TUCEPI 1996

17. - 21. 03. 1996.

STIMULATIONS TO DAILY READING OF SCRIPTURE Kurt Knotziger
WITH OUR LADY INTO THE 21st CENTURY fra Ljudevit Rupcic
PRAYER GROUPS IN THE MARIAN PRAYER MOVEMENT fra Slavko Barbaric
INFORMATION CENTER "MIR" MEDJUGORJE fra Miljenko Stojic

Kurt Knotzinger - was born in 1928 in Vienna. After completing twelve years of studies in the field of Music and Theology, he began his work as Parish Priest. However, from 1966 onwards he took over as Spiritual Director and Professor in the seminary as well as the high school of the town of Sachsenbrun in the Viennese arch-diocese.

Fr. Ljudevit Rupcic was born in 1920 in Hardomilije, Ljubuski. In 1939 he entered the Franciscan Order in the province of Hercegovina, and in 1946, he was ordained a priest. He finished his studies in Theology in the University seminary in Zagreb. He completed a doctorate in 1958 and received the habit there. From 1958 until 1988 he lectured in New Testament exegesis on franciscan theology in Sarajevo, and also in the University seminary in Zagreb. Under the former Yugoslavian Communist regime he served two prison sentences from 1945 to 1947 and again from 1952 to 1956. For a longer period (1968 until 1981) he was a member of the theological commision aiding the Episcopal Conferences of former Yugoslavia.

He has accomplished a translation of the New Testament from it's origins into the Croation language, and his translation has had continuous re-publication. His books, studies and articles have been published in Croation, English, German and Italian, and he has lectured at various conferences and meetings throughout Europe and America.

Fr. Slavko Barbaric was born in 1946 in Dragicina. At Visoko, Sarajevo and Schwaz (Austria), he studied Theology. He was ordained a priest in 1971. He received a doctorate in the area of religious pedagogy in 1982. From 1982 onwards he has been in Medjugorje. He has written many books and articles on spiritual matters. He works at the shrine. He has led numerous spiritual retreats and talks, and in many parts of the world he has held meetings on the theme of the happenings at Medjugorje.

Dr. Fr. Miljenko Stojic was born in1960 in Dragicina. He did his theological studies in different Universities namely :Zagreb, Jerusalem and Sarajevo. He was ordained a priest at Mostar in 1987. At the Papal university,"Antonianum" in Rome in 1991 he completed a "licence" in Theology, specialising in christian and franciscan spirituality. As a priest he has worked in various parishes and for a period was educator in the seminary. During the war he was military chaplain. He holds spiritual retreats. He is a recognised writer and is a member of the Croatian literary society. He lives and works in the Parish of Medjugorje presently fulfilling the role of curit and organiser of the Information centre "Mir".

The third international seminar for leaders of prayer groups, Centers of Peace, and of Medjugorje pilgrims was held at Tucepi from March 17 - 21, 1996. About 100 leaders from 17 countries, two visionaries and the priests who work in Medjugorje participated. In conclusion the following was adopted.

D E C L A R A T I O N

Aware of the circumstances in which the Church and the world are situated, we have in prayer sought the way to proceed with Our Lady into the 21st century. The lectures and exchange of ideas in the discussions and work according to language groups has brought us to conclusions that we wish to announce to all prayer groups, Centers of Peace, pilgrims and to the parish of Medjugorje:

  1. The future, no matter how uncertain it might be in itself, rests in the hands of God. But God awaits our contribution for making it safer and more human. And Our Lady has called us all, in the words of her Son, to full conversion (June 1990; July 1991);
  2. "Read Sacred Scripture, live it, and pray to understand the signs of the times" (June 1991; August 1993). Our Lady's Medjugorje messages are an urgent call for us - to live the Gospel of her Son;
  3. It is Our Lady's desire that throughout the whole world prayer groups be organized that will open the participants to the Spirit of God to recognize in the Bible God's word for our time and in prayer to discover ways for its accomplishment.
  4. Prayer groups should be the heart and soul of parish communities, a source of confidence and efficacious love and peace;
  5. With its archive, library, information booth, Press Bulletin, Robofax, Internet, BBS, and its radio, soon to come, the Information Center "MIR" Medjugorje is at the service of pilgrims, Centers of Peace and prayer groups.
  6. Cooperation and exchange of information is recommended between the Information Center "MIR" and the Centers throughout the world, as well as a supportive mutual closeness of the Centers within each individual country.

On top

Kurt Knotziger

STIMULATIONS TO DAILY READING OF SCRIPTURE

THOUGHTS TO AN INTRODUCTION

The request for us to read Holy Scripture can be found four times in the messages of Medjugorje. On October 18, 1984, a message said: "Today I call on you to read the Bible every day in your homes and let it be in a visible place so as always to encourage you to read it and to pray." A later message picks up on this one in a very specific manner: "Every family must pray family prayer and read the Bible!" (Message of February 14, 1985) Two further messages give reasons to why reading Sacred Scripture is so very important: "Pray and read the Sacred Scriptures so that through my coming you discover the message in the Sacred Scriptures for you.", and "Read Sacred Scripture, live it, and pray to understand the signs of the times." (June 25, 1991 and August 25, 1993)

A report about the use of Sacred Scripture may not be missing at a seminar for leaders of prayer groups and pilgrimages to Me?ugorje. People who wish to orient themselves on the life of the messages of Me?ugorje repeatedly ask questions about this theme. The most common question surfaces from the recognition that neither is anything new being said about faith nor are there any comments offered in the messages about present occurrences. Often the visionaries referred questions that had been given to them to pass on to Our Lady to the fact that all answers are to found in Sacred Scripture. So, why then the messages from Our Lady if, afterall, everything is to found in Scripture anyway?

To this one must primarily state that the reading of Sacred Scripture is so very clearly requested in the messages, and in so doing also to what God is trying to show us through the revelation of the word in Sacred Scripture. Sacred Scripture is the 'document of our faith' in the double meaning of the word. It tells us what God says about Himself and what He passed on or revealed to us; and, moreover, that it is our binding document in which all of this is written down. So the Bible tells us in praise and in gratitude about God's great deeds and His eternal Lordship. It is, however, also a guide on our path to holiness so as to be increasingly in union with Him and with each other as God's people. It is important that prayer groups that have sprung up everywhere and who together all read Scripture, also have experienced company. Every theological introduction into the Bible is based on the fact that Sacred Scripture is God's word in human language -- language that was recorded a long time ago in a foreign cultural surrounding. To understand it correctly, it therefore needs an understanding of the contexts, of the manners of speech and of the circumstances of those times. But the biblical text must also be recognized as the word of God for our own times. Then it must be put into action; and only then can it come to a correct interpretation of it. Without taking these into consideration, the danger occurs that one can get all entwined in fundamental mistakes. But because the most important assignment for studying Sacred Sripture is to deepen our faith, we are always strongly advised to combine the reading of Sacred Scripture with prayer. The Bible is a help to our prayer and a series of signposts for our path in life, and not a reading book. In 'Me?ugorje Prayer Groups' one always prays for the assistance of the Holy Spirit before it comes to reading a part of Sacred Scripture. For the times after He left, Jesus promised: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to be with you always. The Spirit of Truth..." (John 14:16) will teach us and remind us of everything. (John 14:26) Here with Our Lady's invitations it concerns the same thing -- that we pray for the Holy Spirit, so that we can understand everything. Especially before Pentecost she repeatedly invited us to pray for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, to ask for the Spirits of Prayer and of the Truth. Being open toward the Holy Spirit means being enlightened by Him, and thereby also enables us to witness to Mary's presence in Me?ugorje.

Relative to our experience, particular problems arise in the reading of the Old Testament. Here it is especially important to remind ourselves that many Old Testament books came about while being subjected to a lengthy process of tradition. God revealed Himself to the Patriarchs and Prophets while these then passed along what was revealed to them in a verbal or written manner. The teachers of God's people thought and prayed through the transmitted word of God and also explained it further until, much later, all that had been traditionalized in this manner was finally recorded for all time. What is important for us is that we realize that these writings themselves have been recognized by Jesus Himself, as well as by the Early Church, as Sacred Scripture and were then passed on to the Church as such. The Old Testament pointed toward Jesus and prepared for His Coming. Some parts of the Old Testament are only explainable through the understanding of those times. About some things Jesus said: "To the old ones, it had been said ... but I say to you..." Only with the New Testament does God's Revelation then find an explanation for things revealed already earlier, and then for its completion. Yet in particular it will often become necessary to inquire at competent sources when one gets no further in understanding more difficult parts of Scripture.

Useful is the continued reading of Scripture which then makes the contexts more clear. Such constant reading is, of course, a possibility, but should not be understood as a fixed order. Particular stimuli or times of Feasts require particular texts that refer to them. For Priests and Religious who in their Breviary have a scriptural text anyway, it is not suggested to find another follow-up text to it, but for further understanding of it, it is rather much more supportive to read the expected text in meditation or in finding further commentaries upon it.

Also, may this advice especially refer to the Liturgy of the Holy Mass. The celebration the Mass should afterall be the height and the source of strength of our faith, and in any case this is what the teaching of the Council, ABOUT THE LITURGY, requests of us. In the Mass, not only does Salvation become present for us, but here we are also gathered around Christ and hear His word and the instructions that He gives us. Then back at home that day's Scripture can be reread, can be thought through slowly and again, if there was one, be connected with the sermon of that day. In just the same way, a preparation by finding out the readings for the day in advance can also be valuable for Mass. Then as a summary for all inspirations, one can then look at the call in the message of August 25, 1993: "Read Sacred Scripture, live it, and pray to understand the signs of the times."

The comment of some Priests who say that the messages supply an important source for the preparation of their sermons also fits in this context. Just as they are, the messages themselves are already like sermons through which the revelations that are already written in the Bible can again be worked upon. Among them one finds formulations that push one to passing them on. A use of the messages for preparation for sermons is also justified because they are to be found in context to the very center of the Gospel. The Pastoral Theologian, Univ. Prof. Paul Zulehner said: "That Me?ugorje leads toward the Bible, rather than away from it, is for me one of the foremost theological criteria that Mary is not the destination, but rather only the signpost."

It is always good to hold onto the word of God in simple manner, to think about it and to let it work upon us in prayer. The Mother of God herself can be our model in doing this. Twice do we read in the Gospel of Luke that she thought about Jesus' words and the activities around Him, and that she then weighed and treasured what all this was to signify. In this way the word of God should enter into the hearts of people, there then to bare fruits. When one takes the Bible into ones' hands to read Sacred Scripture, then it is no longer a normal book, but rather contains a special message that God in a very personal way wants to address to its reader or to its listeners. The best way to listen to the message is as though one is hearing it for the first time, for it is in this manner that one can grasp the meaning of the words most clearly. Whoever gives any biblical text such attention, seeks in it the hidden truth for himself and recognizes that for doing so the Light of the Holy Spirit is also necessary. In this way the reading by itself then combines itself with prayer, and the heart turns itself always more intensely toward God. This gift, this 'conversion of the heart' is spoken about from the very beginning of the messages in Me?ugorje. Whoever reads the Sacred Scripture in this manner will experience a deep yearning, not only to always come to know the word of God more deeply, but also to always fulfill what it specifically expects of him. In doing this, the reading of Scripture becomes not only a time dedicated to prayer, but that also takes effect in a deed, in an activity that is in accordance with God by being entirely inspired by the biblical words.

Whoever, due to the messages of Medjugorje, reads the Bible will, similarly as this author, in doing so discover the parallels in the content. As an example, let us here refer to some relevant texts and, to begin with, the similarity of tone at its beginning. "Believe in the Gospel" and "the kingdom of God is at hand" can be read at the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Mark 1:1, 15) The call to faith and the awareness of the proximity of God's Kingdom becomes a renewed reality in Me?ugorje. Here too it all began with a call to conversion. Here too the proximity of God's Kingdom can be experienced and, from here on forward, it unfolds anew and is not to be missed!

As an assignment from God, John the Baptist called for conversion (Mark 1:15) and the story of Me?ugorje began on the Feast of the Baptist. The call to conversion is the foundation of the messages that are from there directed to the people. As did Jesus recommend prayer and fasting as being the steps to conversion to those who surrounded Him, (ref. Matt 5:5-18 & Mark 9:29), so also are they emphasized in Me?ugorje as the fundamental steps. In both the Gospel as well as in Me?ugorje it is said that we may never turn away from prayer, because it is in prayer that we are turned toward God. Fasting too is called unavoidable by both and this because it frees us of all the chains to what is transitory, and, in so doing, frees us for God and His requests of us.

Of greatest significance in both the biblical revelations as well as in the messages of Medjugorje is that peace is a gift from God, but also the result of human endeavor. Peace is offered to man as an assignment and the Gospel praises the peacemaker as being blessed. (Matt 5:9) But at the same time, and unavoidably so, the Bible also says: "May the Lord bless his people with peace." prays the Psalmist (Ps 29:11), and the benediction of St. Paul is: "May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace..." (2 Thes 3:16) The messages of Me?ugorje emphasize exactly the same things -- the relevance of ones own working for peace and the necessity of praying to God for it.

This neither means an addendum to nor a change from the revelations, but rather proves itself as an urgent call for us to put into reality in life what God has already told us in Sacred Scripture. The special quality of the messages of Me?ugorje lies in the fact that they are being said by the Mother to "her dear children". As Mother of Christianity and Mother of the Church, Mary brings us the Gospel of her Son with all love, yet also emphatically, back into our memories.

Sr. Emmanuel of the Community of the Béatitudes pointed us to a very real meaning of the messages of Medjugorje as related to Sacred Scripture. On a regular basis she sends news of Medjugorje to the Abbaye Blanche and which from there are then spread throughout the world. On January 15, 1994, it said in her news: "We are being flooded by a deluge of prophecies -- a confused, fearful and contradictory deluge. We thank the Gospa that she has again led us to the spring of the true light, which is the living revelation of the Bible."

Vicka once reported that Our Lady said: "Take the Bible into your hands every dayin the morning, and read a few lines and then live those lines throughout the day. In this way, you will find the answer to what that day brings you." This does not mean that we should expect that the answers to all our questions will appear as lightning, but whoever reads Sacred Scripture regularly will be more and more penetrated by the Spirit of God -- the Spirit who afterall speaks to us in it -- and thereby will be able to find the answers to all questions about life. The incorrect opinion that one will immediately receive in it all answers to all problems in life must be turned away.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MESSAGES REGARDING SPECIFIC SCRIPTURAL TEXTS

The messages of Medjugorje are a pressing call for us to live the Gospel. This has already been shown in the call to conversion, both the starting-point of the Gospel as well as Our Lady's messages. Here are a few more important testimonies when the Good News is compared with the messages of Medjugorje.

"...the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary." (Luke 18:1)

The surprising fact that Our Lady is appearing in Medjugorje for such a long time explains itself with the following advice: "I desire to teach you how to pray." (June 12, 1986) The goal of this instruction is perpetual prayer, and we are repeatedly led to it. Perpetual prayer becomes reality when someone in everything he thinks, speaks and does never again leaves God out of his view, and is at all times lovingly aware of His presence. Such a steady devotion to God in no way blocks the good fulfillment of life's assignments. On the contrary! Whoever always has God in front of him, also always remains aware in all his doing and allowing of his responsibility toward Him. He never loses hope in God's company and support because he knows that God is also here for him. This 'being in perpetual prayer' does, however, demand specific times of prayer in which one repeatedly turns to Him exclusively and with all one's being. "I beseech you, dear children, come to prayer with awareness." (November 28, 1985) and "You, dear children, are not able to understand how great the value if prayer is as long as you yourselves do not say: 'Now is the time for prayer! Now nothing else is important to me, now no-one but God is important to me.'" (October 2, 1986), are the ways that Our lady invites us to prayer. In a particular sense, a regular schedule of prayer is also perpetual prayer in that it is repeatedly picked up upon and, in such a way, never ends. In this sense also Our Lady calls upon us to begin the day with prayer and to end it with prayer. Certainly such a habit will lead, if it is real prayer and a prayer of the heart, to prayer taking the first place in our lives. Our Lady invites not only each individual to do this, but also families. She wishes to lead us toward our day being "only prayer and a complete surrender to God." (September 4, 1986) Prayer is mentioned in the Thursday as well as monthly messages more than any other subject. As a dedication in a book, Marija once wrote that Our Lady wishes for us to pray every day, and she then added: "Through pryer you can achieve everything, including that which you consider to be impossible." This is the same as Jesus said: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you may and it will be done for you." (John 15:7) Our Lady began her instruction in prayer to the visionaries in proposing certain prayers, as did Jesus respond to the disciples request that He teach them to pray by reciting to them the Our Father. (Luke 11:2) The strongest request of Our Lady, when it comes to prayer, is to pray with the heart. "Dear Children, Today I call you to prayer with the heart..." (May 2, 1985) When asked, the visionaries emphasize how decisive it is to pray with the heart. On this subject Marija said: "Our Lady leads us to pray with the heart. The heart must be present with what the words say." and at another opportunity: "Everything that worries one, one must present and recommend trustingly to become free of it, so that one can pray with an unburdened heart." Under the direction of Our Lady, the visionaries learned anew what is already written in the letter to the Philippians. "Have no anxiety at all but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to the Lord." (Phil 4:6) The prayer of the heart does not merely show supernatural results, but it also takes beneficial effect in the natural realm. It assists in overcoming exhaustion and gives one joy and rest. The loving 'giving of the heart' -- meaning the entire human personality -- is what is decisive in prayer, no matter whether it is in the efforts of beginning or in the goal of perpetual prayer. "To pray with the heart, that is what is most important." (Marija) and "that is true prayer." (Ivan) These are the testimonies of two young people who Mary directed toward real prayer.

"...can only be expelled through prayer and fasting." (Matt 17:21)

As Jesus with three of His Apostles was on the mountain of the Transfiguration, the other disciples, in meeting a possessed man, experienced the incredible strength of the evil one. Only once Jesus had returned and threatened the demon did he let go of this regrettable man. Jesus taught the astonished disciples that such a thing can only be achieved through prayer and fasting. (Matt 17:14-21) When the significance of visions and their conveyed messages is not to be found in their supplying us with anything new, still now and again forgotten truths can in a renewed manner be brought back to our memories. Was the fact that fasting is the most powerful weapon against evil not nearly forgotten in Christianity? Jesus dedicates a lengthy explanation to fasting on the Sermon of the Mount. (Matt 6:16-18) He Himself fasted (Matt 4:2) and justifies fasting at the suitable time. (Matt 9:15) The call to fasting has found its place in the message of Me?ugorje from the very beginning. The visionaries passed along this call soon after the beginning of the apparitions, and in the Thursday messages it is mentioned repeatedly. There Our Lady addresses our inner most readiness to do so, and again "...with the heart" is also called for with fasting. (September 20, 1984) She motivates us with the pointer that our fasting is a contribution in overcoming evil and also gives us an amount -- quite noticeable, yet for the healthy person also quite manageable -- of twice a week. The call to fasting in the message of Me?ugorje is an invitation, not a commandment. It is the invitation of a loving mother toward her children to whom she entrusts great things, but in whom herself, afterall, it also concerns great things. Already in the year 1982 all six visionaries conveyed the message that through prayer and fasting even wars could be averted. For this reason already under the old Covenant the prophets in times of crisis called for prayer and fasting. We honor Mary as the Queen of Prophets and her invitation comes during a time that is defined by catastrophes and dangers. We must be grateful that through her we are made aware of comparisons that we by ourselves would never have recognized. It is also important that the call to fasting is always combined with the call to prayer. First prayer, in being concentrated upon God, gives fasting its value and its effect. Willing fasting takes effect in many varied and beneficial ways. It frees us from being dependent and being bound, and thereby makes us free for what God wishes to give us. Also many cases of brotherly love first only become possible due to renunciation. Whoever fasts thereby contributes to peace, to healing and to the victory of goodness.

