Searching in Messages - Examples with sample analyses of importance

Here we present sample ideas summarized to three examples that we can reach by statistical overview and full text search of Messages with some general considerations and analysis of Medjugorje messages. You can also use our Medjugorje Messages Keywords, Medjugorje Messages Toplist and Medjugorje Messages Concordance pages to verify or extend these ideas.

Since official Medjugorje website up to now did not approved messages given during 1981 - 1984, the analysis in these examples may slightly differ in numbers of messages refered in this text.

Example 1: Comparing general accent and importance of religious and spiritual topics in Messages

For this comparison, we will find various words connected to religious and spiritual life. By word religious, here we understand activities that is connected to a religion (namely Catholic), and which are rather expression, outer manifest or a one of possible forms of a spiritual effort. By the word spiritual, we understand rather values and inner activities, which tends to be less exteriorly "visible", are more universal and timeless, and are common to all other faithful people, regardless their concrete religions or churches.

Example of such typical "religious word" is mass. We enter word mass in the search messages box. If we would as Catholics automatically expect, that this topic have a major importance or accent in messages (or we would expect it after reading various articles about Medjugorje), we would be probably disappointed. There are only 8 messages , from which 5 are moreover given in weekly Messages, which are known to be given at first place for the local Medjugorje Parish and only 3 after 1987.

By further such searching, we can find, that messages accent less religious topics and words and more the ones that can be classed as rather spiritual. We can find many messages containing e.g. love , peace and words, which begin with pray and heart , much more often (with typical approximate difference about 10 times, or even up to about 100 times more often occurrence - if we focus on total count of such words in messages, see our page The Medjugorje Messages Keywords) then words like rosary , mass , sacred scripture ( bible ) or confession . The difference is even more obvious, if we would focus only on Monthly messages.. The only word that may perhaps be classed as a rather religious one and is often contained in messages, is the word(s) of Son Jesus , but we could also class these words as spiritual ones.

Anyway, given examples can lead to conclusion, which would be probably already well known to people, which truly effort to live messages by their lives and hearts. Generally speaking, if we would only live our religious lives (even with rosaries and Bibles in our hands, visiting often the Holy Mass and fasting strictly), but without effort for real spirituality, without resulting real love for God and His children, peace and joy in our hearts, then we would live and practise only very small and less important parts of appeals in messages (if in that case, we could say we live Her messages at all).

Living Medjugorje messages seems to be a process of spiritual transition that begins in religion practise, but leads to a deep spiritual conversion and transformation of our lives, towards the heart overfilled with constant prayer, love and peace - always busy with communion with God, towards the holiness and perfection of soul ( October 25, 1994 [O] ).

On the other hand, we should not make in any way conclusion, that rosary, Holy Mass, confession and other rather religious activities has little or none importance. Even though, spiritual topics have much more urgent and strong accent and thus major importance over the religious ones in Medjugorje Messages. Also we should consider, whether in messages are not outlined topics, in which we have problems or still a space to grow. And while people tends to be more religious, than spiritual, maybe here is another reason of special outline of spiritual topics over the religious ones. For most of us, it seems it is much easier just to hold a rosary in hands and move our lips, attend Holy Mass and confess regulary, then to live in constant devotion, prayer and love with God and other people.

Example 2: What is more important - to live or to spread the messages?

We hope that neither of us that read this text is proud and feels important or even arrogant, that he or she spreads the messages to other people in various forms, including books, journals, talks, Internet etc. and thus suppose, that fulfils appeals of Medjugorje messages better then the others. Nevertheless, for all these activities such person somehow "does not have time", namely to truly effort to live the messages in the heart. It would be most probably ugly self-delusion. There would not be very much of be proud in that case, because there are about fifty messages containing words live messages and only about five messages containing words spread, spreading, convey or transmit . Also in most of these five messages, we are at the same time called again to live the messages. This is especially told in an expressive way in Message of September 20, 1985 [O]

There are some another messages, in which are words like, witness, witnesses and, carry, carriers, carrying , but almost all of these messages are connected with giving witnesses and carrying spiritual values contained in messages through living messages, giving example by our own lives and in our hearts, thus based on spiritual basis rather than on any outer way (spreading, how we usually comprehend).

