THE MEDJUGORJE WITNESS

For the past 56 years, Joe Bovaird has been raising vital funds for charities around Donegal by making St Brigid crosses. And for the 1,000 crosses woven out of rushes that Joe made this year, he received donations amounting to 3,650 euros, all of which he contributed to Mary’s Meals. The generous gift has helped feed 160 school children for a full school year.

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Source:  Donegal News

“What gives me strength, hope, and faith is that I see that Divine Providence does not abandon us and there is so much faith in people,” says Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki in an interview with Vatican News. The Latin Metropolitan of Lviv stressed that in this dark time of war all of Ukraine is wrapped in a chain of prayer. “We are God’s fighters, not with the rifle, but with the rosary. Not on the battlefield, but on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament.”

Full interview at Vatican News

Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Matthew 7 : 9-11

• Part of a talk given by Fr. Jozo Zovko OFM who was the Parish Priest in Medjugorje when the apparitions first started in 1981.

Now I understand why Jesus asks us to be like children, to remain simple and humble. The children in Medjugorje believed immediately. The young people believed the visionaries. They did not envy them, they said they were telling the truth. Our Lady’s way is to remain small, simple and humble. The history of the region is written in the blood of Martyrs, marked by hundreds of years of oppression by Turks, and later by other invaders.

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Now people from all over the world gather in Medjugorje. Our Lady revealed a plan, which is accomplished with prayer and fasting and meeting Jesus in prayer through the Sacraments.

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Our Lady said “Please be converted.” I thought she meant those who left the church, those who did not attend Mass, those who were beating their families, or abusing alcohol; but no, our Lady is saying, “I am calling you, my son, my daughter. Why are you looking to them.” She did not want to address those who were lost, but to awaken those who are close. When she saw I did not understand conversion she said, “Pray, pray, pray, pray the rosary everyday.”

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People were astonished and stayed in the church all night. Our Lady appeared and gave her blessing. Everybody experienced her loving presence and soon her message was spread all over the world. People in Medjugorje prayed in the fields, in taxis, in shops, out walking etc. Wherever they were they prayed.

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Our Lady was happy and again appeared and said “When you pray, do not only say the words, do not only pray with your lips, pray with your heart.” I did not know what this meant. Then she sent a message which said: “Before you start praying again today, look within your heart to find all your enemies, forgive one another, forgive everybody. Recommend them to Our Father with joy. Pray for them, then wish them a great blessing, joy and great love.”

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At first I thought this is not difficult so I explained this message to the thousands in the church. When I asked them were they going to do this there was total silence. They knew they could not do it, they could not lie. So I said, “Listen to me now, we are going to pray for this gift. Pray in your heart, close your eyes, go deep down into your hearts and pray to God to grant us the gift to be able to forgive.” Silence again. Our Lady does not let us pray our way because this is not true prayer. We cannot wish everybody well.

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After twenty minutes, in the middle of the church, a man’s voice broke our chains. With a prayer from deep within he cried, “Jesus, I forgive them, please forgive me.” So everybody followed and did the same. Everybody was crying. This brought about great love, great joy. They could feel the presence of the love of Jesus so strongly within them.

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The next day in the parish was very different. Some people had not spoken to each other for generations. They had their enemies because of minor irrelevant things. They did not like each other. They were envious and jealous. In one night all that had melted. They began to eat, work and pray together, love each other sincerely, and feel for each other. That same day the word MIR (Croatian for PEACE) was written over the sky spanning Cross Mountain to St. James’ church towers. This is the gift of peace that our Lady wishes to give to all.

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Later she explained that conversion means to pray with the heart. Our Lady spoke, crying, “People do not live the faith of the church. Tell them to believe firmly, to protect the religion of my people and among my people. Do not have enemies. Do not start wars. Let us love everybody and be aware that we are servants.”

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It is dangerous to be in conflict with heaven, with the gospel, with Our Lady. It is important to be small. Therefore we have to live the faith of the church.

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• Jesus said to his disciples: “If you forgive others their failings, your Heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.” Matthew 6 : 14-15

Apologies to anyone attempting to access the linked pages on my website today.  Not sure what caused the problem on the pages’ menu. However, all links appear to be in working order again. Prayer works! So does perseverance!

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts and the angels looked after him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. “The time has come” he said “and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the Good News.”