"Blessed are the peace makers." (Matt 5:9)

Our Lady's first call in Medjugorje was the call to peace, and that peace must come between God and man and between men. God offers it to us, yet we must cooperate with it. On the Fifth Anniversary of the initial call to peace, it was again clearly spoken. "Dear Children! God is allowing me, along with Himself, to bring about this oasis of peace. I wish to call you to protect it and that the oasis may always be unspoiled. There are those who by their negligence are destroying the peace and the prayer. I am inviting you to give witness and by your life to help to preserve the peace." (June 26, 1986) Already at the beginning Our Lady described herself to the visionaries as the Queen of Peace. From Sacred Scripture we already know that peace is finally a gift of God to man, and that the Lord blesses His people with peace. (Ps 29:11) He gives it (Is 26:3), and from Him it comes (Rev 1:4). Therefore Paul in his letters repeatedly asks God for peace in the communities. (Rom 1:7) It remains our assignment to ask God for peace, but also to contribute to it. "Dear Children! By your own peace I am calling you to help others to see and begin to seek peace. You, dear children, are at peace and not able to comprehend non-peace. Therefore, I am calling you, so that by your prayer and your life you help to destroy everything that is evil in people and uncover the deception of which Satan makes use. Pray that the truth prevails in all hearts." (September 25, 1986) Our Lady calls upon us in this manner and then emphasizes that our contribution for peace must first consist of our own peace in life, and that evil has its roots in lack of peace -- this meaning that it rises from misled hearts and, due to these wrong paths, has its source in Satan. The visionaries repeatedly tell us that we are called upon "to make peace", and that there are therefore steps that serve peace. These are expected from us in order to help us overcome evil. There are indispensable values that we may never relinquish and here self-love and being right are certainy not among them. Here it concerns overcoming oneself. Jesus, through His sacrifice on the Cross, made peace possible and "conquered the enemy in person." (compare Eph 2:14) Jesus, the crucified one is here shown to us as the source and the cause of peace. In this way the cross becomes the sign of reconciliation for us. Often 'making peace' expects us to carry the cross. For this reason certainly Our Lady tells us: "Dear children, pray before the cross for peace" This will help us to overcome our helplessness toward all that is a hindrance to peace." (September 6, 1984)

"Be thankful!" (Col 3:15)

Nearly in every message of Medjugorje Our Lady thanks those who obey her call. Sometimes she also thanks specifically for other things, such as for the readiness to consecrate oneself to her, for prayers, for efforts, for sacrifices or for turning the messages into one's life. She thanks all who do something for her. "I wish to thank you for every response to the messages." (January 8, 1987) How much this always newly expressed thanks includes, will become ever more recognized depending on how clearly someone will recognize this "thank you" as being a personal one.

Once a young person, impressed with uninterrupted stream of pilgrims that she is exposed to, asked the visionary Marija Pavlovic how she could even withstand such a burden. Marija responded: "If you only knew what it is like to be thanked by Our Lady!"

However, Our Lady does not merely thank us, she also gives thanks to God because He is permitting her to come to us. Our Lady's behavior reminds us that we too have all reasons to be thankful. Due to their similar word root, 'thanking' has something to do with 'thinking'. Whoever thinks has already recognized that he has been gifted. The Apostle Paul reprimands us with his rhetorical question referring to the love of God, that within itself gives everything. "What do you possess that you have not received?" (1 Cor 4:7) In the messages of Me?ugorje we are reminded clearly of our need to give thanks. Merely an outer expression of thanks is not meant here, because were we satisfied with that, then it would mean the end of gratitude! Our Lady says that our life should become a joyful expression of gratitude that flows like a stream from all hearts. For all graces received as well as for the smallest of all things, we should give thanks so that we can become capable of thanking for the great things. (see September 25, 1989, August 25, 1995 and October 25, 1995)

Only too easily is one ungrateful toward given graces. This the evangelist Luke brings before our eyes in his report about the ten lepers who on the road to Jerusalem they came to Jesus and asked Him to heal them. Jesus said: "Go, and show yourselves to the Priests.", and as they went to the Priests they became clean. But one of them as he saw that he was healed then turned around and praised God out loud. He threw himself on the ground in front of Jesus' feet and thanked Him. Here Jesus said: "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God...?" (see Luke 17:11)

Among us it should be different. Our Lady calls upon us to thank incessantly. External signs or words of gratitude are good, yet fasting and other good deeds are also appropriate for this. Decisive in this is our loving behavior and our esteem toward the One who is doing the giving.

"Rejoice in the Lord." (Phil 4:4)

Christianity is the religion of joy. The Christian directs his life according to the Good News that Jesus brought us. Of the goal to which He wishes to lead us, He says: "...and then your hearts will rejoice, and no-one will take your joy away from you." (John 16:22) and the Apostle also calls us when to the Philippians he calls out: "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say to you: Rejoice! (Phil 4:4)

Our Lady repeatedly reminds us in her messages that we have reason to be joyful in all things and especially so on August 25, 1988: "Dear Children! Today I invite you all to rejoice in the life that God gives you. Little Children, rejoice in God the Creator because He has created you so wonderfully. Pray that your life be a joyful thanksgiving..." But Mary also knows that our joy in is danger. "Satan wants to work still more fiercely at taking away the joy from each one of you. By prayer you can completely disarm him and ensure your happiness." (January 24, 1985) And she promises: "In prayer you shall perceive the greatest joy..." (March 28, 1985) The one who entered into the never to be lost joy of God, invites us: "Rejoice with me!" (April 18, 1985)

"Where the Spirit of God the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Cor 3:17)

We can only speak about freedom in inaccessible, human ways. The cooperation between God's Almightiness and human freedom will always remain an impenetrable secret. Because no-one can be forced to loving devotion, the freedom that God gives us is the supposition that we answer His love with our love. Freedom, however, also includes the risk of refusal. During an address on his pastoral visit to Vienna, Pope John-Paul II concluded that "the history of mankind is the history of abused freedom."

The message of Medjugorje urges us to stop with this abuse, and beyond this it tells us that God needs us for His plan of Salvation. "Without you God cannot bring to reality that which He desires. God a free will to everyone, and it is in your control." (January 30, 1986) So God, as it were, gave away a piece of free will which He no longer has at His disposal. Our Lady's call in Me?ugorje emphasizes this freedom: "I am with you, but I cannot take away your freedom." (August 7, 1986) We must act "as the free, but not as those who take freedom as a cover for Satan, but rather as servants of God." (1 Peter 2:16)

"Do this in memory of me!" (Luke 22:19 & 1 Cor 11:24-25)

When one asks the visionaries which prayer Our Lady advises them about the most, they unanimously advise the celebration of Holy Mass. The Council reminded us that the act of our Salvation is performed in it and that it is the height and the source of strength in our life of faith. Through its rites it includes in it everything on which our living Christianity is founded -- turning away from sin, listening to God, speaking to Him, our devotion toward Him, adoration and our having been sent. At the celebration of Holy Mass we encounter Christ in His Gospel and in the Bread of Life. This meeting makes us able to meet others every day in a just way, for a fruit of Holy Mass is afterall also peace. One message combines all this: "Let Holy Mass be your life." (April 25, 1988)

Medjugorje teaches us to take time for Holy Mass and this includes preparation before it, as well as reflection after it. Because they are no longer able to truly concelebrate Mass, many have even stopped using a Missal. Then they say: "Mass gives me nothing." Through Medjugorje many have again come to understand it. Holy Mass is a time given to us during which Jesus gives us graces. Therefore we should love to come to Mass, accept it with love and to partake in it more actively. To a pilgrim's objection that he had no time for Holy Mass, Marija once responded that it depends upon what values one organizes ones day.

Here a message that invites us to Holy Mass: "Today I invite you to fall in love with the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Adore Him, little children, in your Parishes and in this way you will be united with the entire world. Jesus will become your friend..." (September 25, 1995)

"Whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them!" (John 20:23)

Peace begins in one's heart, and this means when one is at peace with God. To be able to experience this peace, Christ gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation, holy Confession. Wherever this Sacrament is dispensed and received, there Christ repeatedly returns to a person and then what is said repeatedly in the Gospel comes about. Jesus' words go into action: "Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." (Luke 7:48-50) and "Go, and from now do not sin anymore!" (John 8:11)

The Priests who have heard Confessions in Medjugorje know how often these words are the expression of a truly executed conversion. It is valuable to retain the peace gained therein. Regular Confession assists us in holding on to and then living this conversion. Our Lady requests the Sacrament of Penance on a monthly basis. (August 6, 1982) The great number of Confessions in Me?ugorje apply to both the conversion of those who had lost their state of grace, and to the help for those who wish to gain in the good that is promised them in Sacred Scripture: "Grow in grace..." (2 Peter 3:18)

"Put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of the truth." (Eph 4:24)

Being a Christian is a call to holiness, a call to being in a living union with God. Therefore Paul in his letters speaks to the Christians as belonging to Jesus Christ (Rom 1:7, 1 Cor 1:2) and gives them the constant assignment before all else to strive for holiness. (1 Thes 4:3, 2 Cor 7:1) The call to holiness is also a central theme of the messages of Medjugorje. It is, "without exception", meant for all! (September 25, 1988) Mary's request of us to "take up the way of holiness" (July 25, 1987) is based on her love for us. She wishes for us to be holy, she wishes to clothe us in holiness and to lead us on the path to holiness. This too is a reason for the length of her presence in Medjugorje. She calls her messages the "seed of holiness" (October 10, 1985) and expresses in this manner that, despite all our endeavors, God's acts are what is decisive. So Mary calls us to pray for the gift of holiness and she expresses her joy about all those who are on the path to holiness. (compare July 24, 1986)

Where "holiness" is exclusively united with the 'elevation to the honor of the altars', the call to holiness must stay unintelligible. As Sacred Scripture does, so does Our Lady mean "holiness" as every union that we while living can have with God. This was founded in our Baptism and throughout life we should, with God's help, unfold it more and more until it finally finds its completion in Heaven.