It can be useful spreading and the messages and information related to events and messages of Medjugorje using books, journals, talks, Internet. However, at the first place we should live the messages in our hearts, if we want to count ourselves to those, who with love and joy effort to realize appeals in them, which seem to be the real goals to which Our Lady calls everyone of us. Then we would also become trustworthy witnesses of Our Lady's messages and Her presence in Medjugorje.

Example 3: Do not we forget on the most important subject?

There is one very important and very often repeated topic in message, the calling us for love. To love God, our families and all the people. We suppose that we could tend to forget this appeal also very often, and maybe that is the reason it is repeated so often.

Appeals for love appears in about every second message, and is thus much more often appeal then e.g. appeal for fasting (about 10x times). At the first sight, it may even seem to be missing in general overview of topics discussed in messages made by prof. dr. Ljudevit Rupcic, unless we place such group of messages to conversion topics. The overview is an attempt to summarize topics in messages to five classes of topics and is presented by the offical Medjugorje website in an official introduction to short history messages and general overview of messages. Appeals for Love seems to be the second most often repeated appeal (even if we subtract about 40 messages, in which Our Lady confesses Her Love to us), just after the appeal for prayer and even before appeal for the peace, and therefore definitely belongs to appeals with major importance, (see a verification).

Conversion, seems to be something slightly more than just and only love, it is process of renunciation of evil, selfishness and sin and turning to goodness, love and God. But even if we place love to conversion topics, that in such case love is the most important and most frequent part of conversion topics, discussed in Medjugorje messages.

In the book "Abandon yourselves totally to me", published in 1985, Fr. Slavko Barbaric wrote: "If Our Lady says: ' You do not know how to love yet ', this is the very thing we should be upset about. All the world's problems and those in our lives come because we do not know how to love, not because we have not got as much money as we need or anything of the sort. Problems come when we do not love. Love is another word for conversion. Nobody can say 'I was converted yesterday'. Conversion is a process and nobody can say 'I loved yesterday'. A child is not interested in yesterday, he wants to be loved by his mother today.
This is a very important thing, therefore, when Our Lady invites us to prayer, fasting and love.

See also Fr. Slavko Barbaric Reflection of Message of February 25, 1996 , with words love and conversion being highlighten.

"Queen of Peace" claims that conversion is the most important message that She gave us in Medjugorje, and according to the fact that love is clearly most important and major part of conversion topics, we will find love as the most important part of Medjugorje messages.

In messages we can find that without love we would achieve nothing ( December 13, 1984 [O] ) and through love we will achieve everything ( February 28, 1985 [O] ).

Also in the Bible it is said clearly, that whoever does not love, did not found God because God is Love. Without any love, our prayers, our fasting, will have little, if any sense. Our faith could become rigid, bigot and distorted, and we will barely, if ever achieve real peace in our heart and with others. And instead of becoming loving, caring, beautiful and sweet flowers for paradise, which would people like and seek out, to experience a little bit of warmness, encouragement and joy in life, that can be severe and sad, we would become cold, confused, unhappy and fanatical religious beings. Beings with false and distorted view at the world and God, which could even be more successful in injuring and confusing others then helping them (even while e.g. being very active in "spreading" messages and other materials from Medjugorje). This sure would be a pity.

Love is the key essence of all Medjugorje appeals. Without love, no one will be succesfull in understanding and bringing the messages into life. We are glad, that both the messages and reflections are overfilled just with this word love . It is also Love, which is expected to be the fruit of our effort and saying Yes to Our Lady and Her Son. Without love, our conversion would be unstable, imperfect and incomplete. Let us never underestimate importance of Love in Medjugorje Messages and in our lives.

 

For God to live in your hearts, you must love.

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