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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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Medjugorje - Our Lady's August 25th, 2011 Message for Us

“Dear children! Today I call you to pray and fast for my intentions, because Satan wants to destroy my plan. Here I began with this parish and invited the entire world. Many have responded, but there is an enormous number of those who do not want to hear or accept my call. Therefore, you who have said ‘yes’, be strong and resolute. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Monday, August 22, 2011

Medjugorje Book Review - Dear Children by Vincent Murray

Continue reading or watch a one-minute review.

We've been blessed to have the alleged apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje for over 30 years now, and during that time she has given thousands of messages for us, instructing us on how to live as faithful followers of Christ.

Most of us are familiar with the main themes: prayer, fasting, and conversion. But Mary has also given us guidance on many other topics. There are, in fact, many themes she's brought up on several occasions. But unless you've cataloged all of the messages yourself, it would be very difficult to sift through all of the messages and determine what Our Lady advises on certain topics.

We now have a resource to help, thanks to author Vince Murray.

Dear Children, a work Murray first published in 2007 and which he updates annually, takes all of Mary's messages through the Medjugorje visionaries and organizes them by subject, from "Christmas" to "Confession" to her messages about "Television" and everything in between (there are over 100 chapters). The idea is to make it easy on us to digest all of what Mary is telling us, and also as a quick reference. 

For instance, I was interested in learning what Mary has said about Satan. I've read messages about this topic here and there, but I wanted to dig deeper, to understand how he works and what exactly Mary thinks about him. Vince made it so easy, as I flipped to a page in the book and all messages Mary had mentioned Satan in were grouped together, in one chapter. And there were several pages worth of messages on Satan alone, helping me to understand this is a topic Mary definitely wants us to be educated on thoroughly!

This book is, essentially a search engine about the messages, but without the typing. And when I browsed Google for "Mary's messages about Satan" nothing came up, so this is really the only way right now to get search results - by topic - on Our Lady of Medjugorje's messages.

Upon browsing through this book I immediately thought about my recent trip to Medjugorje (my first one), when the tour group my wife and I were in would discuss Mary's thoughts on different subjects. Even though most of us had been learning about Medjugorje for years, there were times when each of us didn't realize Mary had said this about a certain topic or that about another. This book will now make for a handy reference. I just hope Vince someday takes these topics and publishes them to a Web site, so they're easier for everyone to research. I think this would help him more-easily keep up to date on the latest messages, too, instead of having to republish the whole book each year.

I can't imagine how much work went into this, but in chatting with Vince I know it was a labor of love. He truly cares. And what I love about his foreword is he reminds us of the reality of these messages: if we believe what the Medjugorje "visionaries" have told us, these messages will come to an end at some point in their lives, and at that point the time remaining will be so short that many will not be able to convert. The time to adjust our lives and live what Our Lady is telling us is now, not later.

Vince has authorized me to sell this book on his behalf. Most of the proceeds will go toward helping him continue to update and print future editions, so in purchasing this you are a missionary of the messages yourself!

You can purchase Dear Children by Vince Murray from my Medjugorje Book Reviews Online Store:





Saturday, August 13, 2011

Medjugorje Day by Day: August 13th Reflection

Here is the August 13th reflection from one of my favorite Medjugorje-themed books: Medjugorje Day by Day, by Richard J. Beyer:

AUGUST 13

There are souls in purgatory

To the visionary Mirjana, regarding purgatory:
There are souls in purgatory who pray ardently to God, but for whom no relative or friend prays on earth. But God allows them to benefit from the prayers of other people (FY 1-10-83).

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And in Psalm 73, the author expresses confidence in God, both now and in the hereafter:
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire
   other than you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
--Psalm 73:23-26

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Reflection: Through the dogma of the communion of saints, the church teaches that the living can actively help those who have died through prayer, sacrifice, and especially the Mass, "the greatest prayer," as Mary says elsewhere.

It is common practice to arrange for Masses to be offered for loved ones, often on the anniversary of their death, but any time is appropriate. Your parish secretary or priest can assist you in this; Mass intentions are normally announced in the church bulletin, unless you wish otherwise (it is customary, though not required, to give an offering).


Application: Today, pray for the souls in purgatory, especially the forgotten dead.


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Medjugorje - Our Lady's August 2nd, 2011 Message for Us



"Dear children; Today I call you to be born anew in prayer and through the Holy Spirit, to become a new people with my Son; a people who knows that if they have lost God, they have lost themselves; a people who knows that, with God, despite all sufferings and trials, they are secure and saved. I call you to gather into God’s family and to be strengthened with the Father’s strength. As individuals, my children, you cannot stop the evil that wants to begin to rule in this world and to destroy it. But, according to God’s will, all together, with my Son, you can change everything and heal the world. I call you to pray with all your heart for your shepherds, because my Son chose them. Thank you."