MEDJUGORJE - OUR LADY'S JANUARY 25, 2008 MESSAGE

Peace to All!

Below please find the official translation of Our Lady's January 25, 2008 message to the world as translated and provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

Our next mailing will be Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's message at the end of the month.

God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
the Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
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Message of January 25, 2008

“Dear children! With the time of Lent, you are approaching a time of grace. Your heart is like ploughed soil and it is ready to receive the fruit which will grow into what is good. You, little children, are free to choose good or evil. Therefore, I call you to pray and fast. Plant joy and the fruit of joy will grow in your hearts for your good, and others will see it and receive it through your life. Renounce sin and choose eternal life. I am with you and intercede for you before my Son. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

A SPECIAL MESSAGE ABOUT THE MEDJUGORJE WEB

PURCHASE A ROSARY BLESSED BY OUR LADY DURING AN APPARITION IN MEDJUGORJE!

Steve and Ana Shawl, the site administrators for The Medjugorje Web, have made their annual appeal for prayers and donations for their site.

Steve and Ana do God's work by operating all of this without a revenue source. They rely on prayers and donations to allow them to keep spreading Our Lady's messages around the world.

If you can offer something, Steve and Ana certainly welcome any amount. If not, they ask that you please pray to Our Lady for financial support in their endeavor.

You can make donations through the official Medjugorje Web donation page. Here are some suggested amounts (though all amounts are welcome):

$25 - receive a wooden Rosary blessed by Our Lady during an apparition in Medjugorje

$50 - receive a Rosary crafted from stones on Apparition Hill

$100 - a Mass in Medjugorje will be send for your intention

For more information, please contact Steve and Ana through The Medjugorje Web. Steve can also be reached at sshawl@medjweb.com

Sincerely,

Erik Haan

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

Peace and Happy New Year to all! Below please find the official English translation of Fr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's December 25, 2007 as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE KING OF OUR HEARTS

"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." Message of December 25, 2007


On this day, on Christmas, Our Lady tells us in her message how joyfully she brings us the King of Peace, who will give us his blessing. Christmas is surely one of the most beautiful days of the year, even for the people who perceive it in their own, different way. It is the most beautiful day in the history of mankind, because the King of Peace was born.

The life agenda of Jesus, and our life agenda, is summarized in the angel song which was sung at His birth: "Glory be to God in the highest Heavens, And on earth peace among men who please Him!" (Lk 2, 14). Every time we speak to God in our prayers, God comes to us and fills our heart with peace. We can spread peace around us only if we are filled with the God's peace. Human heart becomes reckless if it is infested with the sin, or if it turns away from God. The sin corrupts the man, who is made on God’s image, and he/she spreads dissatisfaction. For the man, the only way to convert, change and return to the original state of the son is the sacrament of confession, which many took these days, making their peace with God. Every time when Jesus comes to us, into our heart, He makes it beautiful, because this is why He came to earth.

Our Lady invites us to give more time to the Creator for whom our hearts yearn. To give more time to the Creator means to pray more. If we expand our daily prayers only a little bit, our friendship with Jesus grows, He enters our life, blesses our day and everything we do, enlightens our mind and warms our heart.

On this earth, we are only passing by, we are only pilgrims. They who came before will leave earlier. Small things of this world can sometimes prevent us from reaching greater good. In Jesus, the doors of eternal life are opened for us. Through all these years of appearances, Our Lady teaches us in her school of love how to reach the eternal life and how to pray.

Our Lady also reveals us the true meaning of Christmas We can understand it better by watching Her, who was from the beginning present in the mystery of Christ’s salvation, full of virtues like faith, hope, love, humility, silence and joy. Humility is the key which helps us to open our hearts to God, so He can enter and transform it. Only by complete dedication to God can we find a way from the heart filled with the false pride or vanity to the heart filled with true humility and love.

Fra Danko Perutina
Medugorje, December 12th, 2007

The Visions of the Children

When reviewing a book or movie, especially one concerning the apparitions in Medjugorje, I generally take a stance much like the Catholic Church.

The Church, when deciding upon the validity of reported apparitions and miracles, waits until they have ceased before making a final decision. They like to gather all of the facts first.

Much in the same way, I generally like to read an entire book before deciding whether or not it's one I want to recommend, but in this case I'm changing things up a bit.

The book I'm currently reading, The Visions of the Children, by Janice T. Connell, is one of the most interesting books on the Medjugorje apparitions I have come across. I'm currently only a couple of chapters in but the book is like a magnet to my intellect and I felt the need to share some of it with all.

It features a wonderful introduction to the miracles and visions that have occurred in Medjugorje over the past 26 years. But I think the book's most valuable treasure is the question-and-answer format with each of the visionaries.

Check out some of these excerpts. The first one is from an interview with Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo, one of the visionaries to whom ten secrets about the fate of the world have been revealed. The questions are posed by the author of the book, Janice T. Connell.

"Q. Mirjana, you certainly seem to have great responsibilities. You are the one who has been chosen to announce the day and date of the unfolding of the ten secrets that the Blessed Mother has given for the whole world. Do you carry the responsibility for the unfolding of the final days of the planet?

A. I will anounce each secret to Father Petar. He will make whatever public announcement is to come..."


This excerpt is from an interview with Marija Pavlovic Lunetti:

"Q. How serious are the effects of sin?

A. Sin wounds us gravely. It separates us from God, who is our source of love and goodness and abundance and joy.

Q. How does this happen?

A. Sin darkens our capacity to choose wisely.

Q. Do many people live in darkness today?

A. The Blessed Mother says a cloud of darkness has enveloped the whole planet.

Q. What can be done?

A. Heed the messages of Medjugorje: prayer, fasting, reconciliation, peace, and conversion are a call from the Mother of God to all people on earth to restore God's kingdom of light and love and peace and joy to all people on earth."


This excerpt is from an interview with Ivan Dragicevic:

"Q. How does Satan get involved in marriages?

A. Many ways. One of his favorite ploys is to divide a husband and wife, then go after the children one by one.

Q. That sounds like the age-old divide-and-conquer theory of war, Ivan.

A. Satan is very smart. He has a large intellect. He knows all of our weaknesses."


These are just some of the pages and pages of interviews with the visionaries. It's at the same time fascinating and educational. The words from the mouths of the visionaries to the pages of this book are about as blunt as it gets. If you want to know how to live, if you want to understand the times in which we live, if you want to protect yourself from Satan's power and live in the good graces of God, I highly recommend this book.

It can be purchased new or used from Amazon: