ANNUAL APPARITION TO JAKOV ON DECEMBER 25TH 2007

ANNUAL APPARITION TO JAKOV ON DECEMBER 25TH 2007

At the last daily apparition to Jakov Colo on September 12th, 1998, Our Lady told him that henceforth he would have one apparition a year, every December 25th, on Christmas Day. This is also how it was this year. The apparition began at 2:29 pm and lasted 6 minutes. Our Lady gave the following message:

"Dear children! Today, in a special way I call you to become open to God and for each of your hearts today to become a place of Jesus' birth. Little children, through all this time that God permits me to be with you, I desire to lead you to the joy of your life. Little children, the only true joy of your life is God. Therefore, dear children, do not seek joy in things of this earth but open your hearts and accept God. Little children, everything passes, only God remains in your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call."

Medjugorje - December 25, 2007 Christmas Message

Message of December 25, 2007

“Dear children! With great joy I bring you the King of Peace for Him to bless you with His blessing. Adore Him and give time to the Creator for whom your heart yearns. Do not forget that you are passers-by on this earth and that things can give you small joys, while through my Son, eternal life is given to you. That is why I am with you, to lead you towards what your heart yearns for. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's November 25, 2007 Message

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's November 25, 2007 message to the world as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje. Fr. Danko is a local priest serving in the parish of Medjugorje.

God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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JESUS – THE KING OF OUR LIVES

"Dear children! Today, when you celebrate Christ, the King of all that is created, I desire for Him to be the King of your lives. Only through giving, little children, can you comprehend the gift of Jesus´ sacrifice on the Cross for each of you. Little children, give time to God that He may transform you and fill you with His grace, so that you may be a grace for others. For you, little children, I am a gift of grace and love, which comes from God for this peaceless world. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of November 25, 2007


In her last message, Our Lady invites us to decide in favour of Christ the King of all creation so that he can become the king in our lives. Christ is not a king like other kings who dressed in crimson and robes, wore crowns and wanted to rule over other people. Christ the King with his life is completely different to worldly kings. He surpasses and exceeds them by far by establishing a kingdom of peace, love and forgiveness. It is constantly expanding, it is a reality, but also at the same time an ideal to which we aspire. Jesus is the real and true kind who came to the world to serve in his humility. Only he who serves other may truly be king, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. True humility consists of seeing ourselves as we truly are: to recognise our gifts and thank the God for these, but also to recognise our weaknesses and accept ourselves, knowing that in spite of everything God loves us. This knowledge gives us great joy but at the same time calls us to accept great responsibility in servitude and humility.

Our Lady further teaches us, but at the same time also calls us to receive gifts as only in this way can be understand the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross which we can rightly call a victory of love. He, who taught men to love each other, and what’s more even their enemies, remained true to his words to the end: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15, 13). It is because of this the Jesus even suffered his traitor in his midst and did not reveal him, he did not allow Peter defend him with his sword, and graciously forgave him even when he denied him. Those who in Jesus’ name were led by love in their own life most contributed to the achievement of God’s kingdom on earth.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3, 16). Our Lady calls us to understand the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross which is the greatest gift among all gifts. In Jesus, God gave us his heart, all the depth of his love. It is the most beautiful and greatest gift. Jesus loved us until the end giving us all of himself completely. Coming into this world he became an unceasing gift to us all. He came to bless us with his love. We can accept this gift properly if we surrender ourselves to him completely so that he may transform us with his grace. So transformed, we can openly say converted, we too can then we can be a grace for others. We can be eyes for the blind, ears for the deaf, tongues for the mute, and hands and legs for those in need.

Jesus is the King of the world and the greatest gift. He sent his and our Mother here to us in Medugorje, Our Lady who is a merciful gift of love for all of us. The voice of Our Lady the Queen of Peace throughout all these 26 years is a call for peace in men’s hearts, a call to peace in the world. Let the one, whom God has chooses in a special way and joined the Kingdom of his Son, help us to accept Jesus as the Ruler of our lives, so that we may faithfully cooperate in the spreading of his Kingdom of love, justice and peace.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26.11.2007

Medjugorje - Our Lady's November 25, 2007 Message

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's November 25, 2007 message to the world as provided by the Information Center of Medjugorje.

God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
the Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org

--------------------------------

Message of November 25, 2007

“Dear children! Today, when you celebrate Christ, the King of all that is created, I desire for Him to be the King of your lives. Only through giving, little children, can you comprehend the gift of Jesus´ sacrifice on the Cross for each of you. Little children, give time to God that He may transform you and fill you with His grace, so that you may be a grace for others. For you, little children, I am a gift of grace and love, which comes from God for this peaceless world. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

For Anyone Who Wants to See Ivan Themselves...