Mark 1 : 12-15

The word ‘Lent’ is of Anglo-Saxon origin, from a term meaning ‘lengthening of days’, referencing the increase in daylight hours with the onset of spring. Spring for gardeners is a time of regrowth and new birth, but also a time of rooting up and cutting back what is dead and decaying. This is also true for the garden of our souls. We rid ourselves of all that is unnecessary or of hindrance in our growth in holiness. The practices of almsgiving, fasting, and self-denial help us to do this, enabling the heart and mind to rise to God and the spirit to blossom forth and grow in grace. Lenten prayers and devotions, such as the Stations of the Cross and Eucharistic adoration, are wonderful ways of helping us to focus on our crucified and risen Saviour. Week by week, the gospels draw our minds toward the events of the Passion. Christ’s identity is opened up to us as the ‘Suffering Servant.’ Lent gives us the opportunity to make retreat in the midst of a busy world – to withdraw to church or other quiet place after having mortified our flesh by fasting and our will by self-denial, and quietening our minds by placing ourselves in the presence of our Redeemer.

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Fr Anton Guziel

God has not grown weary of us. Let us welcome Lent as the great season in which he reminds us: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex 20:2). Lent is a season of conversion, a time of freedom. Jesus himself, as we recall each year on the first Sunday of Lent, was driven into the desert by the Spirit in order to be tempted in freedom. For forty days, he will stand before us and with us: the incarnate Son. Unlike Pharaoh, God does not want subjects, but sons and daughters. The desert is the place where our freedom can mature in a personal decision not to fall back into slavery. In Lent, we find new criteria of justice and a community with which we can press forward on a road not yet taken.

Pope Francis, February 2024

Through the Desert, God Leads us to Freedom

The Holy Face of Manoppello is truly an inexplicable image; a very thin veil that seems much like sea-silk, visible from both sides, measuring 24 cm x 17.5 cm. For many scholars, it is the face of the Resurrection. The image shows the suffering face of a man, which is traditionally believed to be the face of Christ. Upon entering the Basilica of the Holy Face shrine, the image of the veil, crossed by the light, appears completely transparent, almost invisible. Approaching the altar, the appearance of a face progressively becomes visible, placing itself on the left or right of the altar. Especially striking are his eyes, his lively, intense and profound gaze, which is difficult to forget. 

Source: Shrine of the Holy Face, Manoppello 

• On April 17th, 1958, his Holiness Pope Pius XII approved the observance of a Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus on Shrove Tuesday (Tuesday before Ash Wednesday).

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• Dear children, Today, with my motherly heart, I call you gathered around me to love your neighbour. My children, stop. Look in the eyes of your brother and see Jesus, my Son. If you see joy, rejoice with him. If there is pain in the eyes of your brother, with your tenderness and goodness, cast it away, because without love you are lost. Only love is effective; it works miracles. Love will give you unity in my Son and the victory of my heart. Therefore, my children, love. Medjugorje message, September 2, 2008 

While many Catholics will be celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes today there is one community in Ireland whose attention will be focused instead on another holy woman – St Gobnait.

More about the St Gobnait celebrations at Ballvourney in County Cork, can be found at the Roaringwater Journal website.

Who knew that the figure of God the Father depicted in Michelangelo’s famous fresco of the Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is made in the image and likeness of Leonardo da Vinci? Likewise, the reclined figure of Adam is also a younger version of Leonardo (made in the image and likeness of God).

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So why would Michelangelo choose to portray the unmarried Leonardo, and his rival, as a father?

Dear children! Today also I invite you to prayer. Only by prayer and fasting can war be stopped. Therefore, my dear little children, pray and by your life give witness that you are mine and that you belong to me, because Satan wishes in these turbulent days to seduce as many souls as possible. Therefore, I invite you to decide for God and He will protect you and show you what you should do and which path to take. I invite all those who have said “yes” to me to renew their consecration to my Son Jesus and to his Heart and to me so we can take you more intensely as instruments of peace in this unpeaceful world. Medjugorje is a sign to all of you and a call to pray and live the days of grace that God is giving you. Therefore, dear children, accept the call to prayer with seriousness. I am with you and your suffering is also mine. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Medjugorje message, April 25, 1992

I marvel at the ability and gift given to those who can draw.

This is detail from a preliminary sketch made by the Italian Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. It’s an outline for one of a series of frescoes he was commissioned to produce recording the life of the Virgin Mary.

This particular drawing was in preparation for the panel depicting the Birth of Mary. The completed fresco (and the series) can be seen in the Tornabuoni Chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence. 

But all is not what it appears to be with this sketch and the finished fresco. It was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s version of the Annunciation and Pietro Perugini’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel depicting Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to Peter.