"Behold your mother!" (John 19:27)

The length of Our Lady's presence in Medjugorje is surprising. Her stay itself is also a message for us. From it we experience her motherly proximity to us and we also discover that we are, during our difficult times, not left alone by Heaven. She says: "Dear Children! Today I am calling you to reflect upon why I am with you this long. I am Mediatrix between you and God. Therefore, dear children, I desire to call you to live always out of love all that which God desires of you. For that reason, dear children, in your own humility live all the messages which I am giving you." (July 17, 1986)

Through Mary, the Son of God wished to enter into our world and through Mary we are held to do what he tells us! (compare John 2:5) This is Mary's permanent mission and assignment. Theologians have diverted Mary's teaching as being the model for the Church. The Church too should bring Jesus close to the people and teach them to fulfill His word. Thereby every person in the Church has an assignment to find Jesus -- for himself to live according to His word and then to lead others to Him. And here Medjugorje, through Mary, gives us new hope when she says: "I am your mother and I invite you to come closer to God through prayer, because only He is your peace, your Savior." (September 25, 1993) Once a Priest from Medjugorje summarized Mary's meaning for us, as taken from the experiences of young visionaries, by saying that they experience Our Lady as mother who wishes to embrace the whole world.

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily." (Luke 9:23)

The succession to which Jesus calls us entails both a path and a goal. Both are spoken at the end of 'Angel of the Lord': Through suffering and the Cross, reach holiness. Through this the final purpose of human suffering is answered. A logic that is oriented merely on this side of things cannot satisfactorily answer to the tension of unfulfilled yearning for happiness. The Gospel directs us over and beyond the horizons that are set upon our experiences and our understanding. Every cross that is carried in solidarity with Christ and surrendered to God is in cooperation with the saving power of Christ's Cross. This is why Paul writes: "...to know Him and the power of the Resurrection and the sharing of His suffering." (Phil 3:10)

The Mother of God does not come to Medjugorje to remove the cross. She is a realistic mother who does not convey illusions to her children. She knows of the need for the cross and for suffering, and invites that one accepts the cross of life with love. Jesus carries the Cross out of love for us, while we, out of love, should follow Him with our cross. On Good Friday, April 5, 1985, Our Lady said: "You parishioners have a great and heavy cross to carry, but do not be afraid to carry it. My Son is here who will help you." Mary invites us to pray as often as possible before the cross, to reflect there upon Jesus' suffering and then promises that great graces come from there. In whatever distress, the cross in this way will become a joy; of course, not to be understood as a mood or a feeling but rather as a deeply experienced Creed.

At the end of these thoughts I wish to direct some attention toward those people who so full of readiness to help stand by the sick. These are not only the Doctors and Nurses, but they are all those who are simply there when they are needed. Sacred Scripture reports to us that Mary rushed over the mountains to Elizabeth when she was advised by the angel that her aging aunt, just as she, was expecting a child. Mary knew that her young arms and her care were needed. "And she went on her way and rushed" there where Elizabeth was at home. From the report we can feel that her joy in being able to help gave wings to her steps. We can all develop into being those who are joyfully ready to help -- the healthy who, when they themselves are sick, get to work if they, in union with Christ, carry their suffering and offer it up. Then also their own suffering becomes a saving and blessing strength. As she herself says in a message, especially those who are carrying crosses may know that they are in touch with Our Lady: "I am with you and your suffering is also mine. Thank you for having responded to my call." (April 25, 1992)

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fra Ljudevit Rupcic

WITH OUR LADY INTO THE 21st CENTURY

People cannot remain in the present, because the future inevitably imposes itself on them. But, will they enter into it or be thrust into it? The future in itself is inescapable and at the same time unclear, yet God and men can make it secure and human. In this both God and man are decisive. Man must encounter God in the present moment and establish orderly relations with him. And that will determine his future.

The encounter with God is crucial for man, either to accept God or to reject him. Because man is conditioned. He can neither come into existence nor realize himself without God. Without God, and particularly against God, he cannot do anything else but return to original nothingness.

TODAY'S SITUATION

The present situation of mankind is alarming. It is, for the most part, directed toward the future independently, not only without God, but even against God. If it does not deny God's existence, it does deny him the quality of being the highest value. That determines man's activity and decides' man's future.

Today man is accepting the primeval offer, already made to the first man and woman, to be God by the rejection of God. Thereby everything in and outside of man is radically changed. He is no longer the original and the normal man, but rather a sinner. His deeds are sins, and the reward for them is punishment. His life atmosphere, in contrast to the normal and primeval, is completely otherwise. In it everything is turned against him and he himself dashes recklessly from one evil to another, from fratricide to the tower of Babel, from the tower of Babel to the Deluge. And in that the end is always ruin.

THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM

The history of mankind shows that men have never been with without some god. If they rejected the true God, they created some other one for themselves. In every case, it was always a man. Where does that come from? Man sees that both he himself and everything around him is contingent. Neither he nor everything else around him has in itself the basis of its own existence. Therefore, fear of nothingness seizes him. Thus a passionate and decisive will arises in him to insure his being and his very self with absolute security. And so the fear of nothingness forces him into the dubious effort and the endeavor as to how he will become god. But all that only confirms man's weakness, impotence, failure and nothingness.

Man is not capable of insuring his being a man. Mortally threatened by nothingness and full of fear he escapes from his very self and from nothingness. And everything he thus undertakes for his security turns into a curse and ruin.

To become God without God finally leads to the complete catastrophe of the human being. The construction and the ruin of the tower of Babel is a monument to the radical alienation of man from God and other men. It is the fruitless attempt of man to fill his nothingness, to create himself, that is, to become God. It says in the Bible that man was dust before he was created. God created him in such a way that he took him from the earth and breathed his spirit into him. After man sinned, he returned to his previous state. From that time on he is not able to rise a bit by his own strength. He remains subjected to the laws of the earth and he acts according to them. Man is dust and the more he tries to liberate himself from that, the more his condition and weakness become obvious.

Man thinks he will find an exit from his internal emptiness merely by fleeing ahead. Separated from God and left only to himself, he becomes that which he already was - dust.

Fear of jeopardy and the deficiency of being lead man into ever greater efforts to liberate himself from that fear, and that by all the means that are at his disposal. And these means are so interrelated that through them man is turning against himself. Man does not succeed in liberating himself from nothingness because that nothingness is fused together with his nature and is an integral part of it. To escape from nothingness from which one cannot be separated is only a vain desire. Everything that man undertakes in view of that is a failure and a catastrophe.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF MAN'S POSITION

History documents the great impotence, the helplessness, man's fear of himself, the escape from his very self, and the precipitation from the heights into the deep abyss. All of that effort is only an affirmation unto nothingness.

The crisis of mankind is a reflection of the crisis of man's being. Therefore, political and economic solutions do not lead to an escape. What else can "the future of an illusion" (Freud) be but the destruction and the ruin of man? That is precisely the future of the 21st century that is threatening man rather than liberating or saving him.

The crisis of man is permanent because man lost something essential in himself. He is trying to find in himself that which he can only find in God. That is the basic human mistake. All the reforms and proposals that are offered apart from God lead to new ruin and disillusionment.

SIN

The separation of man from God is in no way the original state, but rather the result of man's free act. Man, poisoned by sin, returned to dust, subjected to its laws, as such is incapable of getting out of himself and of returning to the state which surpasses him and which he can only receive and not at all himself merit or secure. When the first man and woman were expelled from the Garden of Eden they went East, that is, in the direction opposite to the Promised Land. The Garden of Eden is just an image of man who bound to God. The banishment from the garden is the image of his condition without God. Because of sin man is driven out to a foreign land, to a wilderness, where he is not longer able to find what is necessary for his life. He is left without everything that is necessary.

The path led through murder to the tower of Babel. Today it is the same path, only a bit more modern. The longer the path was the greater was the alienation from God with all the fatal consequences for man. Thus the human path into reality is a wrong path. On the word and instruction of God Abraham was the first to turn in the direction of the Promised land.

Accordingly, God and sinful man make up history. Parallel to and at the same time, come God's blessing and curse, God's love and man's instinct for annihilation. In this way Abel and Cain, Noah and his sinful contemporaries opposite to each other.

DOES AN EXIT EXIST?

At the question whether there is for this world a justifiable hope for reparation, one must answer affirmatively, but only on condition that it remains bound with God. Where that is not so, man only alienates himself further away from God and deeper into the darkness, the jungle, hatred, helplessness, loneliness, impotence, and finally destruction. All of that is the condition of contemporary man. Leaning on himself, he is only able to be thrust into the future.

Does an exit from his condition exist for man today? Yes, but man is in need of a different way of thinking than the one that brought him to this condition. Because, it is impossible to get out of the situation in the same way one got into it. Unfortunately, the truth about man and God, about their relationship is obscured. The initiative both for man's coming into existence and his realization originates with God who is love. But it takes into consideration and implies man's free consent and cooperation with God. Man without God can do nothing, and God does not want anything in regard to man without man, because he created him to be free. Therefore, man's future will be in the way that God wants it, and in the way that man accepts or rejects it.

