by Jenna Pope

Created on: August 10, 2011

You have to believe in the idea of miracles if you ever want to see one. Otherwise an extraordinary, supernatural happening will fly under your radar, and you will miss it altogether. But in the small village of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina, no one is missing any miracles.

Just as in Lourdes and Fatima, Our Lady has been appearing to six people in Medjugorje and giving them messages designed to guide the world to her son, Jesus. The apparitions began in 1981 and have continued into the present.

In Her own words, Mary has told us through the visionaries, "I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and peace, you must return to God". 

Since the first apparition in 1981, over 40 million people of all religions and beliefs have made the pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Many have returned spiritually strengthened and renewed. Some have experienced physical and emotional healings. Some have returned home with a feeling of peace and calm, while others have experienced deep conversions.

The Catholic Church has not yet given its stamp of approval on the phenomenon of Medjugorje. Pope John-Paul, II, however, appointed a special Cardinal to investigate it. Pope John-Paul, II, felt very favorable towards the appearances of Our Lady in Medjugorje. So we will have to wait and see what the Magisterium of the Catholic Church decides. 

A friend of mine returned from Medjugorje last week, and we had lunch today with each other. She brought back for me a beautiful rosary with a tiny bit of dirt from Medjugorje incased in one of the ornaments. She also gave me a bracelet made from the rocks of the mountain where the original apparitions happened. The last thing that she brought back for me was a handkerchief that she had rubbed on the cross at Apparition Hill. Water trickles from the cross, and she placed the handkerchief in the water for me. No one knows why the cross weeps.

When Mary appears to people, it is always with a purpose. That purpose is always to bring humanity closer to Jesus. All of her messages are special. Some are specifically for the town of Medjugorje, while others are for the entire world.

In her November 25, 1989 message, Our Lady said the following:  “By means of the messages, I wish to make a very beautiful mosaic in your hearts."  She also asked that we continually read, study, and meditate on her messages from the beginning to the present.  In December of the same year she said: "Little children, read every day the messages I gave you and transform them into life. I love you and this is why I call you to the way of salvation with God."

I hope that someday my friend will want to return to Medjugorje, because – this time – I’m going, too.

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