ReturntoGod
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Greetings all! I arrived back from an arduous plane journey late last night and was too tired to fire up the old computer. I'd like to tell you what I discovered in Medjugorje. I promise that I will try not preach I'll just tell you what I saw and what I learned and you can take it for what you will.
We arrived to Mejugorje by way of airlines from St. Louis to...Cincinnati...New York...Prague...Split...and then a three hour bus ride to Medjugorje. It is a poor country of dirt roads and crudely built rock houses surrounded by small stone mountains. It is a country of weather beaten old women covered in shawls plucking the grapes from the vineyards beneath the excruciating summer heat. There are no three story buildings in Medjugorje. There are no shopping malls or internet Cafe's. There is no Starbuck's nor even a McDonalds. It is a land largely untouched by the commercialism of the western world.
We stayed in the home of Mirijana, one of the six visionaries. Mirijana is now in her early thirties and she has received all ten secrets from the Blessed Mother. Her daily visions have ceased, but she stills sees the Virgin Mary on her birthday as was promised her.
Three places dominate Medjugorje. First, St. James Church which stands at the foot of the second, Mount Krychevik. And third is Apparition Hill where the six children first saw the Blessed Mother in 1981. Whether you're an occasional visitor to your local church or even an avid "church goer" you cannot imagine the kind of mass that is held at Saint James Church. The daily english mass is at 10:00 am. The Church is built to accommodate around five hundred people. It is not enough. All around the outside of the church are pews and speakers blare out the mass to those who cannot fit inside. The daily attendance at these masses was near 600-800 people and this is at a time when pilgrimages are down nearly 60% due the turmoil in America and the threat of impending war.
The mass at Medjugorje is unlike any other mass I have ever attended, anywhere. In one of her messages the Blessed Mother says that we should feel as if the Church is our home. That is exactly how it felt. People did not merely respond to the Priest, they shouted with devotion. When they sang the hymns it was not like most churches, their voices thundered and seem to shake the large cathedral to its foundations. I attended mass there daily and there was never less than twenty priest celebrating mass on the alter. Let me say that again, 20 priests! I have seldom seen more than two or three at a given time. Priest come from all over the world for just the chance to say mass at Medjugorje.
On the second day of the trip we rose at around 5 am and took a small bus to the foot of Mt. Krychevek. For two hours we climbed the steep ascent of jagged rocks stopping at intervels to say the Stations of the Cross. One thing that shocked me, brought me almost to tears was the devotion of the Croatian people. Old women, some in their eighties, were climbing this dangerous path of sharp rocks and they were doing it barefoot. Their rosaries clasped in hand and whispering prayers under their breath. At the top of Mount Krychevek stands a giant stone cross. Many people have reported seeing miraculous visions and supernatural events around this cross. I'll come to that in a bit.
Two days later we ascended Apparition Hill. The climb was not as long as that of Mt. Krychevek, but it was much steeper and much more dangerous. A false step on one of the loose stones could give you a serious concussion and a nasty fall. But again, the old women were walking barefoot up this hill, their pain a testament to their faith. As we go up Apparition Hill we say the rosary as is the tradition and when we reach the top we the statue of the Blessed Mother of Medjugorje. It stands about twelve feet tall. In her left hand is a rosary and she is looking down on "her children" with a peaceful half smile. Hundreds and hundreds of people are on their knees, the sharp rocks digging in their flesh does not seem to bother them. Besides the murmuring of prayers there is a peaceful silence. For everyone who comes here knows that this is where the Blessed Mother first began her apparitions in 1981 and Mirijana has told us that the Blessed Mother prays daily on this hill.