The position of contemporary man is unenviable. Turned away from God and completely dehumanized, he cannot help himself, particularly not the way he is. But God is able and willing.. His undertaking goes through Mary, the Mother of God and the mother "of all people, especially of the faithful" (Vatican II). He sends her to people as the Queen of Apostles with her maternity and his grace to make his love and his will to save man more convincing and to call him to accept his plan which takes into consideration the individual and the general, the internal and the external situation in the world. God establishes and reveals the fundamental values: God and man. Deceptions about them are the cause of the most severe consequences for man. This is why, on the first day of apparitions in Medjugorje, Our Lady held the baby Jesus in her arms, the true God and true man. Thereby, she says not only that God exists, but that he has become a man for the sake of man. In Jesus is demonstrated that God and man and are most intimately bound together. They are distinguished, but inseparable. Without that intimate connection, man is a torso and a mere caricature of himself. At the same time, it bestows a qualifying value to his activity. Agere sequitur esse - action follows being. Man depends on God in his origin, nature, and activity. That closeness is crucial for him. The duty to be himself is an extension of that truth. Accordingly, man is able to be man only if he is connected with God and he can enter the future only with God, and only into nothingness without God. That scene of Jesus in Mary's arms took place outside the church on the hill called Crnica. By that is testified that the apparition pertains to all people, and not only catholics. It has in view all mankind. The first reason for Our Lady's apparition with the baby Jesus is man's tragic deception, theoretical and practical, about God and man. The second reason is Our Lady's motherly love which cannot leave her indifferent to the tragic consequences of that deception for her children. Already in the beginning of the apparitions she made it perfectly clear that she came to help people to get out of the great danger into which they had fallen. Regarding that, she cares a lot that people recognize her, so that they may understand and accept both what she says and does, as a message from heaven. It is in that sense that one should understand the significance and numerousness of so many miracles in nature and in people, that have happened through Our Lady's intercession.

PEACE

Tied to that is Our Lady's message of Peace which embraces and, at the same time, surpasses all that man can desire and accomplish. It is not just a post-war condition. Much less is it the behavior of the vanquished and the enslaved, and especially, not the condition of the dead. Man alone cannot at all achieve peace, but can only receive it as a gift. Because Peace is God himself who has in Christ "become our Peace" (Eph 2:14). He is man's existential need, but it is not his piece of work nor his merit. It is a gift which is only awaiting the will of man to accept it.

The need for Peace is connected to man's nature. Without God in him, man is neither able to be normal, nor to behave like a man.

An inventory of man's heart shows that numerous unlimited aspirations and desires exist in him. For each desire there is a corresponding good that is able to satisfy and appease it. If it does not get satisfied, there arises in the heart a tension, nervousness, restlessness, and in the end, a passionate pursuit for the desired good for the sake of which man will not give up before anyone, nor will he refrain from any means just in order to achieve that good. If it is called for, he will even lie, deceive, and make use of violence and war.

Without God in him, man can not find God. In place of him, all he finds is loss.

The way he searches for it is deception and the means he employs are counterproductive.

Infinite desires, first of all, the desire for life, love, glory and wealth, are not able to be satisfied by any finite good. Because an infinite desire demands an infinite good. And everything in time and space is finite. Only God is infinite. And only he can fulfil the desire for the infinite. The restlessness that is hidden in the heart of man and that is necessarily projected onto the external world is a sign of the absence of God in man and of his frustration. Only in God, but not in God who is only in heaven or in church, but in God who is in the heart of man - is man able to find Peace. The absence of God in the heart of man turns it into a den of thieves from which come restlessness, hatred, envy, wars and every other evil. Accordingly, Peace is the most important thing that man needs. Peace is the most important message of our Lady in Medjugorje, a goal to which everything else is subject. That is why it is understandable that Our Lady already on the first day of her coming was holding the child Jesus in her arms. He is the most precious offering and gift of Our Lady and that is why she introduced herself as the "Queen of Peace." She gave birth to and offered that Peace to mankind.

In our times God is terribly absent, and that has the most horrible consequences: the destruction of man, family feuds, international tensions, the millions of unemployed and deprived of their rights, the starving and the dying in misery, sickness, and slavery. Likewise, the cold war, that is waged against the millions of preborn children, is a consequence of the absence of God. Even more so, the absence of God in man, as Professor Balthasar Stählin discovered, is the cause of the modern sicknesses of neuroses, psychoses, and depression. . .

The fact that such great disorder is prevailing in the world today has its only reason in this, that God is not permitted the first place in the human heart. And as long as God does not occupy the place that belongs to him, the tragedy of rejecting God will lead to an apocalyptic finale of the world.

CONVERSION

This gloomy, severe and unsolvable situation of mankind in the world requires a hasty conversion to God. And that is precisely the great message of the Mother of God in Medjugorje.

Conversion is the return of the entire man to God: with his reason, heart and will, and whole life. That includes a radical turning around, a complete change from previous views, previous goals, and previous behavior, and a decisive turning around toward God. Conversion is the only way for man burdened with sin to be able to find God again and in him to find true peace. Therefore, it is understandable that Our Lady persistently emphasizes conversion: "Dear children! Today also I invite you to a complete conversion. Put your life in the hands of God" (January 25, 1988).

Sin does not separate man only from God, but from all of mankind. Without conversion of the individual person, there is no conversion of mankind, and thereby, there is no other future but a complete moral and biological catastrophe. Once again, Our Lady's words are: "Dear children! I invite each one of you to convert yourself. This time is for you."

Man and a people without God are condemned to annihilation. Unconverted man is turned with his back to God and therefore his future, as the consequence of a sinful past, can only be horrible. And a future that is not liberation and salvation is not a future but rather a hell. Our Lady wants to bring all to Jesus because he is the salvation of man (June 25, 1994). But she does it in the Church and through the Church which "is the Sacrament of Salvation of the world" (Vatican II). She enters that mystery as Mother of the Church, because beneath the cross Christ entrusted the members of the Church to her love and care.

Those who exclude Mary from concern for salvation are opposing the explicit command of Christ. The one who says that he does not need a mother, is the one who needs her the most. And what mother can be a mother without the capability of bearing children with love, obligation and concern for them, especially when they are in danger. And there can be no greater danger for Mary's children than for them to abandon God and, by their own free will, to turn toward destruction. Therefore, the question why Our Lady is appearing must be replaced with the statement that she has to appear whenever, in that sense, she judges that her motherly intervention is needed.

The Church has fallen into a crisis of growth. She is still wearing the armor of feudalism which is so ingrained in her tissue that it has become her structure. Burdened by this but not protected by it, the Church is all the less a journeying people. There is no longer a danger for her to become an ossified institution, because she has already become one. Dark and dangerous clouds are accumulating all the more on the horizon. The world smells foul because it is decaying. The salt has, obviously, has gone flat and there is nothing with which to restore its flavor. God is cheapened and along with other fundamental values is rejected. Even so-called disciples of Christ are calling the Divinity of Christ into question. There is no longer a danger for the Church to become pagan. To a great extent it has already become so. One man, Paul of Tarsus, made Europe Christian. But today in that same Europe thousands of bishops and priests are not able to, or are unwilling to, or do not know how to prevent her from becoming pagan again. Fear, uncertainty, and panic are taking a hold of Christ's disciples and apostles. Just as in the crisis that followed the resurrection of Jesus, Mary is again gathering them to the prayer that calls in and engages the Holy Spirit. Mary says: "I have chosen this parish in a special way and I want to lead it" (March 1, 1984). And furthermore: "Dear children! I want you to understand the seriousness of the situation and that much of what is going to happen depends on your prayer" (July 25, 1991). "I invite you to change your life because you have taken a path of misery, a path of ruin." (Mar 25, 1992). "I bring you peace. I am your Mother and the Queen of Peace" (July 25, 1988). The Peace with which she came, she wishes to bestow on the entire world. Peace is God and, therefore, Our Lady adds: "In your families put God in the first place so that he can give you peace . . ." (December 25, 1991). She has come to lead all people to Jesus, as she says, "because he is your salvation" (June 25, 1994). But since they went far away from God, before that she address all people: "I want to invite you to a complete conversion" (June 25, 1990).

One should observe well with what Our Lady began the reform of the Church: with Jesus Christ in her arms and the radical Gospel of faith, conversion, prayer, fasting and Peace. Her first listeners, witnesses and co-workers were little ones. "My Son Jesus Christ wants to bestow special graces through me," she says on May 17, 1984. Humility is the first condition for accepting God. It was shown especially in Mary. Although before God the great and proud do not exist, but only pretend to be such, they are a great hindrance to God's coming. Because of their attitude, they are not willing to accept God. Because of their greatness, God is not seen at all, and because of their word, the Gospel is not heard. On the contrary, little ones are open to God, they seek him and are willing to accept him. That is why Jesus says: "Unless you become as little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." That is why Our Lady starts her undertaking of saving the world with children, little and big.

Mary is the model of the critical distance toward everything in the Church that is not the way it should be. She does not exhaust herself with attacks, threats and commands. Instead of that, she does what is necessary so that everything will be the way it should be. She serves, but does not dominate. She councils, she does not command. She loves, she does not judge. That is the motherly critique of her Church. She is persevering in love, patience, counsels and warnings. And that, at the same time, is her critique and command to a Church that has already assumed the structures of power, authority and law, instead of serving.

It is not without reason that God wants to help his Church through Mary and by her to heal both man and ecclesiastical structures, because she is her mother. Regarding that, it is very significant that God inspired renewal through the laity. Both Mary and the visionaries are lay people. And it is not by chance that they were the first ones to recognize her and to join in her undertaking. Although, in the course of time, others also joined in, lay people have still remained the main ones to spread her messages and even to execute them. That is the rehabilitation of the lay charism, which in today's church structures has almost been extinguished. That is, at the same time, a warning that a true renewal of the Church cannot be accomplished without the laity no more than it can without the hierarchy.

Besides that, there is no Church without Mary and her service. And since there is no Mary without her being a virgin, a spouse and a mother, there is no Church without these same qualities of Mary. It is precisely in Mary that the Church is holy, without fault, and blemish (cf Eph 5:27). Without Mary's qualities and their bearers, there is no successful renewal nor healthy Church. The Church is seriously jeopardizing her virginity and even the Pope himself must repent for it.

There is a felt need for the renewal of the Church, but it is being attempted in directions that exclude renewal. Protests, criticisms, and even disobedience, albeit to unjust demands of the Church, are just theory, and what is needed is the practice of faith, conversion and love. Without it, renewal is impossible either by new or old theories, either in new or old frameworks. What is needed is a return to the Gospel. In it only liberation has its fulcrum. To seek it outside of the Gospel is a new path into new deception and new slavery. Besides that, it is a true scandal that the question of liberation is put forward at all, in a Church that is holding the Gospel in her hand.

People in the Church have seriously failed and all, Our Lady says, must convert. There is no alternative to that, any more than to the Gospel.