Another fresco in the Sistine Chapel that took its lead from Leonardo’s Annunciation is Michelangelo’s famous scene of the Creation of Adam. 

All three frescoes and Leonardo’s Annunciation embed references to the Muslim faith.

You can view the Birth of Mary fresco in detail at this link, and the sketch here.

Wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And those who touched him were cured. Mark 6 : 56

Traditionally, Saint Blaise is invoked for protection against injuries and illnesses of the throat. In many places, on the day of his feast the blessing of St Blaise is given: two candles (sometimes lit), blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas), are held in the form of a cross by a priest over the heads of the faithful or the people are touched on the throat with them. At the same time the following blessing is given: “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness”. Then the priest makes the sign of the cross over the faithful. Source: Wikipedia

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.

Luke 2 : 22-24

Image: Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Watercolour painting, Wellcome Collection 22182i

Anyone who has climbed and prayed on Mt Krizevac at Medjugorje, or any other mountain as part of their pilgrimage, will be gifted with a deeper understanding of themselves and appreciation of others. Climbing mountains provides an outlook on the world that we are not able to always see when we stay at ground level. Ground level can be comfortable and less challenging, but never provides the same perspective as the view from higher ground.

The journey to higher ground isn’t always easy. It presents many challenges and asks many questions, be it the pilgrimage journey itself, the cross we may be carrying in life, or the physical process of literally climbing the mountain. But the action brings light to our lives.

Peter, James and John discovered this when they climbed the mountain with Jesus. They saw him in a new light, in all his glory, something they had not witnessed before. And that is what often happens when we share a difficult journey with anyone, we begin to see each other in a new light, in the light of suffering and compassion. The climb becomes a process of revelation. With each step, each stone we stumble on, each station on the way , our heart is penetrated with more light, more understanding, and revelation of the Jesus within all of us. Climbing the mountain is an action of transfiguration, love unfolding, and therefore reveals the light of Christ.

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Marija Pavlovic, the Medjugorje visionary shares this story: “Our Lady has told us that when we speak of a third person we often stress that person’s negative side and added: Have you ever found anything in nature that doesn’t speak of God? God can be found in each of his creatures, and in the people who are less perfect. Mary then invited us to climb Krizevac (the Cross mountain in Medjugorje) two at a time with the person we liked the least. Once we reached the top we became aware that we had made a new friend!” 

My pre-op for a cataract removal was on January 25, Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, who was blinded after the Lord felled him from his high horse on the way to Damascus.

My op was early this morning and the result is remarkable. I can see clearly now.

Saul remained in darkness for three days until the Lord Jesus instructed Ananias to go to Saul and restore his sight. Immediately, it was as though the scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. He was baptised there and then.

• The above image is of Kravice Waterfalls, located about 10km from Medjugorje.

• Cataract is from Latin cataracta, meaning “waterfall”

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It's gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day

It's gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day

Johnny Nash, 1972

What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.

Mark 4 : 30-32

Dear children!

May this time be a time of prayer.

Today the Church celebrates the Conversion of St Paul, once a persecutor of the early Christians, even to death. On a journey to Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round him. He fell from his horse to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul answered, “Who are you, Lord?” And the heavenly voice replied, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me.”

The light was so dazzling that Saul was blind for three days until Ananias, a devout follower of the Law, came and laid hands on him to give him back his sight. Saul was then commissioned by Ananias to witness the “Just One” before all mankind. (cf Acts 9:19)

This account from the Acts of the Apostles often reminds me of similar conversion experiences witnessed at Medjugorje when pilgrims observe the light and powerful phenomena seen pulsating from the sun. It brings many to tears; some are partially blinded; and in some cases experience damaged retinas. 

In a sense, witnessing for the first time the phenomenon of the “spinning sun” can be like Saul falling from his horse – a humbling experience for many, when our sense of pride and doubt is challenged. But from that point hearts are opened and a conversion process begins. We are given new sight and a desire to speak of all we have seen and heard, and be a witness for the “Just One” to all mankind.

• Coincidence, or not, I’m attending hospital today for an eye operation pre-op where I shall be subject to all kinds of bright lights and effects under examination. 

• The above image is detail from The Conversion of St Paul, by David Teniers (Antwerp 1582-1649)

“Do not allow Satan to deceive you into thinking that you can repeat prayer. Prayer cannot be repeated. A mother cannot repeat her child. A spring cannot repeat its water. The sun cannot repeat its rays and the human heart cannot repeat prayer. It is the Holy Spirit who prays within us and each Hail Mary is always a new grace, a new gift and a new strength.”