Many people have experienced miraculous events in Medjugorje and I will say that I was no exception. I saw the "Miracle of the Sun" which so many people have reported from Apparition Hill. It was miraculous indeed! Coming down Apparition Hill with my mother I saw that several people below were on their knees, their hands outstretched before them. They were looking at the sun. I turned towards it and to my shock I could look right at it. I didn't need to shield my eyes or squint. I could look at it as if I were looking at the moon. Then I saw the miracle. Inside the sun was a white host, a brilliant white. And around it was a disk of pure gold. All around this disk was a pink aura. As if this was not enough, the sun began to dance. It was literally jumping around the sky and the host was pulsating within it. At that very time many people in our pilgrimage were down in the village and later told us that they saw the Blessed Mother beneath the sun. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. This was not the extent of the supernatural though. One day while praying the rosary, I took it from it's case and looked in awe at the rosary that had once been silver. It was now gold. I had heard that this sometimes happened, but I never thought it would happen to me The last miraculous thing I saw on our final night. We were walking amid the small town, at the foot of Mt. Krychevek. It was dark out and we could not see the large stone cross that stood at the mountain's peak. Suddenly people began shouting. I turned and looked and at the top of Mt. Krychevek the stone cross was alive with flames. I would have fallen to my knees if my surprise had not been so great. This lasted for about half a minute and then the cross began to turn all kinds of dazzling colors in a matter of seconds. Then it faded and we could see only darkness.
As wonderful and miraculous as some of these things sound they are not the true miracles of Medjugorje. No indeed, the true miracle is the faith itself. This is a town that was ravished by communism. It's Franciscan priests were martyred and the diocesan priest driven away. Yet they could not kill the religion in the heart of the people. They could scare them and abuse them, but they could not kill their love of God. There is an indefinable quality about Medjugorje, something in the air or perhaps something in the water. But whatever this amazing aura should be, I know only that it gives you peace. Real peace. If I could have I would have stayed in Medjugorje. I didn't want to come home. Not ever. I didn't miss the television or the internet or the football games. Nothing on this earth compares to the sense of peace you feel in Medjugorje. Thousands of non-believers have traveled there only to be converted. It is truly, as others have said, a piece of Heaven on earth.
So why am I writing all of this? What does this have to do with the world at large? In short: everything. Vicka, who receives the monthly messages for the world on the 25th of every month received this message last Tuesday from the Blessed Mother:
"Message of September 25, 2001 "Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer, especially today when Satan wants war and hatred. I call you anew, little children: pray and fast that God may give you peace. Witness peace to every heart and be carriers of peace in this world without peace. I am with you and intercede before God for each of you. And you do not be afraid because the one who prays is not afraid of evil and has no hatred in the heart. Thank you for having responded to my call."
The constant theme of the Blessed Mother throughout her messages is a call to prayer and conversion. For as she has told Mirijana several times...a time is coming when it will be too late for conversions.
We actually got to sit down and do a sort of interview with Mirijana and Jakov (two of the visionaries). I'll just give you the highlights of that encounter. (We had a video made of it. If anyone would like a copy email me and I'll get one to you.)
MIRIJANA INTERVIEW:
Question: You say that many times when you see Mary she is crying. Why?
Mirijana: Blessed Mother is crying because she is mother to all of us. She is crying because people don't feel God's love in their hearts. She loves all children the same and she is crying for unbelievers because she knows what awaits them.
Question: You were given a vision of Heaven. Can you tell us what it looked like?
Mirijana: You will be having an interview with Jakov later today. He has seen Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. So save that question for him.
Question: What is it like when you see Mary?
Mirijana: There are no words to describe it. When she comes all the people in the room fade away. The room itself fades away. My own children fade away. All I see is Blessed Mother. She is very beautiful. She has long dark hair and very pretty blue eyes. If only once you could see the tears in the Blessed Mother's eyes you would live at the Church.
JAKOV INTERVIEW:
Jakov: I know what all of you want to hear about and what you're going to ask. You all want to know about Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. I will tell you. When I was ten, Blessed Mother took me and Vicka and hid us from the communists. She told us I am going to show you these visions so that you will know they exist. Then she showed me Heaven. I saw a great expanse with no end. There was a light unlike anything I have ever seen on earth. There were people in long flowing gowns. Really, that is all I can say. There are no earthly words to describe it.
Question: What about Purgatory?
Jakov(laughing): I'm coming to that. Next Blessed Mother showed me Purgatory. I saw a large dark space and there was like a thick gray fog everywhere. Blessed Mother says some people who die with sin come here. But they can no longer pray for themselves. They need the prayers of their family so they can get to heaven. The souls there are in pain. Often the Blessed Mother goes to comfort them........Next Blessed Mother showed me vision of Hell (long pause). All I can say is that I don't wish that on anyone. I don't like to talk about it and I try never to think about it. That is all I want to say about that.