CONCLUSION

Today's man has a great need for God in order to be a man. Only if he enters the future with Christ will he enter it as a man. And that will no longer be a future of man, but of Christ, because in Christ, God gives both man and God to man as a gift and in Him, God opens up his own future.

After Vatican Council II, neither in the world nor especially in the Church has there been a greater and more significant event than Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje. What the Council brought forth in theory, is in Medjugorje put into practice and realization. It is a second "round" of the Holy Spirit, who has, in the words of John Paul II, created of Medjugorje "a spiritual center" of the world and has made out of little and fragile people "a stiff necked race" (Archbishop Dyba) of brave believers and converts. They are those of the Gospel who take the kingdom of God by force.

Our Lady in Medjugorje came out before the whole world to stop the flight of people into Nothingness and, by her evangelical messages and motherly service, opens to them the path into Christ's future.

Man without God in him is not a man and, therefore without God, he is not able to have the future of a man. In place of it he can only have a future in which he is dangled and flung down.

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fra Slavko Barbaric

PRAYER GROUPS IN THE MARIAN PRAYER MOVEMENT

I

The fact is, without doubt, clear that many prayer groups that have started in the world have been founded by Medjugorje pilgrims. This has happened and is happening at the explicit desire of Our Lady to establish groups. It is difficult to find out the exact number, but there are already thousands of prayer groups (cfr. Rene Laurentin, Eight Years, 1989, The Riehle Foundation, Milford OH, p. 56).

The first prayer group was founded July 4, 1982, that is, one year after the beginning of Our Lady's apparitions. That group is still alive today. It is still something special in itself. The visionary Ivan testified that Our Lady requested those who desire it, to come together and pray, and that she will be with them in a special way, and that she wants prayer groups to be founded in all parish communities to help her with their prayers to accomplish the plans that the Lord entrusted to her. In the beginning the group met three times a week on Podbrdo Hill, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. During the time of prayer, Our Lady appears and gives short messages. Ivan, Marija and Vicka see her. However, only Ivan is able to speak with Our Lady at that time and to hear her messages. When Ivan is hindered, Marija takes his place, and when she is not present, then Vicka takes her place. Sometimes the meetings are only for the prayer group which counts up to forty members, and sometimes they are open to everyone. In recent times the meetings take place twice a week, Monday and Friday, and more recently Tuesday and Friday.

The meetings are very simple: praying the rosary, singing, reading Holy Scripture and the messages. Most of the time they take place outdoors on Podbrdo Hill and from time to time on Cross Mountain, regardless of the weather conditions.

These meetings, accordingly, have their significance for the programs that the Lord has entrusted to Mary, his humble servant, but also for the personal edification of each individual member.

When asked the question, "What does participation in the prayer group mean to you?" Ivan answered, "Participation in the prayer group at this time is very important to me. I learn to pray in the group and I can not imagine my spiritual growth without the prayer group."

II

The second prayer group was founded by Jelena Vasilj in March, 1983. At that time she was a little ten year old girl who had, and still has the experience of inner locutions. According to her testimony, Our Lady speaks to her and teaches her. This prayer group used to meet in the parish hall after the evening mass under the guidance of Fr. Tomislav Vlasi, and, from time to time, also other priests were with the group. During the meeting, which consists of simple prayer and singing, Our Lady also gave messages to the group through Jelena, teaching them how to pray. One of the two meetings was intended for the local bishop. The third meeting was for the sharing of experiences.

This prayer group was active until 1987. Those who had joined the group had to make the commitment that during the following four years they would not make any life decision whatsoever. When a part of the prayer group went to Italy with Fr. Tomislav Vlasi, the others continued to meet for some time, and then they discontinued the meeting. Now a community under the guidance of Fr. Tomislav is developing under the title "Kraljica Mira - potpuno Tvoji - po Mariji k Isusu," (Queen of Peace - Totally Yours - Through Mary to Jesus). The community has been juridically accepted by one bishop as an experiment. They have their postulants, candidates, novices, and those already professed, as well as a broad circle of external co-workers, organized fraternities and prayer communities.

In the beginning Jelena brought the following message:

"Our Lady says, 'I want a prayer group here. I will lead the group and will give the group rules of consecration. Everyone else in the world can consecrate themselves according to these rules. Think it over for a month, but tell them about the conditions I am giving:

First of all, let them renounce everything and place themselves completely into God's hands. Let each one of them renounce any fear because, if you surrender yourself to God, there is no place for any fear whatsoever. All difficulties that they will meet, will be for their spiritual growth and for the glory of God. I invite the young and single people, because those who are married have their obligations. But anyone who wishes to participate in this program, can follow it at least partially. I will lead the group.'"

In addition to these weekly meetings, Our Lady also requested monthly nocturnal adoration from the group which the group did, mainly on the night of the first Saturday, ending adoration with the Sunday morning mass.

III

After a short statement of the facts, we shall try to briefly answer a simple question: what is a prayer group?

A prayer group is a fellowship of the faithful who meet once or several times a week or a month in order to pray. It is a group of friends who pray the rosary together, read Holy Scripture, celebrate Mass, visit each other and share prayer experiences. It has always been counseled that it is better for them to be guided by a priest, but if that is not possible, to hold the prayer meetings in simplicity.

The visionaries always emphasized that the first and most important prayer group is actually the family and that it is only then that one can speak about a proper prayer education which is continued in the prayer group. It is requested of every member to be active in the group and to make the contribution of one's prayer and experience. Only that way can a group live and grow.

IV

The biblical-theological foundation of the prayer groups is found, in addition to other sources, in the word of Christ: "Amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt 18:19-20).

The first prayer group actually took place in the first prayer novena after the Ascension of Christ when Our Lady prayed with the Apostles and waited in prayer for the Risen Lord to accomplish his promise and send the Holy Spirit which actually happened on the day of Pentecost. (Cfr Acts 2:1-5). The practice was continued also by the early church as St. Luke recounts in Acts of the Apostles: "They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers " (Acts 2:42), and "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." (Acts 2:44-47).

V

Certainly there also exists a sociological reason for prayer groups, particularly at the present time. Every individual should take care of one's own spiritual growth, but in that growth, due to the psycho-physical structure of the human person, fellowship is irreplaceable. It is particularly important today because the individual can easily get lost in the rhythm of these modern times. The group obliges and, therefore, it is easier to remain faithful to the rhythm of prayer. A group assists in the spiritual growth, but it also corrects and inspires it. The experience of one person enriches and illuminates the experience of another. The one who stays by himself is in danger of developing without any control. It is easier to overcome every difficulty in the group and they are transformed into rich spiritual experiences. The group aids in fostering and directing charisms.

VI

The relationship of Marian prayer groups toward parish communities can easily be defined. It is clear that the prayer group is not the liturgical-pastoral supervisor of the pastor's activities. And this is a great temptation for groups that enter a difficult terrain with the parish pastoral personnel, a case that is not uncommon. Namely, there is a certain resistance from many priests who do not accept prayer groups in general, and then, in particular, those started through Medjugorje. If one doesn't take good care, a negative, criticizing spirit develops in the groups toward everything undertaken by the parish priest, and they alienate themselves and go to extreme limits where they are exposed to the direct danger of even excluding themselves from the parish community. I do not want to go into the problematic of the relationship between the parish community and prayer groups, but I certainly want to emphasize that a prayer group of Marian spirituality must never allow itself to be provoked and driven to extreme limits from where it is easy to go left or right or into a sectarianism that, in the end, is harmful both to the parish community and to the prayer group.

Certainly, another danger which easily occurs with Marian prayer groups is an apocalyptic, catastrophic atmosphere. It happens that such prayer groups know everything about future events, catastrophes, and cataclysms and they spread the spirit of fear and anxiety. They nourish their knowledge by continuously chasing after persons who bring such messages. It easily happens that these groups know much more than Jesus himself knew in the Gospel about future events. The fact of the existence of secrets contributes to such an apocalyptic, catastrophic spirit which imagination then, often unhealthy, transforms into definite news about the future.

If the group succumbs to either one of these two dangers, it does not correspond to the Marian spirit. Mary is a mother and a mother never spreads fear and anxiety among her children, but she educates them for peace and trust.

A prayer group must be in communication not only with the parish priest and pastoral personnel, but it should be the heart and soul of every parish community. Marian groups in themselves are the "the maternal cells" of each parish community which by living a life of prayer, develop maternal activity in the parish. From these "maternal cells" new believers with conviction are born, families are renewed and preserved, the youth are educated, religious vocations are fostered, activities develop in all spheres, in the liturgical-pastoral, just as in charitable deeds of caring for the elderly, the infirm, the forsaken, and imprisoned. All this can be expressed in the words of Pope John Paul II in his 1995 encyclical, The Gospel of Life, that we should "respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!" (cfr. no 5). Marian groups, as maternal cells in the parish, function according to those criteria that Jesus expressed and St. Matthew recorded in Chapter 25:31-46, where one thing is completely clear, that all prayers, fasts, masses and confessions must serve the development of love toward each person and the courage to serve everyone. A maternal spirit and heart recognize the needs of her children and react tirelessly and invincibly to those needs, apart from all laws and regulations. Today such groups in the modern Church will certainly bring in a true renewal of Christian life and will show the true face of the Church, which is danger of being distorted.

VII

If we briefly recount the activities that we know Our Lady requested from the prayer groups in Medjugorje, then one can say that, first of all, it is a fundamental decision for daily prayer and participation in holy mass, monthly confession, to become a witness, and to be active in the parish. Before Christmas she requested from the group to do some good deed. They assisted the elderly and visited the sick and infirm, they helped poor families to repair their houses, prepare firewood for the winter and similar things.

On the spiritual level she requested them, in addition to the weekly prayer meetings, also to organize retreats of one or more days, to go out into nature and there to perform various spiritual exercises.