Click his picture to see his speaking schedule. This along, with many other useful links, is available on the right side of the page. :)

Ivan Dragicevic in Medway, Massachusetts - 11/03/07

From someone who was present for Ivan Dragicevic's Saturday apparition:

"There was an apparition to Ivan. The message, he shared, is a private conversation. He did say that Our Lady appeared and prayed over all the people who were present. She and Ivan prayed together in praise of God.

In Ivan's talk he stressed the importance of not just hearing the messages of Our Lady but of making a commitment ot live them in our daily lives. If there was two words that he stressed they were, "Peace" and "Pray." We are to be people who live peace in our families and with every person. We are to be people who pray, seeking to turn our entire day into prayer."

In the Peace of Christ,
David Thorp
Assistant Director
Spiritual Life Center of Marian Community

I Didn't Attend After All

I had some other things to do, and didn't make it.

I would love to hear someone's thoughts on the experience, though. Use the "Comment" link at the bottom of this blog post if you attended or have seen it previously and want to share those experiences.

God Bless!
Erik Haan

Ivan Dragicevic Will Be in My Hometown this Weekend!

I just checked the speaking schedule for Ivan Dragicevic (he's one of the Medjugorje visionaries) and he will be at the Marian Community Center in my hometown of Medway, Massachusetts this Saturday, November 3rd!

I attended two of Ivan's speaking engagements last year, and I can tell you they are very moving. There is a recitation of the Rosary, followed by the daily apparition to Ivan. It is so powerful to be in the building for this. The night ends with a Mass and then a talk by Ivan about the evening's message and his experiences as a visionary for the past 26 years.

I plan to attend and will give a report Sunday morning!

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's October 25, 2007 Message

Peace to All!

Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's October 25, 2007 message as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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BE THE LOVE AND THE LIGHT

“Dear children! God sent me among you out of love that I may lead you towards the way of salvation. Many of you opened your hearts and accepted my messages, but many have become lost on this way and have never come to know the God of love with the fullness of heart. Therefore, I call you to be love and light where there is darkness and sin. I am with you and bless you all. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

(Message of October 25, 2007)


At the beginning of her message, our Lady repeats the main goal of her mission – our salvation. Not once did she place herself in the first place. The words she uttered two thousand years ago at the wedding feast in Canaan in Galilee : Do whatever my son Jesus tells you (comp. John 2:5), are still relevant for us. To do whatever Jesus want, that is, to do God’s will - there lies the salvation.

As a true mother, our Lady wants for all her children to be saved. Therefore she constantly calls us, but she also warns us, like she did in the message of November 25th 1998, when she said: My children, I invite you all to the road of salvation and I want to show you the way to the heaven. There is only one way which leads to the eternal life, which leads to paradise, and that is Jesus Christ. He said of himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". (John 14:6).

Our Lady says that many people have opened their hearts. To open our heart means to give our whole being to the God who is love, but also to the messages which invite us to such giving. The heart is the most precious, most beautiful possession of a human being. The heart is a symbol of life and love, of all good things which humans have. Our Lady has already asked of us to dedicate ourselves again to her heart and the heart of her Son Jesus. In her message of October 25th 2003 she said: Do not hesitate, my children, but say with all your heart: I want to help Jesus and Mary to introduce more brothers and sisters to the way of holiness. She reminds us that there are those who became lost on this road of dedication, because they never did give their hearts to the God. In the Gospel, Jesus often reminded his listeners that they have closed hearts, hearts of stone. And the people who have such hearts have inverted systems of value, in which the first place does not belong to the God, but to some person, wealth, honor, human considerations or something else. To have pure heart, heart of flesh, religious heart, means to turn completely to the God, who awaits us in secrecy and in silence.