__________________________________________________________
So what to make of all this? Miracles and Visions, Secrets and revelations...It all sounds like something out of the Bible doesn't it? When I first read the book on Medjugorje I thought the same. But the more I read the more I was convinced. Doctors from all over the world have been sent to do test on the visionaries. When they are in a state of ecstasy (during a vision) their eyes move in unison as do their lips, but no words come out. During the apparitions people have attempted to shine spot-lights in their eyes, prick them with pins, etc. They never blink, they never take their eyes off of that unseen vision. The doctors cannot explain what is happening. They have done unnumbered test on the visionaries and find them to be healthy people, physically and psychologically.
So then what is the one message of Medjugorje? What sums it all up? I don't know if it can be summed up in one sentence, but if it can be I think it is this: We need to return to prayer. The Blessed Mother said in another vision that a century ago Satan came before the Throne of God and asked permission to tempt the Church for the next one hundred years. God gave him permission. Look what has happened to our sacraments: Marriage - 50% end in divorce, people have stopped going to church. We have broken families, drug addictions, pornography, abortions, etc, etc. This is all an offense to God and it a seed of evil that has been sewn in our society. So what do we do now? We go back to God. Look what happened in New York. It took a terrible tragedy like that to fill our Churches again and already they are saying that people are going back to normal, that attendance is dropping again already. So we run to God when we need him. When we're afraid, but the rest of the time He's just not important enough? Is that our answer?
The Blessed Mother has given us five tools for salvation in one of her messages. They are these:
1. Monthly Confession
2. The Mass (she says the mass is more important the her apparitions)
3. The Eucharist
4. The Rosary
5. Fasting (she has asked us to fast on bread & water on Wend.& Fri.)
"Prayer can change the natural law" says the Blessed Mother, "it can stop wars." In our times, in our dark days I think we need more then ever to return to prayer. As she tells us, "Once the second secret comes to pass it will be too late for conversion." I can't say I know exactly what it means, but I think I get the gist of it. And still the Blessed Mother is appearing and she is weeping in her visions, because she loves all of her children and "she is crying because of unbelievers. She knows what awaits them." - (Mirijana)
You can take from this experience of mine what you wish. I don't intend to try to force anything on anyone. I simply wanted to share with you a very profound experience. If you are at all interested in Medjugorje and would like to read more about it I can recommend a couple of good books:
"Visions of the Children"
"Letters from Medjugorje" by Wayne Weible
To hear the monthly messages go here: www.medjugorje.org
Peace,
Scott
A bit of preaching: (don't read if you're offended by such things
C.S. Lewis once wrote: "The two greatest misconceptions man makes about the devil is one; disbelieving in his existence and two; having an unhealthy compulsion towards him."
It is also said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was making the world belive he didn't exist.
The devil exists. He is strong and he hates God and us. Misery loves company and he wants all of our souls with him in hell. Padre Pio, the Stigmatic who died in 1968 (also had visions), once said that if we could see the demons in the world, if they were made visible - there would be so many that they would blot out the light of the sun.
Evil is all around us. That should be evident by our society, by our decaying morals. The devil is whispering in our ear, tempting us, he has thousands and thousands of tricks. He knows our desires and our fears and he uses those against us. We cannot defeat him alone nor can we resist him without aid. We need prayer. We need God, because without him we are lost. The Blessed Mother's messages are about prayer, love and peace. Where is that in our world today? Turn on CNN - "prayer, love and peace"? I see desecration, hatred and war. Something's wrong here. Maybe it's time we started listening to our Blessed Mother. Maybe it's time we went back to church, not just because of a tragedy, but to build a relationship with God. We need God more so than we need oxygen. As the bible tells us, lean on God. We must be like children, children who trust blindly in their parent's love. So we must do the same and we will never be led astray. Prayer can change the natural law the Blessed Mother tells us, it can stop wars. Let's start praying. We've tried to do it our own way for the last hundred years and look where it's gotten us. Isn't it about time we gave God a chance?