The rules for Medjugorje prayer groups that can be summarized from the messages are the following:

  1. To renounce everything and completely surrender into God's hands and to believe that everything that is happening will turn into the good;
  2. A call to young people to participate in prayer groups;
  3. To renounce all fear and anxiety, because in surrender to God there is no more place for fear;
  4. To love one's enemies and to expel from one's heart all hatred, bitterness and judgment;
  5. To fast twice a week;
  6. To participate in the group at least once a week;
  7. To decide for three hours of daily prayer, including morning and evening prayer, participation at mass, receiving Holy Communion, adoration and to extend the spirit of prayer into every day work;
  8. To pray for bishops and all those who have authority in the Church;
  9. To decide to stay in the prayer group for four years and to take advantage of that time for personal maturing, and for that reason not to make any new or fundamental life decisions;
  10. To have a priest in each group.

Through Jelena on April 25, 1983 Our Lady gave the message: "Tell my sons and daughters that my heart is burning for them. I seek only conversion, only conversion."

VIII

In her reports about a prayer group in Lima, Peru, Cecilia Batlle de Zavala describes:

  • - that they meet every Tuesday for prayer of the rosary, reading of a message, teaching, testimonies;
  • - that once a month the spiritual director, Fr. Angelo Costa, comes and spiritually directs the group;
  • - that they have a group of women whose number is growing, who have dedicated themselves to the imprisoned, who pray with them, bring them books, converse with and help their families;
  • - that one group visits hospitals and seeks out the most neglected sick persons and help them spiritually and materially;
  • - that yet another group visits the homes for the elderly with the same intention of helping them spiritually and materially;
  • - that they organize spiritual retreats for families and youth;
  • - that during the Peru-Ecuador conflict they organized a big project, "The Rosary for Soldiers," they gave information about it to all military centers, and received many touching letters from officers and soldiers. (A report submitted at the VI Meeting of Queen of Peace Marian Centers, in Quito, Ecuador. October 1995)

IX

I would like to conclude with Our Lady's message of November 25, 1994

"Dear children!

Today I call you to prayer. I am with you and I love you all. I am your Mother and I wish that your hearts be similar to my heart. Little children, without prayer you cannot live and say that you are mine. Prayer is joy. Prayer is what the human heart desires. Therefore, get closer, little children, to my Immaculate Heart and you will discover God. Thank you for having responded to my call."

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fra Miljenko Stojic

INFORMATION CENTER "MIR" MEDJUGORJE

INTRODUCTION

This is not a classical lecture but rather a report about the practical problems of the transmission of Our Lady's messages and information about everything taking place in Medjugorje, using the modern means of public communication. I will also try to outline the directions that this work should take.

We are mindful that means of public communication are one of the foundations stones on which modern society rests. The press, radio, and above all television are not just the primary transmitters of information, but they have become important sources of influence on the formation of opinion, on the transmission of values, and their "degree of priority," on models of behavior, on the mentality of modern man, particularly of the younger generation. In most recent times the world of computers should be added to this, especially its world wide network "Internet."

Vatican Council II observed well the directions toward which the modern world is moving and in its documents it also dealt with means of public communication. The church's magisterium subsequently continued with that effort.

I. CATHOLIC PROCLAMATION BY MASS MEDIA

Whether we like it or not, today we are living in a secularized world. It has its own values and does not mainly depend on the values which our religious experience wants to mediate to it. We should, nevertheless, persevere in that kind of world and witness the Word of God to it.

1. The Role of mass media in modern evangelization

The term "mass media" comes into the Church through the front door at Vatican Council II. We find it in the conciliar document Inter Mirifica and Communio et Progressio.

The term "evangelization" itself is new, postconciliar. It is unknown to Vatican II. It appears with Pope Paul VI who used it for the first time in church documents in the 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. Evangelization is defined there as an all inclusive mission of the Church that would not be complete if it did not take account of the real and constant relationships that exist between the Gospel and man's personal, and social life.

Evangelical activity is a very rich, multifaceted and dynamic reality which includes the following elements: 1) the renewal of mankind; 2) witnessing; 3) explicit proclamation; 4) consent of the heart; 5) entrance into community; 6) receiving of the sacraments; 7) apostolic activity. These elements of evangelical activity are never individual or isolated, but ordinarily permeate and act with one another.

Mass media, so long as they serve evangelization, can in no way replace or much less displace regular pastoral work, witnessing by one's life, systematic catechizing, liturgy, popular devotion or some other form of promoting the faith.

2. The Teaching of the Document "Aetatis Novae"

This document issues from the statement that the mass media have an important role in human society. For many they are the principal means of information and education, guidance and counseling in individual, family, and social behavior. The influence of the mass media can not be prevented by geographical and political boundaries, thanks to modern technical possibilities. In that way they are creating a new reality thus far unknown. The faithful and church leadership must be aware of this development and actively involve themselves in it.

In the first part, entitled "The Grounds of Public Communication," the document, basing itself on the church position, brings out a detailed treatment of that new reality regarding cultural, social, political and economic development.

The second part, entitled "The Tasks of Communication," treats the positive role of mass media which consists of serving people and cultures, dialogue with the world, human society and social progress, serving the church communion, and new evangelization.

The negative role of mass media, treated in the third part of the document, consists of the potential promotion of secularism, consumerism, materialism, dehumanization, and insensibility to the condition of the poor and those deprived of rights.

The fourth part treats the pastoral response of the Church. It says that the Church should promote its own personal Catholic media and programs for social communication. Pedagogy and education for communication must be an integral part of the formation of pastoral workers.

The fifth part encourages bishops to give due priority to the field of mass media. In that they must take in to account the special conditions of their nation, region and diocese.

II. ACTIVITY OF "THE MIR INFORMATION CENTER" -

OF THE QUEEN OF PEACE SHRINE, MEDJUGORJE

Along with the beginnings of Our Lady's apparitions the need appeared to present them to a broad public in the right way. There was never any intention of doing promotion in today's meaning of that word, but only to help people come to the truth. And today's activity has the same purpose.

The objections are justified that there should have been organized already from the very beginning an efficient system of spreading the messages of Our Lady's apparitions right from the heart of where they were taking place. However, the difficulties which prevented this are also justified. We recall that, when in 1981 the apparitions began, Medjugorje was groaning under communist dictatorship. That meant being constantly under the surveillance of the police and not even being able to get close to, much less to build modern means of communication. For just one word and even less than that, a person went to jail. That kind of situation made it hard to find skilled lay persons who would be able to work on the tasks of spreading Our Lady's messages by mass media. The third big difficulty was the negative position of the bishop toward the Medjugorje events, after his initial enthusiasm and courageous stand in the face of the communist authorities.

Nevertheless, the difficulties did not kill all the good ideas. With the announcement of the arrival of democracy in 1990, a more systematic consideration of everything started. Sad to say, a horrible and unjust war began within a short time, so that all the ideas were postponed for better days. Due to the difficulties of the war, the number of pilgrims decreased. But it did not extinguish the desire in people to be in touch with Medjugorje and to know what is happening there. Due to that, the "Information Center" started functioning in November 1993. It began to systematize archives and library, and to send reports about events to the whole world. Meanwhile, necessary electronic equipment was supplied and in November 1994 the pilot number of the "Press Bulletin" was issued. It is sent by fax throughout the world, which was already the ordinary way of sending Our Lady's new messages and their interpretation.

As time passed by, other new ideas have been developed like the Robofax, radio, Internet, local television. . . Their aim is to help make it easier to spread Our Lady's messages and nothing else. Today the "Center" can be reached by the number 387-88-650-428. As soon as the digitalized exchange in Medjugorje starts to function, that number will be changed to 387-88-651-999. Faxed messages can presently be sent to the parish fax 387-88-642-339 (later that number will be 387-88-651-444).

1. Archives

The organization of archives began with the gathering of material on healings which have so far taken place. At the present time, about 380 healings have been reported, a large number of which have the necessary documentation.

Journalists were continuously coming and writing about the Medjugorje apparitions. Naturally, it was impossible to collect all of those newpaper articles, but a large number of them are stored in our archives. The most interesting of them are, of course, those from the communist period. One can read the fury of evil with which they gruffly speak about Our Lady's apparitions.

Also many photographs were taken in Medjugorje in the course of these fifteen years. We preserve them in one section of the archives and use them in various newspaper articles or the preparation of some new book.

We have also initiated the gathering and preservation of photographic films. We are doing it in the manner of big newspaper firms.

2. Library

Various types of books also were continuously written with the desire to search for and penetrate the heart of everything that has been happening in Medjugorje. There is a portion of them gathered together in different languages on the premises of our "Center." At the present time, we do not have adequate space to display them, but with further building up of the shrine we expect to achieve that.

We are, hereby, requesting all those, who are able to help in the collection of books for our library or material for the archives, to do so. The "Center" is not just ours. The data we have at disposal is also intended for all the other centers in the world, as well for individuals who wish to publish written works on the theme of Medjugorje events.

3. Information Booth

Due to an increase in arrival of pilgrims, the "Information Booth" began to operate again in August 1995. It was first set up in 1991, but the war interrupted its operation. At the present time it operates daily, except Sundays and feast days. Its working hours are from 10:00 - 2:00 PM. As soon as the need is felt, those hours will be extended. The easiest way to reach it is on the current telephone number 387-88-650-400. Later that number will be changed to 387-88-651-988.

The job of the "Information Booth" is to provide every possible type of information to pilgrims. It also gathers notifications of pilgrim groups coming, so that we are able in an easier way to organize services at the shrine. It should be mentioned here that it does not deal with accommodation of pilgrims.

The "Information Booth" also provides the service of arranging a meeting of pilgrims with one of the visionaries. Such a meeting is organized daily on the premises of the shrine. Currently it is at 8:30. In the same way it is also possible to arrange meetings with priests who are working in the shrine. We request all pilgrimage group leaders to bear this mind. With that kind of mutual interaction and organization you will be helping both us and yourselves.

The "Association of Guides," that was reestablished in September 1995, is also closely connected with the "Information Booth." The "Association of Guides" was started in 1991 for providing information to Medjugorje pilgrims in the fields of religious, cultural-historical, archeological and ethnographic life. They are prepared with a definite training for these tasks. Upon arrival in Medjugorje it is possible to request their services at the "Information Booth."