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Fr Jozo Zovko OFM

The Lord does not sow the seed of doubt. He sows the seed of faith.

The serpent, “the most subtle of wild beasts”, testifies by his own words that he is the sower of doubt in the word of God. He asked the woman: “Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3 : 1)

Eve answered the serpent with the word of God: “We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said: ‘You must not eat it, nor touch it, under the pain of death.’”

When Mary, the New Eve, the Mother of God and Queen of Peace speaks to her children, she bears the Word of God.

The word of God produces good fruit; the word of satan, sower of doubt, produces poisoned fruit.

Beware the sowers of doubt... Can one blind man lead another? Surely they will both fall into the pit? (Luke 6 : 39)

Beware the sowers of doubt... instead of listening to the truth they will turn to myths. (2 Timothy 4 : 4)

• The above image is detail from the Vienna Diptych (The Fall and Redemption of Man), by the Flemish painter Hugo Van der Goes.

When David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. He then distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, a roll of bread to each…

2 Samuel 6 : 18-19

No one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Then he can burgle the house. Mark 3 : 27

Dear children! Pray for my intentions, because Satan wants to destroy my plan which I have here and to steal your peace. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray that God can act through each of you. May your hearts be open to God’s will. I love you and bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Medjugorje message, August 25, 2014

“At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I proposed setting aside ‘a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people’. Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world…

“Consequently, I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God…”

The Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis  of Pope Francis

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Dear children! Also today I call you to be carriers of the Gospel in your families. Do not forget, little children, to read Sacred Scripture. Put it in a visible place and witness with your life that you believe and live the Word of God. I am close to you with my love and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call.

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Medjugorje message, January 25, 2006

As Pope Francis has declared 2024 a Year of Prayer in preparation for Jubilee year of 2025, I’m introducing a new feature in the website’s Shorts section – dedicated to prayer requests. I invite visitors not only to submit their prayers requests but also to pray for those listed each month. In this way we shall all pray for the needs and intentions of each other.

To request prayer, simply email your name or the name of the person you request prayer for, to: medjugorjeuk@gmail.com. The intention is not necessary but if you wish it to be made known then do so. Your email address will not be published.

The list will be published in this section of the website at the end of each month for the year 2024.

Dear children! Also today, joy is in my heart. I desire to thank you for making my plan realizable. Each of you is important, therefore, little children, pray and rejoice with me for every heart that has converted and become an instrument of peace in the world. Prayer groups are powerful, and through them I can see, little children, that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Medjugorje message, June 25, 2004

The daily bulletin of the Vatican Press Office reports that this morning the Vatican diplomat Msgr Aldo Cavalli was received in audience by Pope Francis.

In November 2021, Pope Francis appointed Msgr Cavalli the Apostolic Visitor for Medjugorje, 

More information at this link.

Grieved to find them so obstinate, Jesus looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was better. The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him. Mark 3 : 5-6

Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.

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Samuel 16 : 7

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Dear children! Wake up from the sleep of unbelief and sin, because this is a time of grace which God gives you. Use this time and seek the grace of healing of your heart from God, so that you may see God and man with the heart. Pray in a special way for those who have not come to know God's love, and witness with your life so that they also can come to know God and His immeasurable love. Thank you for having responded to my call.

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Medjugorje message, February 25, 2000

In an interview on the Italian TV program “Che tempo che fa”, which aired on Sunday, 14 January, Pope Francis responded to a question about the document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fiducia supplicans, which opens the possibility of blessing couples in “irregular” situations, including same-sex couples, and which has elicited various reactions.

He reaffirmed that “the Lord blesses everyone, everyone, everyone.”

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“We must take these people by the hand,” said the Pope, “not condemn them from the start.”

This is "the pastoral work of the Church,” he noted, calling it an “important” task for confessors, who are called to “forgive everything.”

The Pope revealed that he himself—in 54 years of priesthood—has only once denied forgiveness “due to the person's hypocrisy.”

Source: vaticannews.va

The towering sculpture of the Risen Saviour is a major attraction for pilgrims visiting Medjugorje, primarily because of the strange phenomenon that produces water to seep almost continually from the right knee. Any natural cause for this marvel has yet to be established.

But there is also another unusual feature about the sculpture, not always apparent, that can be considered even more “miraculous” than the water flow which grabs the attention of most pilgrims.

