Medjugorje News & Articles

..brethren, exercise yourselves in charity! (St. Augustine)

With the musical version of the Litany, the Saints were called to witness at the wedding celebration between Jelena Vasilj and Massimiliano Valente on 24th August 2002 in the Shrine of the Queen of Peace at Medjugorje.

Over 500 guests (mostly from abroad) filled St. James church to join the parishioners to pray for this new family. "From his shrine may the Lord bless you.." read Fra Dragan Rucic at the start of the Mass. A choir of splend-id voices from Vicenza (Italy), and several soloists, helped make the cele-bration more sacred and solemn.

The air of Medjugorje is bubbling with joy, faces are radiant, everyone is grateful for being here for this important and long awaited occasion: the 25th Anniversary of Mary’s apparitions at Medjugorje.

Everyone feels grateful, even privileged, as though each had received a personal invitation. Everyone certainly feels loved. It is as though the Gospa had “arranged things” in the life of each person to make it possible for him or her to be here. It hasn’t got to do with favouritism, but of being called. We are all called to become apostles, mediators of a grace that is too big to be contained. It is a gratuitous call by God that ought not make us feel better than others, but only responsible administrators of a good destined for all.

The 25th Anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions in Medjugorje was solemnly celebrated in the spirit of gratitude for all the graces received.

Spiritual preparation - Novena

The spiritual preparation for the Anniversary was the Novena, which was prayed on Apparition Hill by the parishioners and the pilgrims from all over the world. From June 15 to 23, great crowds flocked towards Podbrdo at any time of day or night. Every day at 4 pm, they prayed the Rosary together with the Franciscans, and the visionaries also climbed the hill to pray there with the faithful.

How do you see the spirituality of Medjugorje - if there is a spirituality of Medjugorje at all?

I have been asking the question of myself and others if there is a distinct spirituality of Medjugorje. I do not think there is. I think it is more a call to deepen the spirituality that we already have. A new understanding of what we all received as children, in school and home; it is a reawakening of that, it is a renewal of that kind of uncomplicated faith, unembarrassed faith. As for the apparitions of Mary, at first you feel - if she is the Mother of God - her messages should be more theologically substantial. In fact they are deceptively simple. And I say to myself: I have been through theology courses, maybe this is the time for me to get back to the simple faith that we all have, and we grew up with. Time to look again at what Our Lady is saying, read the messages again, re-read them, and read between the lines, between the words.

On the evening of the 24th June 1981 at Bijakovici - a hamlet in the parish of Medjugorje - the sky was opened. No news. Yet extraordinary news. For Christian souls it was something familiar, yet it was also new. It brought new life: faith, hope and love were awoken, activating the divine life in persons.

This novelty for some became life, for others it was a stumbling block. Or rather, the living presence of Our Lady in our midst was for some joy, while others would have wanted to suppress it. As always, jubilation becomes inspiration and promotes the faith in God’s people - but when one doesn’t believe it creates fear in those “free-in-God-to-choose” people.

The Lord shows His face to His people, and this becomes a sign of contradiction. In this human vortex Mary comes as Mother of all, despite divisions and human reserve; she is, after all, Queen of Peace. As such she announces to every person the grandeur and nobleness of life in God. Despite the different responses to her call, she remains close to the people with her motherly love.

The Queen of Peace ends her every message by thanking us “for having responded to her call.” In fact, she has been calling us with endearing motherly passion every day for the last 25 years: “I am, my dear Children, untiring; I call you even when you are far from my heart...” ( Mess. 14.11.1985 ).

Fr. Andrea Gasparino from Cuneo, Italy is famous for his teachings on prayer, which he has been holding for more than 40 years. He teaches the prayer of silence and of the heart, and has always called himself an enemy of oral prayer. In the following interview, held on Radio Maria, the Father clarifies some doubts.

Large crowds of pilgrims came to Medjugorje for the 23rd Anniversary of the Apparitions.  What a pleasant surprise it was for all of us to hear this beautiful message given by the Gospa on this occasion (see PS.Message of June 25th ).  The joy of Heaven was in our midst and the faces were radiating!