Our Lady encourages us to be the love and the light. To be love means to be a witness of the pure Christ’s love which was given for us. This love is unconditional; it does not ask for anything, it just gives. It always thinks of others before it thinks of self. We learn such love from Jesus if we give ourselves to Him with our whole hearts, because he invites us to love not just our friends, but also our enemies. People were always ready to love their neighbors and hate their enemies (Mt 5:43) because it was easier. Jesus has gone beyond that. His disciple, believer, Christian, cannot be fastidious with his/her love. He/she has to love all people, including the enemies, in the spirit of the Lord. That means to be the love. What does it mean to be the light? To be the light means to shine for the others, so they do not stumble and wander in the dark. We should be the light which Christ has ignited, so people can see the truth and the face of His heavenly Father, instead of wandering and stumbling in misconceptions. In this light, people can recognize all men as their own brothers and sisters. As a true mother, our Lady follows us and blesses us on this road.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Meðugorje 26.10.2007

The Lost Book of Nostradamus

I watched an interesting History Channel program, titled "The Lost Book of Nostradamus", last night. Here is the teaser for the program, as advertised at history.com (The History Channel's official Web site):

"In 1994, Italian journalist Enza Massa was at the Italian National Library in Rome when she stumbled upon an unusual find. It was a manuscript dating to 1629, titled: Nostradamus Vatinicia Code. Michel de Notredame, the author's name, was on the inside in indelible ink. The book contains cryptic and bizarre images along with over eighty watercolor paintings by the master visionary himself. Follow the investigative trail of how the manuscript was found in the archives and exactly how it got there. New insight is given into the life of Nostradamus and his relationship with Pope Urban VIII, who knew about this manuscript and in whose possession it was for many years."




I caught the program about halfway through but was immediately sucked in. I love stories of prophecy, as I think most who are interested in the Medjugorje apparitions do. I think we like knowing what our fate as a human race will be, and seeing more of the power of God. To me, I think there will be some vindication in End Times events, showing unbelievers or casual Catholics that there is a God and it WAS important to live a good life and not go through the world uncaring and acting selfishly. But that's an aside.... :)

The program got into how this "lost book", allegedly authored by Nostradamus, went into detail about the End Times, specifically mentioning the apocalypse will occur when the planets are aligned with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, scheduled to happen on that famous date in 2012. The Mayans also predicted the world would end in 2012, giving the date more significance.

The jury on the authenticity of the book is still out, but it's intriguing, nonetheless. There certainly will be this celestial event. What it means is uncertain. We should probably assume nothing, but who knows? And, after all, we know from the Medjugorje visionaries themselves that they have received at least some secrets about the end of the world, and that there will be something supernatural that will occur when the apparitions come to a close.

But I'd like to stress one thing, and that's this: Don't stress.

If you watch the video in my last posting, you'll see Mirjana, one of the visionaries, talking a little about what the Virgin Mary hopes to achieve through Her apparitions and how She wants us to respond. And one of the key things Mirjana says is that the Virgin Mary does not want us to be concerned with secrets or the end of time. She wants us to live holy lives, and to serve God. And when we do that, we don't have a whole lot to worry about. We will be taken care of.

The thing with these programs about Nostradamus or End Times prophecy is they're intended to get your blood pressure up. It's like watching a horror movie. You're scared but you kind of like being scared.

I think the most appropriate mindset after watching shows like this is to take it as information. Sure, it's intriguing. But use it as a motivator to live an even holier life than you have previously. Look at it as an opportunity to incrementally improve your life before it IS too late. Don't worry about when it will happen, because all you'll do is spend your life in fear. Make progress and spread peace and love and we'll all be a lot better off!

Zimbabweans Need The Virgin Mary's Help

My sister, Monique Haan, alerted me to something I knew nothing about: the plight of Zimbabweans under the dictatorship of President Robert Mugabe.

Below is a video highlighting just some of their many struggles. I think this is a perfect opportunity to petition the Virgin Mary to help these people by forcing the removal of Mugabe from power and blessing them with a caring, true leader.

You can pray as you always do or send a petition to the Virgin Mary via e-mail. Your petition is private and will be presented to the Virgin Mary during an apparition in Medjugorje.

Here is the video. Please share it with your friends if it strikes you.

Medjugorje - October 25, 2007 Message

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's October 25, 2007 message to the world as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.


From: The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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Message of October 25, 2007

"Dear children! God sent me among you out of love that I may lead you towards the way of salvation. Many of you opened your hearts and accepted my messages, but many have become lost on this way and have never come to know the God of love with the fullness of heart. Therefore, I call you to be love and light where there is darkness and sin. I am with you and bless you all. Thank you for having responded to my call."

A Few Things I Would Like to Point Out

My hope is to make this blog a resource for those seeking some additional information about Medjugorje. I am currently using the blog to be a metaphorical microphone for the Virgin Mary's messages to humanity, but there are also some features of this blog you will not find at the official Medjugorje Web site.