(Again if you would like a copy of the video with Mirijana and Jakov's interviews as well as footage of them during an apparition, then email me and I'll get one to you.)
my email: [email protected]
We arrived to Mejugorje by way of airlines from St. Louis to...Cincinnati...New York...Prague...Split...and then a three hour bus ride to Medjugorje. It is a poor country of dirt roads and crudely built rock houses surrounded by small stone mountains. It is a country of weather beaten old women covered in shawls plucking the grapes from the vineyards beneath the excruciating summer heat. There are no three story buildings in Medjugorje. There are no shopping malls or internet Cafe's. There is no Starbuck's nor even a McDonalds. It is a land largely untouched by the commercialism of the western world.
We stayed in the home of Mirijana, one of the six visionaries. Mirijana is now in her early thirties and she has received all ten secrets from the Blessed Mother. Her daily visions have ceased, but she stills sees the Virgin Mary on her birthday as was promised her.
Three places dominate Medjugorje. First, St. James Church which stands at the foot of the second, Mount Krychevik. And third is Apparition Hill where the six children first saw the Blessed Mother in 1981. Whether you're an occasional visitor to your local church or even an avid "church goer" you cannot imagine the kind of mass that is held at Saint James Church. The daily english mass is at 10:00 am. The Church is built to accommodate around five hundred people. It is not enough. All around the outside of the church are pews and speakers blare out the mass to those who cannot fit inside. The daily attendance at these masses was near 600-800 people and this is at a time when pilgrimages are down nearly 60% due the turmoil in America and the threat of impending war.
The mass at Medjugorje is unlike any other mass I have ever attended, anywhere. In one of her messages the Blessed Mother says that we should feel as if the Church is our home. That is exactly how it felt. People did not merely respond to the Priest, they shouted with devotion. When they sang the hymns it was not like most churches, their voices thundered and seem to shake the large cathedral to its foundations. I attended mass there daily and there was never less than twenty priest celebrating mass on the alter. Let me say that again, 20 priests! I have seldom seen more than two or three at a given time. Priest come from all over the world for just the chance to say mass at Medjugorje.
On the second day of the trip we rose at around 5 am and took a small bus to the foot of Mt. Krychevek. For two hours we climbed the steep ascent of jagged rocks stopping at intervels to say the Stations of the Cross. One thing that shocked me, brought me almost to tears was the devotion of the Croatian people. Old women, some in their eighties, were climbing this dangerous path of sharp rocks and they were doing it barefoot. Their rosaries clasped in hand and whispering prayers under their breath. At the top of Mount Krychevek stands a giant stone cross. Many people have reported seeing miraculous visions and supernatural events around this cross. I'll come to that in a bit.
Two days later we ascended Apparition Hill. The climb was not as long as that of Mt. Krychevek, but it was much steeper and much more dangerous. A false step on one of the loose stones could give you a serious concussion and a nasty fall. But again, the old women were walking barefoot up this hill, their pain a testament to their faith. As we go up Apparition Hill we say the rosary as is the tradition and when we reach the top we the statue of the Blessed Mother of Medjugorje. It stands about twelve feet tall. In her left hand is a rosary and she is looking down on "her children" with a peaceful half smile. Hundreds and hundreds of people are on their knees, the sharp rocks digging in their flesh does not seem to bother them. Besides the murmuring of prayers there is a peaceful silence. For everyone who comes here knows that this is where the Blessed Mother first began her apparitions in 1981 and Mirijana has told us that the Blessed Mother prays daily on this hill.
