private capacity which as has so far been the case. The announcement was made during Mass, at the parish shrine which has become a destination for millions of pilgrims, by the Apostolic Nuncio Luigi Pezzuto in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Archbishop Henryk Hoser, the Holy See's Special Apostolic Visitator.” This announcement confirms Archbishop Hoser’s previous statements below.
Pilgrimages do not authenticate known events The "ad interim" director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti: "care to prevent these pilgrimages from being interpreted as an authentication of known events, which still require examination by the Church."
Pastoral attention "Considering the considerable flow of people who go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits of grace that have sprung from it - continued Gisotti - this authorization is part of the particular pastoral attention that the Holy Father intended to give to that reality, aimed at encouraging and promoting the fruits of good". https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-authorizes-pilgrimages-to-medjugorje.html
Andrea Tornielli: “The authorization of pilgrimages is a sign of recognition of the good that happens in the parish shrine, where many people come closer to the sacraments.” It is a fact that millions of pilgrims in recent years have had a significant experience of faith on their way to Medjugorje: this is attested to by the long lines at confessionals and the evening Eucharistic adoration in the large parish church without a square metre free filled with kneeling faithful."
Pope Francis: "I believe" that "in Medjugorje there is grace. There is no denying it. There are people who convert." … dioceses and parishes will be able to organize and guide those pilgrimages which are an expression of the Marian piety of the people of God.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/medjugorje-the-marian-faith-and-the-decision-of-the-pastor.html
Fact: Papal
Visitor’s Statements Regarding Medjugorje
Pope Francis sent Archbishop
Henryk Hoser to study the spirituality of Medjugorje for several months in 2017 as his official Papal Envoy. In 2018, the Archbishop was sent back to live indefinitely in Medjugorje as an
official Papal Visitor of the Holy Father.
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(c)Mateo Ivankovic
Since the arrival of Archbishop Hoser as the official Papal Visitor, the Papal Flag now flies outside St. James Church in Medjugorje as of July 30, 2018
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Here are some statements the Archbishop has made regarding Medjugorje:
"Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Poland determined, after months of observing [Medjugorje] first-hand, that the message there “can be put at the same level as that delivered in the French city of Lourdes and the Portuguese city of Fatima” (according to a report in Crux Now.) He called Medjugorje — which has two-and-a-half million visitors a year, despite previous vehement opposition to it — “the spiritual lungs of Europe.”One must take this all in: Medjugorje has not just a pastor overseeing it, not just a shrine rector, but now its own archbishop, which may be without precedent in major apparitions — replacing the authority of an antagonistic bishop in the nearby city of Mostar.
“With regard to the international phenomenology, they are very similar,” Archbishop Hose said, according to the website Total Croatia, in comparing it to Lourdes and Fatima.
“These are certainly the three greatest pilgrimage sites. The power of grace that is felt here, the power of God’s words here proclaimed, make us witness to many radical transformations that are happening here. Medjugorje has become the confessional of the world." There is a difference between Archbishop Hoser and many skeptics: he actually went there."
spiritdailyblog.com/news/a-new-trend-in-apparitions
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1.
“Devotion of Medjugorje is allowed. It’s not
prohibited, and need not be done in secret.”
2.
Medjugorje is a “phenomenon”, a “movement
[that] will not stop and should not be stopped”, saying it is “one of the most living places of prayer and
conversion in Europe – with a healthy spirituality.
"
3.
“…All
indications are that the revelations will be recognized… Specifically, I
think it is possible to recognize the authenticity of the first apparitions as
proposed by the cardinal commission. Ruini. Besides, it is difficult to get
another verdict, because it is difficult to believe that six seers will lie for
36 years. What they say is consistent. There are no people haunted or mentally
disturbed. The powerful argument for the authenticity of the apparitions is
Faithfulness to the doctrine of the Church.
If the revelations, and at least
the first seven, will be recognized, this will be a tremendous stimulus for
Medjugorje."
4.
“Today, dioceses and other institutions can
organize official pilgrimages.”
"[A diocesan trip to Medjugorje would be] a pilgrimage of spiritual
transformation, conversion and consolidation of faith – because all these
elements are realized there."
5.
“There
is a massive number of confessions. They have about 50 confessionals, which are
not enough. These are very deep confessions.” https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/08/19/vatican-delegate-every-indication-medjugorje-will-recognized-perhaps-later-year/
Fact: In his writings, Father
Gabriel Amorth, who for 20 years was the Vatican’s chief exorcist of Rome
before his death, spoke often of the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje and defined
the apparitions as “a massive work of
catechesis”, which directs us, every day, to the ways to win the battle
against evil. He said:
“God has given us Mary as the last chance to save
humanity.”
Fact: Jesus tells us how to judge whether something is good or evil. He tells us:
A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. (Luke 6:43)
Regarding the fruits, Father Amorth proclaims:
“The Gospel is so clear, it tells us how to discern! By the fruits you will know the tree!
It has been 30 years ... [and] Medjugorje has given us fruits that are
ultimately exquisite! Confession, conversion, vocations, graces of every
kind! For more than 30 years!”
What if God really is sending someone from heaven to convert our hearts?
If the apparitions are true, it isn't without reason that God is sending his Mother to us and so it most be of tremendous importance. The reason can be found in Mary's reported messages, which urge people to be converted. The following reported messages express the urgency of Our Mother's call:
Our
Mother’s Messages ARE AT The Heart of Medjugorje
“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”.
"… The only
thing that I would want to tell you is to be converted. Make that known to
all my children as quickly as possible. No pain, no suffering is too great to
me in order to save you. I will pray to my Son not to punish the world; but I
beseech you, be converted. You cannot imagine what is going to happen nor what
the Eternal Father will send to earth. That is why you must be converted!
Renounce everything. Do penance. Express my acknowledgement to all my children
who have prayed and fasted. I carry all this to my Divine Son in order to
obtain an alleviation of His justice against the sins of mankind. I thank the
people who have prayed and fasted. Persevere and help me to convert the
world." 1040
"Dear children!
I want to lead you on the road to conversion. I desire that you convert the
world and that your life be a conversion for others. Do not fall into
infidelity. Let each one of you be completely submitted to my will and to the
will of God. Beginning this day, I give you special graces, and in particular
the gift of conversion. Let each one of you take home my blessing, and motivate
the others to a real conversion." 1860 (https://www.medjugorje.org)
"I have come to call the world to conversion for the last time." May 2, 1982
How to attain this conversion are the core of her reported messages, which include asking us to pray for peace, to pray with our heart by meditating continually on Jesus' life, death and resurrection - to
fast, to confess, to have strong faith and to center our lives on worshiping God in the Mass and reading Scripture.
This formula and the grace pouring down from heaven has converted countless souls, who have become completely devoted to God through her messages.
In essence, through Mary's intercession, those who heed her reported messages are holding fast to the two pillars that St. John Bosco saw as the salvation of the Church: the Eucharist and our Blessed Mother.
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