First of all, I have some Medjugorje videos. If you look at the right side of the page, you will see some video thumbnails served by YouTube. If pictures speak a thousand words, I think videos tell the whole story. While I don't have control over the selection of the videos displayed on this blog (YouTube serves the videos based upon keywords I enter into a search algorithm) I think most - if not all - of the videos are relevant. Here's an old 20/20 report from the 1980s, soon after the apparitions began:



Secondly, there are links to books about Medjugorje and other helpful stuff. Again, this is on the right side of the blog. Check it out. There's a link to the official Medjugorje Web site and even a link to e-mail a prayer to the Virgin Mary!


Third, there are ads being served by Google. I generate revenue if you click on the links. My hope (maybe it's a pipe dream but I hope not) is to drive enough revenue from the ads that I can devote my entire workday to spreading the Medjugorje messages.


Additionally, the appearance of this page is helping to spread the word about the Medjugorje apparitions because it is providing links back to the official Medjugorje Web site. This helps that Web site get ranked higher in Google search results!

And so will your traffic, so keep visiting! I'll try to post fresh content regularly to keep you coming back!

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's September 25, 2007 Message

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko Perutina's commentary on Our Lady's September 25, 2007 message. Fr. Danko is one of the Franciscan priests in the parish of Medjugorje.


God bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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PRAYER – PATH TOWARDS PERFECT LOVE

"Dear children! Also today I call all of you for your hearts to blaze with more ardent love for the Crucified, and do not forget that, out of love for you, He gave His life so that you may be saved. Little children, meditate and pray that your heart may be open to God’s love. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of September 25, 2007


In her latest message, Our Lady encourages us with her motherly words to feel an ever greater love for the Crucified. This love must flow from our hearts as the heart is the centre of human being. We may very well say that man is his heart. So many times has Our Lady called us to wake up, to begin to feel love because only love is fruitful. Only deeds done out of love and only prayer said out of love reach directly God’s heart.

God has done everything for us. He has given about his Son so that every man who lives his testimony has eternal life (cf. 1 John 5,11-13). There is nothing God desires more than the salvation of man. If God desires it so ardently, what are we then waiting for, why are we defying him, why do not we open ourselves to Him fully?

In the second part of her message, Our Lady calls us to meditate about God's words so that the word of God may enter the depths of our soul and blaze with more ardent love for God. The more we enter the spirit of God's word, the more ardent our devotion becomes. Our Lady is aware of that as she too has cherished God's words in her heart, meditated about them and lived by them (cf. Luke 2, 19.51).

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a role model of the Church for she is also the Praying Virgin (Virgo orans). By being a role model she is the one that encourages us to adopt a correct attitude towards prayer and towards God. She often calls us to prayer because we are weak and unable to pray in the correct manner. Some pray only during hardship or when they carry their cross or when burdened with pain and suffering. It is not only then that one should pray. We are also called to prayer when life is good to us, when we feel fine. It is then when we should say a prayer of gratitude so that God may give us more blessing and multiply the gifts that he has given to us. Prayer is not of secondary importance. Prayer is a matter of life and death. Just as a man drowning needs air, so do all the faithful need prayer because it is through prayer that we receive grace and turn our hearts towards God. While we think of Mary, the Mother who is the embodiment of the Word and the Teacher of spiritual life, we thank her for being our teacher and instilling in us love.


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medugorje 26/09/2007


For perspective on the Medjugorje apparitions from a couple of the visionaries themselves, watch this video!

Medjugorje - Our Lady's September 25 Message

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's message to the world of September 25, 2007.


God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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Message of September 25, 2007

"Dear children! Also today I call all of you for your hearts to blaze with more ardent love for the Crucified, and do not forget that, out of love for you, He gave His life so that you may be saved. Little children, meditate and pray that your heart may be open to God’s love. Thank you for having responded to my call."

Commentary of Our Lady's Message of August 25th, 2007

MAY YOUR LIFE BE A REFLECTION OF GOD'S GOODNESS

"Dear children! Also today I call you to conversion. May your life, little children, be a reflection of God’s goodness and not of hatred and unfaithfulness. Pray, little children, that prayer may become life for you. In this way, in your life you will discover the peace and joy which God gives to those who have an open heart to His love. And you who are far from God’s mercy, convert so that God may not become deaf to your prayers and that it may not be too late for you. Therefore, in this time of grace, convert and put God in the first place in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of August 25, 2007


The motherly words of Our Lady are words from the Gospel said with simple, motherly words. In this message we also hear a reflection of Jesus' words from the beginning of the Gospel: “Convert and believe the Gospel.” Conversion is a continuing process. It is everyday walking with Jesus, everyday following His word which is demanding and at the same time embraces the very life of God, of Jesus. The Virgin Mary has emptied herself, subdued her will to God's will. Our Lady did not expect a message from God. It was she who renounced her will and therefore was able to understand so clearly that God called her to be the mother of His son Jesus. Her life became God's life. She is full of God and all turned towards God. She is persistent with us because she knows that there is no other, easier or faster way that will lead us to God and to His gifts of joy and peace He wishes to bestow upon us. Her messages reveal Her determination and motherly love that wishes us wellbeing, the salvation of our souls and eternal life in God. Mary has remained a reflection of God. That is why she calls us and wants our lives to be a reflection of God's goodness, not of hatred and unfaithfulness.

“Pray, little children, that prayer may become life for you.” Some say that they do not like to pray as they cannot bear to dive into their own souls. Prayer is not looking at oneself. It is looking at God. To pray is to direct a spotlight towards Christ. What I need to do reveals to me gradually. It happens inside of me. By getting to know Christ I get to know myself. The mystery of man reveals itself only in Jesus Christ. Without Jesus we are unknown to ourselves. Who knew Jesus better but the very Virgin Mary who carried him under her heart, who raised him and believed in him until the end of his life, all the way to the foot of the cross at Calvary . Even today she is still the One who leads us to Jesus through Calvary towards resurrection.

The Gospel is not the past. God did not love us only once. He loves us every day, every moment throughout our life. This very moment is also filled with God's love and presence. This is why mother Mary and the Queen of Peace is coming to encourage us, to wake us up, to open the eyes of our souls in order for us to open our hearts and meet the source of life, of peace and joy – God. God brings us to truth with love, and if it must be so – with suffering, too. He does everything to save our souls. He cannot remain still and indifferent to us – people - who are the crown of His creation.

The time when the Virgin Mary comes to us and appears before us is a time of grace, time bestowed upon us as a gift. This is why she says to us: “In this time of grace, convert so that it may not be too late for you.” We are free to think that besides this time of grace, there is also a time when God denies His grace and pulls back His held out hand. Let us listen to the voice and words of our heavenly Mother Mary which save our souls and make us feel the joy of life, so that we are not too late to enter the feast of life.


Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic
Medugorje 26/8/2007

Medjugorje - Our Lady's August 25, 2007 Message

Peace to all! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's August 25, 2007 message to the world as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.


Message of August 25, 2007

"Dear children! Also today I call you to conversion. May your life, little children, be a reflection of God’s goodness and not of hatred and unfaithfulness. Pray, little children, that prayer may become life for you. In this way, in your life you will discover the peace and joy which God gives to those who have an open heart to His love. And you who are far from God’s mercy, convert so that God may not become deaf to your prayers and that it may not be too late for you. Therefore, in this time of grace, convert and put God in the first place in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call."

How Can I Make This Interesting?

My intent in creating this blog is to spread the messages given to us by the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, leading us back to her son Jesus.

It's important I take up my cross and spread these messages but, coming from an online marketing background and realizing this information is readily available elsewhere, I'd like to make this blog an interesting place you'll want to come back to regularly.

Please, if you have any thoughts on what would interest you enough to check back here, feel free to drop me an e-mail at haan.erik@gmail.com or respond through a comment on this blog.

Today I share with you a map to show you where in the world these events are taking place. Medjugorje is located in Bosnia Hercegovina.

God Bless!
Erik

Medjugorje - Commentary on Our Lady's July 25, 2007 Message

The following is first the Virgin Mary's monthly message for the world, given July 25th, 2007, followed by Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic's (of Medjugorje) commentary on the message.

Mary's message:

"Dear children! Today, on the day of the Patron of your Parish, I call you to imitate the lives of the Saints. May they be, for you, an example and encouragement to a life of holiness. May prayer for you be like the air you breathe in and not a burden. Little children, God will reveal His love to you and you will experience the joy that you are my beloved. God will bless you and give you an abundance of grace. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of July 25, 2007

Fr. Ljubo's commentary:

Our Lady calls to us as our Mother and invites and encourages us today, on the day of Saint Jacob the apostle, the patron saint of the Parish of Medugorje and pilgrims to inherit the life of the saints, the lives of those who came to heaven into a homeland we shall never leave. In her message on the 25th of July 2002, Our Lady also said: Dear children! Today I rejoice with your patron saint and call you to be open to God's will… Ask your holy protectors to help you grow in love towards God.” The saints are those who intercede for us and stand up for us before the face of God. That is why we turn to them and give up our prayers to them so that they may present them to God. The holy are an example to us that it is worth being faithful to God and that God will never betray us.