Many people have experienced miraculous events in Medjugorje and I will say that I was no exception. I saw the "Miracle of the Sun" which so many people have reported from Apparition Hill. It was miraculous indeed! Coming down Apparition Hill with my mother I saw that several people below were on their knees, their hands outstretched before them. They were looking at the sun. I turned towards it and to my shock I could look right at it. I didn't need to shield my eyes or squint. I could look at it as if I were looking at the moon. Then I saw the miracle. Inside the sun was a white host, a brilliant white. And around it was a disk of pure gold. All around this disk was a pink aura. As if this was not enough, the sun began to dance. It was literally jumping around the sky and the host was pulsating within it. At that very time many people in our pilgrimage were down in the village and later told us that they saw the Blessed Mother beneath the sun. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. This was not the extent of the supernatural though. One day while praying the rosary, I took it from it's case and looked in awe at the rosary that had once been silver. It was now gold. I had heard that this sometimes happened, but I never thought it would happen to me The last miraculous thing I saw on our final night. We were walking amid the small town, at the foot of Mt. Krychevek. It was dark out and we could not see the large stone cross that stood at the mountain's peak. Suddenly people began shouting. I turned and looked and at the top of Mt. Krychevek the stone cross was alive with flames. I would have fallen to my knees if my surprise had not been so great. This lasted for about half a minute and then the cross began to turn all kinds of dazzling colors in a matter of seconds. Then it faded and we could see only darkness.
As wonderful and miraculous as some of these things sound they are not the true miracles of Medjugorje. No indeed, the true miracle is the faith itself. This is a town that was ravished by communism. It's Franciscan priests were martyred and the diocesan priest driven away. Yet they could not kill the religion in the heart of the people. They could scare them and abuse them, but they could not kill their love of God. There is an indefinable quality about Medjugorje, something in the air or perhaps something in the water. But whatever this amazing aura should be, I know only that it gives you peace. Real peace. If I could have I would have stayed in Medjugorje. I didn't want to come home. Not ever. I didn't miss the television or the internet or the football games. Nothing on this earth compares to the sense of peace you feel in Medjugorje. Thousands of non-believers have traveled there only to be converted. It is truly, as others have said, a piece of Heaven on earth.
So why am I writing all of this? What does this have to do with the world at large? In short: everything. Vicka, who receives the monthly messages for the world on the 25th of every month received this message last Tuesday from the Blessed Mother:
"Message of September 25, 2001 "Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer, especially today when Satan wants war and hatred. I call you anew, little children: pray and fast that God may give you peace. Witness peace to every heart and be carriers of peace in this world without peace. I am with you and intercede before God for each of you. And you do not be afraid because the one who prays is not afraid of evil and has no hatred in the heart. Thank you for having responded to my call."
The constant theme of the Blessed Mother throughout her messages is a call to prayer and conversion. For as she has told Mirijana several times...a time is coming when it will be too late for conversions.
We actually got to sit down and do a sort of interview with Mirijana and Jakov (two of the visionaries). I'll just give you the highlights of that encounter. (We had a video made of it. If anyone would like a copy email me and I'll get one to you.)
MIRIJANA INTERVIEW:
Question: You say that many times when you see Mary she is crying. Why?
Mirijana: Blessed Mother is crying because she is mother to all of us. She is crying because people don't feel God's love in their hearts. She loves all children the same and she is crying for unbelievers because she knows what awaits them.
Question: You were given a vision of Heaven. Can you tell us what it looked like?
Mirijana: You will be having an interview with Jakov later today. He has seen Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. So save that question for him.
Question: What is it like when you see Mary?
Mirijana: There are no words to describe it. When she comes all the people in the room fade away. The room itself fades away. My own children fade away. All I see is Blessed Mother. She is very beautiful. She has long dark hair and very pretty blue eyes. If only once you could see the tears in the Blessed Mother's eyes you would live at the Church.
JAKOV INTERVIEW:
Jakov: I know what all of you want to hear about and what you're going to ask. You all want to know about Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. I will tell you. When I was ten, Blessed Mother took me and Vicka and hid us from the communists. She told us I am going to show you these visions so that you will know they exist. Then she showed me Heaven. I saw a great expanse with no end. There was a light unlike anything I have ever seen on earth. There were people in long flowing gowns. Really, that is all I can say. There are no earthly words to describe it.
Question: What about Purgatory?
Jakov(laughing): I'm coming to that. Next Blessed Mother showed me Purgatory. I saw a large dark space and there was like a thick gray fog everywhere. Blessed Mother says some people who die with sin come here. But they can no longer pray for themselves. They need the prayers of their family so they can get to heaven. The souls there are in pain. Often the Blessed Mother goes to comfort them........Next Blessed Mother showed me vision of Hell (long pause). All I can say is that I don't wish that on anyone. I don't like to talk about it and I try never to think about it. That is all I want to say about that.
