The Apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje

In the history of Marian apparitions, many countries have recorded miraculous events that have involved both individuals and crowds of witnesses. It’s on record, then, for believers and non-believers, that these events have actually occurred.

Until recent times these Marian apparitions belonged to the distant past. The apparitions at the famous shrine of Lourdes, for example, took place over 100 years ago. Events that happened in the past are questionable to many people and it’s understandable for them to lack belief in all that supposedly happened. Apparitions in the present day, then, would give them the opportunity to evaluate and may help them believe.

In June 1981, in a small village in Bosnia called Medjugorje, the Blessed Virgin Mary was reported to have been appearing to six visionaries. Amazingly, these appearances have continued since then to the present day on a daily basis. The millions of people who have visited the village and witnessed these events over the best part of three decades can attest to the many wonderful things that are occurring there.

Anything to do with the Blessed Virgin Mary is usually associated with the Catholic community. In the more than thirty million people who have visited Medjugorje since 1981, however, there has been a mixture of Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and other denominations. The Blessed Virgin Mary's visits there have been an inspiration to believers in all religions.

It’s interesting to note that when the Marian apparitions began in 1981 the visionaries were mere children. These children knew little of the Blessed Virgin’s reported manifestations in other places in the world. In the early years of the apparitions, then, there was ample opportunity to trap the children into owning up that everything was just make-believe. Some thirty years later, however, they still stick to the same story and you cannot find evidence to disbelieve them.

We can further report that the visionaries have undergone various scientific tests during apparitions and have up till now satisfied the scientific community that all appears genuine. Scientists cannot, of course, establish that the visionaries are receiving Heavenly visits, but tests indicate that something unusual, to say the least, is happening.

Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, says Her mission is one of peace and love. She brings us messages from Heaven with the aim of re-educating us and getting us to re-center our lives on God. When you consider that Her role has always been one of leading people to Her Son, it’s important that we understand the urgency of Her call to conversion. We would do well to heed Her call.

Our Lady continues to give messages to the six visionaries involved. As well as issuing public messages, She is to give the visionaries a total of ten “secrets” each. Three of the visionaries have already received ten secrets, the others have received nine. Nobody knows when the others will receive their final secret.

Prayer is central to Our Lady’s plan for us. At the start of the apparitions, in keeping with an old Croatian tradition, She asked us to pray daily the Creed, the Seven Our Fathers, Hail Mary’s, Glory Be’s. Later, She recommended, individually or as a group, the entire fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.

Our Lady has expressed Her love for us, saying that it is through love that She is here for us. She advises that Satan is so powerful that we are asked to dedicate our prayers so that those under his influence may be saved. If we pray, She says, Satan cannot harm us because as God’s children the Almighty is watching over us. With the Rosary, She says, Satan will know that you belong to Me.

It is Our Lady’s wish that we fast twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Through fasting (the best fast being on bread and water) and prayer, She says, we can prevent even wars. Charitable works cannot replace fasting, She says. Everyone except the sick should fast.

The Blessed Virgin encourages daily reading of the Bible,and says the Bible should be in a visible place so that we will always be encouraged to read it and pray.

Regarding Confession and the Holy Eucharist: She asks for monthly confession and recommends Sunday Mass, and daily Mass when possible.

Once the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje cease, there will be three warnings given to the world. Ten days before each of the warnings, one of the visionaries will advise a chosen priest and they will pray and fast together for seven days. Three days before a warning occurs the world will be notified as to what, where and when the warning will take place. At the end of the three warnings, a permanent visible sign will be left on the mountain where Our Lady first appeared in Medjugorje. This indestructible sign is for those that don’t believe in the apparitions and it will help them believe in God’s existence.

The Blessed Virgin Mary advises us that those left alive after the three warnings will have little time available for conversion. She encourages us, then, to listen to Her call for urgent conversion.

For those seeking God or wanting evidence of His existence, visit Medjugorje where the Marian apparitions are occurring daily or access the Monthly Medjugorje Message online on a regular basis.