“Let prayer be like the air that you breathe” – says Our Mother Mary. Our body needs air. We know how we feel when we don’t have enough air. Without air our body cannot live. So as we have a physical body we also have a spiritual body. We can imagine that we are spiritually dead without prayer. Without prayer man’s life only consists of the body, material things, on dead things which do not have any life. Prayer is not something that is stipulated or ordered by the Church, God or Our Lady. Prayer is not only a devout exercise. Prayer is much more than this. Prayer is life. Without prayer we are dead and there is no life in us. Without prayer God has no room in us in which he can visit and heal us, save us and heal our hearts and souls.

It is only in prayer that God can reveal his love and we can experience the joy of being beloved children of God and Our Lady. From experience we know that it is not enough to only know that food is good, it is necessary to eat it to be able to live. It is not enough to know that God and Our Lady love us, rather it is necessary for us to experience this, experience it in out life as a reality more true than the physical one we see with our eyes.

“You will experience the joy of being my loved ones” – Our Lady says to us. However, it is necessary to fulfil one condition and this is prayer with our heart in which the soul opens and surrenders to God through Our Lady. The Gospel tells us at Jesus’ baptism at the River Jordan from the heavens thundered the voice of our Heavenly Father: “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1, 11). These words apply to Jesus. But through Jesus and in Jesus, also to you and me. Everyone of us are in Jesus and through Jesus the beloved son of the Father, beloved daughter of the Father, the chosen one, favourite of Our Father’s Heart. In Jesus and through Jesus we are also Our Lady’s beloved children.

Throughout our lives we have been told many times that it is important to love God. However it is far more important that God loves us. Our love towards God is of secondary importance. God’s love for us has precedence: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4, 10) – tells us the apostle John in his gospel. And still adds: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. (1 John 4, 16).

Let the Virgin Mary, full of grace and Immaculate lead us and introduce us to the secrets of Our Father’s heart and love which he has for us.

Fra Ljubo Kurtovic

Medugorje 26.7.200

An Introduction

I wanted to create this blog as a virtual prayer/discussion group centered around the messages the Virgin Mary is reported to be giving the world in Medjugorje, a small village in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

I state "reported to be giving" but I actually mean "giving" because I believe these messages are authentic after several years of reading and talking to others about them. Mary is acting as an intercessor to re-teach us everything in Scripture and lead us to Jesus. Though Mary advocates Catholicism and states not all faiths are equal to God, the messages are intended for everyone and the bottom line is that faith and love of God are most important.

The best reference I have discovered, if you would like some background on the messages, is The Medjugorje Web. There you can read current and past messages (dating all the way back to 1981) and learn more about the visionaries and their mission and how they were called to that mission as children in 1981.

This blog will also feature videos, links to books and Web sites, and actually Google AdSense ads.

You should know that my account will earn rewards for any Google ads clicked on. I'm not inviting you to click on any ads, nor do I personally endorse any of the ads. Google's algorithm will attempt to match this blog's content with relevant ads, and my hope is the ads will enhance this site by providing good religious resources. In any event, 100% of the earnings will be donated to The Medjugorje Web to assist in the spreading of the messages.

The videos are also compiled on a simple search of YouTube for "Medjugorje". Many of these videos feature footage from Medjugorje pilgrimages, including miracles of the Sun. I do not personally endorse any of the videos or back their authenticity. Many people (including people I know personally) have reported seeing such miracles. I believe in the miracles but I can't back the videos displayed in this blog without more investigation. Some of the videos actually feature interviews with the visionaries, so check out everything. It's OK to be skeptical. View with an open heart and let God lead you in your decision making.

I invite you to visit this blog frequently and subscribe to it so you know when there are updates. I plan to post at least twice per month: one with Mary's monthly message (given on the 25th of every month) and another with Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic's (of Medjugore) commentary on the message. I will probably also make other sporadic posts.

Please comment as often as you feel called to. I want this to be a vibrant online community, and it will only be as good as its viewers' participation!

Erik Haan

P.S. Start your participation by taking this month's (anonymous) poll!

P.P.S. Though I will be donating all Google AdSense proceeds to The Medjugorje Web, this blog is not in any way (yet, maybe some day :) ) affiliated with The Medjugorje Web.