To witness this extraordinary sight one has to focus on the stylised countenance of Christ, which is about 20 feet from the ground. Lighting and the time of day will also dictate the clarity of what is seen. But under favourable conditions the head of the Jesus in profile (left) takes on the appearance of a lamb’s head (right). Christ becomes the Lamb of God, the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sins of the world and grants peace.

Should we be surprised by this mystery at such a place as Medjugorje, where millions of hearts have reconciled with Christ during the long history of apparitions?

Be purified of sins and in Jesus, my Son, recognise the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the entire world. part message to Mirjana, March 2, 2008

Just as John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God to two disciples at the River Jordan, Our Lady also reminds us to repent of our sins though Jesus and recognise the ‘sacrifice of atonement’.

Even though the Slovenian sculptor Andrej Ajdič has confirmed the lamb’s head was not intended when he designed the sculpture, the feature is there to be seen. It is visible but unrecognised. It requires pointing out, and even then, there are some who are unable to identify the “lamb”.

Jesus, remained unrecognised in this way for 30 years until John the Baptist made reference to the Lamb of God: “Look, there is the lamb of God”. Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. John 1 : 35-36

We can also link into this the fact that Our Lady first appeared at Medjugorje on June 24, 1981 – the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Like John, she also invites us to turn our attention to Jesus.

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John also declared, “I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water” (John 1 : 31). The water that exudes from the knee of the Risen Saviour has enabled many pilgrims come to know the love and presence of Jesus in their lives.

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. […] Large crowds followed him, coming from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea and Transjordania.

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Matthew 4 :17, 25

This section of a perimeter wall is just a few hundred yards from my home. I’ve walked past it countless times over many years, but this morning it caught my attention, perhaps because of its striking and colourful appearance highlighted by the soft sunlight.

One could say it was an epiphany experience, a manifestation, an aspect made visible which I was not aware of before.

Every brick in the wall has its own life experience; each is weathered or worn in a different manner with a unique identity and colour.

Yet all can be classified as bricks. 

If I was to write on or apply a name to each brick, perhaps they could be visualised as representing hearts of stone of different size, or even flesh of varied colour? 

But they also appear in communion, supporting and bonding with each other, whatever their condition, dimension or placement.

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Perhaps, even representing a retaining wall of faith?

Dear children! Today I invite you to glorify God and for the Name of God to be holy in your hearts and in your life. Little children, when you are in the holiness of God, He is with you and gives you peace and joy which come from God only through prayer. That is why, little children, renew prayer in your families and your heart will glorify the holy Name of God and heaven will reign in your heart. I am close to you and I intercede for you before God. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje Message, May 25, 1997

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, “Look, there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was ro reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water. John 2 : 29-31 

• The detail showing the Lamb of God is from the central panel of the Ghent Altarpiece (1432), by the Flemish painters Jan and Hubert Van Eyck

Now these men had been sent by the Pharisees, and they put this further question to John, “Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the prophet? John replied, “I baptise with water, but there stands among you – unknown to you – the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal strap.” This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising. John 1 : 24-28

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• Free Men Wear Sandals

“I wanted next year, in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee, to be entirely dedicated to prayer. Next year will be dedicated to prayer.”

The Holy Father called for a daily renewal of the “joy and commitment” of “being men and women of prayer.”

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“Prayer that comes from the heart, not like parrots. No. From the heart. May the words that are spoken come from the heart.” (source)

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Dear children! Today I invite you to prayer of the heart. Throughout this season of grace I wish each of you to be united with Jesus, but without unceasing prayer you cannot experience the beauty and greatness of the grace which God is offering you. Therefore, little children, at all times fill your heart with even the smallest prayers. I am with you and unceasingly keep watch over every heart which is given to me. Thank you for having responded to my call. Medjugorje Message, February 25, 1989

And the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

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Mark 13 : 25

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The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him.

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John 1 : 9-10

Mary is the Mother of God because she is the Mother of Jesus, true God and true Man. Because of this, she more than anyone else can lead us to her Son, for no other like her knows who Jesus is, and no one knows how to relate with Him as well as she does. Mary is the Mother who, on hearing the shepherd’s words, understood immediately that the Child was not just “her Son”. “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice” Jesus would say one day (Lk. 8:19-21). She, who for nine months had borne Him in her womb, knew how to listen to everyone the Lord allowed her to meet: the shepherds, the magi, Simeon and Anna… because each of them would “reveal” something about Jesus’ identity and mission.

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source: vaticannews.va