__________________________________________________________
So what to make of all this? Miracles and Visions, Secrets and revelations...It all sounds like something out of the Bible doesn't it? When I first read the book on Medjugorje I thought the same. But the more I read the more I was convinced. Doctors from all over the world have been sent to do test on the visionaries. When they are in a state of ecstasy (during a vision) their eyes move in unison as do their lips, but no words come out. During the apparitions people have attempted to shine spot-lights in their eyes, prick them with pins, etc. They never blink, they never take their eyes off of that unseen vision. The doctors cannot explain what is happening. They have done unnumbered test on the visionaries and find them to be healthy people, physically and psychologically.
So then what is the one message of Medjugorje? What sums it all up? I don't know if it can be summed up in one sentence, but if it can be I think it is this: We need to return to prayer. The Blessed Mother said in another vision that a century ago Satan came before the Throne of God and asked permission to tempt the Church for the next one hundred years. God gave him permission. Look what has happened to our sacraments: Marriage - 50% end in divorce, people have stopped going to church. We have broken families, drug addictions, pornography, abortions, etc, etc. This is all an offense to God and it a seed of evil that has been sewn in our society. So what do we do now? We go back to God. Look what happened in New York. It took a terrible tragedy like that to fill our Churches again and already they are saying that people are going back to normal, that attendance is dropping again already. So we run to God when we need him. When we're afraid, but the rest of the time He's just not important enough? Is that our answer?
The Blessed Mother has given us five tools for salvation in one of her messages. They are these:
1. Monthly Confession
2. The Mass (she says the mass is more important the her apparitions)
3. The Eucharist
4. The Rosary
5. Fasting (she has asked us to fast on bread & water on Wend.& Fri.)
"Prayer can change the natural law" says the Blessed Mother, "it can stop wars." In our times, in our dark days I think we need more then ever to return to prayer. As she tells us, "Once the second secret comes to pass it will be too late for conversion." I can't say I know exactly what it means, but I think I get the gist of it. And still the Blessed Mother is appearing and she is weeping in her visions, because she loves all of her children and "she is crying because of unbelievers. She knows what awaits them." - (Mirijana)
You can take from this experience of mine what you wish. I don't intend to try to force anything on anyone. I simply wanted to share with you a very profound experience. If you are at all interested in Medjugorje and would like to read more about it I can recommend a couple of good books:
"Visions of the Children"
"Letters from Medjugorje" by Wayne Weible
To hear the monthly messages go here: www.medjugorje.org
Peace,
Scott
A bit of preaching: (don't read if you're offended by such things
C.S. Lewis once wrote: "The two greatest misconceptions man makes about the devil is one; disbelieving in his existence and two; having an unhealthy compulsion towards him."
It is also said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was making the world belive he didn't exist.
The devil exists. He is strong and he hates God and us. Misery loves company and he wants all of our souls with him in hell. Padre Pio, the Stigmatic who died in 1968 (also had visions), once said that if we could see the demons in the world, if they were made visible - there would be so many that they would blot out the light of the sun.
Evil is all around us. That should be evident by our society, by our decaying morals. The devil is whispering in our ear, tempting us, he has thousands and thousands of tricks. He knows our desires and our fears and he uses those against us. We cannot defeat him alone nor can we resist him without aid. We need prayer. We need God, because without him we are lost. The Blessed Mother's messages are about prayer, love and peace. Where is that in our world today? Turn on CNN - "prayer, love and peace"? I see desecration, hatred and war. Something's wrong here. Maybe it's time we started listening to our Blessed Mother. Maybe it's time we went back to church, not just because of a tragedy, but to build a relationship with God. We need God more so than we need oxygen. As the bible tells us, lean on God. We must be like children, children who trust blindly in their parent's love. So we must do the same and we will never be led astray. Prayer can change the natural law the Blessed Mother tells us, it can stop wars. Let's start praying. We've tried to do it our own way for the last hundred years and look where it's gotten us. Isn't it about time we gave God a chance?
(Again if you would like a copy of the video with Mirijana and Jakov's interviews as well as footage of them during an apparition, then email me and I'll get one to you.)
my email: [email protected]