4. Press Bulletin

At the request of many pilgrims, and mainly of the centers of peace that are to be usually informed about everything on the current events in the shrine, we decided to inaugurate the publication of the Press Bulletin. It represents the official position of the shrine. In that way it is easier to avoid the start and spread of false information about Medjugorje events. In it one can find various news items, announcements, messages. . .that can enable the friends of Medjugorje throughout the world to keep contact with the shrine.

The pilot number was issued November 23, 1994. Currently it is published in these languages: Croatian, English, German, French and Italian. It comes out every other Wednesday. We, hereby, want to thank all those who are helping us with the laborious work of translating. We will gladly adopt every good idea.

5. Provision of various kinds of services

Our "Center" also has the job of being in touch with various journalists, radio and TV crews, that come to Medjugorje or are interested in it. We wish to provide them with all the more qualitative and quicker information on what is happening here. In the same way we also help those who want to write a book on Medjugorje, as well as those who are seeking to obtain definite academic degrees on the theme of Medjugorje.

6. Robofax

In the beginning we sent Our Lady's messages, their interpretation, and the Press Bulletin out to the world by means of fax. That consumed much of our precious time and burdened our work with large financial expenses. Due to persistence we succeeded in finding out about the computer system "Robofax." With its help everyone, at any time of day or night, can from our computer obtain the most recent message of Our Lady in five languages, its interpretation in English ( beginning on the 29th of the month), and the Press Bulletin in five languages every other Wednesday.

The Robofax system functions very simply. First we have to set the fax machine from which we calling the Robofax on so-called "tone mode." Besides the pulse mode it is the way that each fax machine works. Then we should dial the Robofax number: ++387-88-642-709 (the last six figures will later be 651 --- ). When the connection is made we listen to the instructions. One has to wait for the instruction in one's own language.

In the course of the past those calling our Robofax sometimes had problems. That is due to the very poor telephone lines built during the communist period. Currently the construction of a digitalized telephone exchange is near completion and those difficulties will simply disappear.

7. Internet

This term signifies the computer network which today is undergoing a fast and unexpected success. It is reckoned that currently more than 5 million computers are linked to it by which about

30 million users are active. It is calculated that by the end of 1996 about 15 million computers will be connected to this network.

On this network one can find information about every sector of human activity. For us, of course, the most interesting section is what are called the World Wide Web (WWW) pages. Namely, it is possible to formulate ones news and present it to all users on the computer network.

The news from Medjugorje is currently provided by Dr. Gottardi Piero from Bolzano, Italy. The Internet server address at which it can be obtained is: http/www.eclipse.it/medjugorje. The E-mail address of Dr. Gottardi is: pierogottardi dnet.it. By the time you read these line, our Center will probably also have its WWW pages on Internet. We will inform you on this through the Press Bulletin and also through the address from Bolzano.

To take advantage of the services of Internet it is necessary to have a computer, a modem, certain software and to be connected to Internet. While we are communicating with the entire world we pay only the bill of using the telephone line to the nearest server, which is frequently in your city or some neighboring city.

8. BBS

As soon as we have finished connecting with Internet, we will start work on offering service by means of BBS (Bulletin Board System). It also is a kind of computer network. It is different from other networks because for it, it is enough to have a computer, modem, and the required software to load certain programs into your personal computer. Thereby, it becomes the server and anyone who knows the number of our network can take stored data, leave us a message or talk with us. It is likewise possible to carry on a discussion with one or many correspondents from any corner of the world.

9. Radio

In modern civilization radio is the most widespread means with the help of which one can reach someone, regardless where he is. That is why its influence is immense.

At the start of the war in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina a public radio entitled "Radio Medjugorje" started to function. It dealt with political, religious, cultural, athletic and various other subjects. It was open to everything that was of current interest to the local people in Medjugorje. Since the equipment was weak and worn out, this radio had to discontinue after functioning for two years. Later on there were insufficient means for it to reopen.

After the decline of the communist reign of terror, serious thought was given to the inception of a radio station under the patronage of the Queen of Peace shrine in Medjugorje. There were many ideas but just recently have we reached a final decision. We have decided to inaugurate a radio station that should start broadcasting at the latest by the beginning of the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions.

We envisioned this radio as a local station. We want it to be in the service of pilgrims as well as people who live in the parish of Medjugorje and its surroundings. Thereby, we will all breathe more easily together as brothers and sisters.

Currently we do not have in mind a radio of wider range. Some day perhaps we will move on to accomplish that idea. But, we are of the opinion that a local radio must always exist.

Its name will be 'Radio 'Mir' - Medjugorje." Those who want to get in touch with it can call at 387-88-651-300.

Since we are still at work on establishing this radio, it is not possible to give a detailed description of its work. What we are going to try to accomplish is at a certain time daily to broadcast various items of information and news for pilgrims of different languages. On this radio it will likewise be possible to hear the rosary, the mass, and all the other services from the shrine. Those who wish to give testimony about their experience in Medjugorje will be able to do so. Local people will be informed about everything taking place in the shrine and will be able to talk about anything bothering them. We will deal with religious, political, social, cultural, athletic and other questions.

Our reporters are already collaborating on the radio named "Radio Herceg-Bosna" (audible in almost all of Bosnia-Hercegovina as well as a large part of Croatia). At times they also collaborate on "Croatian Radio - studio Zagreb." Once a month for a half hour duration we have a link to "Radio-Maria" from Italy.

Regarding radio, we will accept any kind of assistance because at this moment it is exceptionally necessary. It may be either some good proposal or certain material means.

10. Television

Along with radio, television is the most influential modern medium of communication. Many believe only what they see on television. They say, "We saw it." They are forgetting that one can also manipulate with all of this.

For the time being, we are not able to organize a TV studio that would be at the service of the shrine and of the truth without any kind of manipulation. But we are remaining completely open to this possibility.

Currently, we are closely collaborating with two TV studios: Croatian Television (HTV)-Zagreb and Mostar. This way pictures from the shrine are broadcast both to the proximate and more distant area. Of course, we are the disposal of every well intentioned TV crew that comes by Medjugorje.

III. CONNECTION WITH OTHER CENTERS IN THE WORLD

Already from the very beginning we wanted to get in touch with other centers in the world. The greatest hindrance was the war and the very poor telephone lines. All of this is now improving, so that our contact with others will be facilitated.

When representatives of individual centers come to Medjugorje, we would like to meet with them and exchange experiences. That will be of benefit to both of us.

In our "Press Bulletin" - we have started to introduce individual centers. As we have seen this idea met a positive response.

There are thousands of ways that we can help each other. From this presentation of the work of our Center and of the ideas it proposes to itself, I hope you were able to find a field in which we could more closely collaborate. For our part we are likewise open to any kind of collaboration with you.

It is necessary to keep in mind that the "Information Center 'Mir' - Queen of Peace Shrine - Medjugorje," along with the priests who are working in Medjugorje, is the only official representative of the shrine. No one else can be or is that, even if they live and work in Medjugorje. We are mentioning this for the sake of misunderstandings that occasionally arise.

Our "Center" will soon become a juridical person and will, therefore, change its name to "Information Center 'Mir' -Medjugorje." In time You will be informed about that. Please, take that into consideration.

CONCLUSION

Fortunately, those times have passed when the Church was separated between clergy and laity. Under such a separation clergy were assigned the role of proclaiming the word of God and laity the role of blind obedience.

With Vatican II that has all changed. It said that we are all the people of God and that there neither is not nor must there be such a sharp separation. In baptism we have all received the baptismal priesthood and our job is to live and spread the message of God, in the place, in the life wherein we find ourselves. Thus came about a greater collaboration of the "laity" in the Church.

In considering the mass media I think that our activity in it should be threefold.

  1. It is necessary to develop a totally Catholic mass media by means of which the Catholic view of the world and its events will be broadcast.
  2. Another type of mass media should be that media that does not bear the title "Catholic" but people of a Catholic orientation direct and work with them. Their job would be to gradually prepare those who would some day want to become Catholic or deepen their faith. For that reason it would have to be open to all social events. Such media simultaneously serves both those who are completely conscious of their faith, as well as those who want to show and prove themselves in the social field.
  3. Even the mass media that are indifferent or opposed to Catholic faith must not be rejected. It is necessary to have an influence on them, that is, by means of them on those who use them.

Our Lady has come and stayed for this long so that her message would reach every person. Let us help her in that. We have the right and the duty to employ all the modern aids in order, in a modern and understandable way, to bring the word of God closer to people with whom we come in contact. We must not reject the world in which we live. It is that given reality in which we affirm ourselves to be Christians and prepare ourselves for passage to the other shore.

ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

  1. We are working to mantain the continous operation of the HPT-9825 automatic speaker, which operates only in the Croatian language. At any time that we call the 9825 number we can hear the most recent message of Our Lady in addition to the meditation and the news from Medjugorje which are changed every Wednesday. Those who call from outside Croatia must add the 01 prefix for Zagreb. The automatic speaker came into operation January 17, 1991, and the avarage number of calls is 1. 400. 000.
  2. Our address on the Internet is: 1. http: //www. tel. hr/medjugorje; 2. medjugor@alf. tel. hr;: E-mail address: medjugorje-mir@st. tel. hr.
  3. We have commenced with the publication of books and brochures on Medjugorje.
  4. We have become a legal person under the title: INFORMATION CENTER "MIR" MEDJUGORJE.
  5. For a recent period of time it has been sometimes difficult to call our Robofax due to the poor telephone lines and problems with the electrical voltage. We trust that those problems are not behind us. We apologize for all of that.
  6. We will collect the financial means needed for operation by the activities of the "CENTERS" and free will offerings. For that purpose we have established the association "SUPPORTERS OF INFORMATION CENTER "MIR" MEDJUGORJE." Anyone who wishes can become a member of that association. It is incumbent on an association member to make an annual free will contribution, and to cooperate in the work of the "CENTER" with advice, comments, or some other suitable way. Each member will receive a certificate of membership and be informed regularly on the work of the "CENTER."

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