Our Lady of Medjugorje has appeared to six visionaries since 1981, telling us God exists, and that we need to return to a life of prayer. She has told them these will be her last apparitions on Earth.

This blog is here to help you live a the full, holy, and enriching life Our Lady says God wants us to live, by providing you with reviews of books related to the apparitions and messages.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Medjugorje - Our Lady's April 25th Message to the World





“Dear children! As nature gives the most beautiful colors of the year, I also call you to witness with your life and to help others to draw closer to my Immaculate Heart, so that the flame of love for the Most High may sprout in their hearts. I am with you and I unceasingly pray for you that your life may be a reflection of Heaven here on earth. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Sunday, April 17, 2011

New Blog Feature - Ask Erik

I've spent several years learning about the reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary of Medjugorje, and have gathered a lot of information about the messages.

I've started a new page of this blog, titled "Ask Erik", which is your opportunity to ask questions about the apparitions or recommend a book, DVD, or CD you would like me to share with your fellow readers!

Just click the "Ask Erik" tab (see below for where) to submit your question. I will respond with a video post, within a few days.


The Passion of the Christ

My wife put out our copy of The Passion of the Christ, in preparation for Good Friday. It has become a tradition for me to watch it each Good Friday, and she'll be joining me this year, in watching it together for the first time since we saw it in a movie theater years ago.

For those who have never seen it or have not seen it in a while, I recommend purchasing a copy from Amazon.com and adding this to your library. I've found watching this on Good Friday to be a great way to set the tone for the weekend and remember what Jesus endured for me.

Erik Haan
Medjugorje Book Reviews

Sunday, April 3, 2011

DVD Recommendation: Gospa: The Miracle of Medjugorje

I am writing this blog post today to defend the Sheen (as in Charlie Sheen) family name.

Okay, I'm not. But I think it will at least balance out for the Sheens what Charlie is up to these days. At least for his father.

Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen's Dad, plays the lead role of Fr. Jozo Zovko in Gospa: The Miracle of Medjugorje (1995), a film by Jakov Sedlar. Zovko was the Medjugorje priest to whom the visionaries, in the apparitions' first days, confided and sought protection.

Now I truly didn't time the review of this film to coincide with Charlie Sheen's tour. It just happened to work out that way (my Sister-in-Law, Emily, gave me this DVD for Christmas and I just recently got around to watching it).

And I truly could not care any less about what Charlie has been doing recently, so I'm not actually writing this in response to anything he has said.

But I will state this: You will not see me recommend many dramatizations of what is happening in Medjugorje (Medjugorje dramatizations are typically low-budget and I can't get past the "cheese" factor). That means I think this is worth watching.

For those who don't know the entire story of Fr. Zovko's role in the apparitions, I won't give away too much, so you can watch this and appreciate what he endured. But the main context is that the claims of the children who said they were seeing the Virgin Mary quickly brought thousands of people to congregate in Medjugorje, at a time when the hamlet was part of Yugoslavia and under Communist rule. The atheist state government of the time didn't care for religion, but cared even less for large congregations of potential revolutionaries (any gathering which brought thousands together was deemed a threat).

If this story sounds familiar to you, it is because there was a similar situation when Our Lady appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. And the ramifications for those involved were similar, if not worse in Medjugorje.

Sheen does a nice job in this quick-moving film (1 hour, 45 minutes) of playing the priest who felt compelled to believe these children who were under attack from the government and much scrutiny by the area bishop. And he is not the only actor you will recognize.

Michael York (left) plays Zovko's legal representative when the state took Zovko to trial. Morgan Fairchild plays a nun who provides much support to Zovko as he struggles with what to do about six children claiming to see the Blessed Mother and a government which wants nothing less than his death for the crowds drawn to his parish.

This film is not  intended to provide more insight into the apparitions or explain their meaning. But I found it gripping, nonetheless.

So much attention (and rightfully so) is given to the visionaries and the messages from Heaven they carry. But Fr. Zovko faced some serious challenges and decisions in the apparitions' early days. I think this film does a great job of relaying that and I found that after watching it I was emboldened to continue my work of spreading the messages to my family and to you!

There are a couple of good reviews of the film at Amazon.com. You can read those and / or purchase a copy by clicking the image below:



Saturday, April 2, 2011

Our Lady of Medjugorje's April 2nd, 2011 Message to Us

Our Lady of Medjugorje's April 2nd Message to us, via Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo:

"Dear children; With motherly love I desire to open the heart of each of you and to teach you personal unity with the Father. To accept this, you must comprehend that you are important to God and that He is calling you individually. You must comprehend that your prayer is a conversation of a child with the Father; that love is the way by which you must set out - love for God and for your neighbour. That is, my children, the love that has no boundaries, that is the love that emanates from truth and goes to the end. Follow me, my children, so that also others, in recognizing the truth and love in you, may follow you. Thank you."

Once again Our Lady called us to pray for our shepherds (priests) and said:  "They have a special place in my heart. They represent my Son."