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The message of Medjugorje is a call to Conversion, conversion back to
God. Our Lady gives us five Stones or Weapons, which we can use to
overcome the power and influence of evil and sin in our lives. This is
the "Message of Medjugorje". Our Lady's purpose for coming to earth is
to guide each one of us back to her Son Jesus. She does this by leading
us step by step toward a life of holiness through the hundreds of
messages she has given to the world through the visionaries in
Medjugorje. The time for decision is Now. Our Lady's call is Urgent. We
must open our hearts and begin to change our lives starting today,
starting now.
Prayer | Fasting | Reading the Holy Bible | Confession | Holy Eucharist
Prayer
Prayer is the center of Our Lady's plan and is the most frequent message
in Medjugorje and the Rosary is the most effective prayer in our lives
and against Satan power.
"Today also I am calling you to prayer. You know, dear children, that
God grants special graces in prayer... I call you, dear children, to
prayer with the heart." (April 25, 1987)
To pray with the heart is to pray with love, trust, abandonment, and
concentration. Prayer heals human souls. Prayer heals the history of
sin. Without prayer, we cannot have an experience of God.
"Without unceasing prayer, you cannot experience the beauty and
greatness of the grace which God is offering you." (February 25, 1989)
Our Lady's recommended prayers:
In the beginning, Our Lady asked for the daily praying of: The Creed,
followed by Seven Our Fathers, Hail Mary's, and Glory Be's.
Later, Our Lady recommended praying the Rosary. First Our Lady asked us
to pray 5 decades, then 10, and finally Our Lady wishes us to pray
daily, together or individually, the entire 15 Mysteries of the Rosary -
15 Decades (Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries).
Everybody should pray. Our Lady says: "May prayer reign in the whole
world." (August 25, 1989) Through prayer, we will defeat satan's power,
and obtain peace and salvation for our souls.
"You know that I love you and am coming here out of love, so I could
show you the path of peace and salvation for your souls. I want you to
listen to me and not permit Satan to seduce you. Dear children, Satan is
strong enough! Therefore, I ask you to dedicate your prayers so that
those who are under his influence may be saved. Give witness by your
life, sacrifice your lives for the salvation of the world... Therefore,
little children, do not be afraid. If you pray, Satan cannot injure you,
not even a little, because you are God's children and He is watching
over you. Pray, and let the Rosary always be in your hands as a sign to
Satan that you belong to me." (February 25, 1989)
The power of satan is destroyed by prayer and he cannot harm us if we
pray. No Christian should be afraid of the future unless he does not
pray. If he does not pray, is he a Christian? If we do not pray, we are
naturally blind to many things and cannot tell right from wrong. We lose
our center and our balance.
Fasting
In the Old Testament and in the New Testament, there are many examples
of fasting. Jesus fasted frequently. According to Tradition, fasting is
encouraged especially in times of great temptation or severe trials.
Certain devils, "can be cast out in no other way except by prayer and
fasting", said Jesus. (Mark 9:29)
Fasting is essential in order to achieve spiritual freedom. Through
fasting, one is better able to listen to God and man and to perceive
them more clearly. If, through fasting, we achieve that freedom, we will
be more aware of many things. Once we are aware that we can enjoy the
necessities of life without struggle, then many fears and worries fade
away. We become more open to our families and to the people with whom we
live and work. Our Lady recommends fasting twice a week: "Fast strictly
on Wednesdays and Fridays." (August 14, 1984)
She asks us to accept this message "....with a firm will." She asks us
to "Persevere in ... fasting." (June 25, 1982)
"The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer one can
stop wars, one can suspend the natural laws of nature. Works of charity
cannot replace fasting... Everyone except the sick, has to fast." (July
21, 1982)
We have to realize the power of fasting. Fasting means to make a
sacrifice to God, to offer not only our prayers, but also to make our
whole being participate in sacrifice. We should fast with love, for a
special intention, and to purify ourselves and the world. We should fast
because we love God and want to be soldiers that offer our bodies in the
battle against evil.
Daily Reading of the Holy Bible
Usually Our Lady comes to the visionaries happy and joyful. On one
occasion, while talking about the Bible, She was crying. Our Lady said:
"You have forgotten the Bible."
The Bible is a book different from any other book on earth. All the
canonical books of the Bible were, "..written under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author." (Dogmatic Constitution
on Devine Revelation) This means that no other book can be compared to
this book. That is why Our Lady asks us to separate THE BOOK from the
other human books on the shelves. There is no writing that can be
compared to the Bible. That is why we are asked to place the Bible in a
visible place in our homes.
"Dear children, today I call you to read the Bible everyday in your
homes and let it be in a visible place so as always to encourage you to
read it and pray." (October 18, 1984)
"Every family must pray family prayers and read the Bible." (February
14, 1985)
Confession
Our Lady asks for monthly confession. From the very first days of the
apparitions, Our Lady spoke about confession:
"Make your peace with God and among yourselves. For that, it is
necessary to believe, to pray, to fast, and to go to confession." (June
26, 1981)
"Pray, pray! It is necessary to believe firmly, to go to confession
regularly, and, likewise, to receive Holy Communion. It is the only
salvation." (February 10, 1982)
"Whoever has done very much evil during his life can go straight to
Heaven if he confesses, is sorry for what he has done, and receives
Communion at the end of his life." (July 24, 1982)
The Western Church has disregarded confession and its importance. Our
Lady said:
"Monthly confession will be a remedy for the Church in the West. One
must convey this message to the West." (August 6, 1982)
Pilgrims who come to Medjugorje are always impressed by the number of
people waiting for confession and the number of priests hearing
confession. Many priests have had extraordinary experiences during
confessions in Medjugorje. About a particular feast day, Our Lady said:
"The priests who will hear confessions will have great joy on that day!
(August, 1984)
Confession should not be a habit that would "make sinning easy". Vicka
says to every group of pilgrims, "Confession is something that has to
make a new human being out of you. Our Lady does not want you to think
that confession will free you from sin and allow you to continue the
same life after that. No, confession is a call to transformation. You
must become a new person!":
"Do not go to confession through habit, to remain the same after that.
No, it is not good. Confession should give an impulse to your faith. It
should stimulate you and bring you closer to Jesus. If confession does
not mean anything for you, really, you will be converted with great
difficulty." (November 7, 1983)
The Holy Eucharist
Our Lady calls us to more active attendance of holy Mass, Sunday, and
when possible, daily Mass. It has been reported by the visionaries that
Our Lady has cried when speaking of the Eucharist and the Mass. She
said:
"You do not celebrate the Eucharist as you should. If you would know
what grace and what gifts you receive, you would prepare yourselves for
it each day for an hour at least." (1985)
The evening Mass in Medjugorje is the most important moment of the day
because Our Lady is present and She gives us Her Son in a special way.
The Mass is more important than any of Our Lady's apparitions. Marija
said that if she had to choose between the Eucharist and the apparition,
she would choose the Eucharist. Our Lady said:
"The evening Mass must be kept permanently." (October 6, 1981)
She also asked that the prayer to the Holy Spirit always be said before
Mass. Our Lady wants to see the Holy Mass as "the highest form of
prayer" and "the center of our lives". The Blessed Mother sees the Mass
as "the most important and the most holy moment in our lives. We have to
be prepared and pure to receive Jesus with a great respect. The Mass
should be the center of our lives" Our Lady is crying because people do
not have enough respect toward the Eucharist. The Mother of God wants us
to realize the extreme beauty of the mystery of the Mass. She has said:
"There are many of you who have sensed the beauty of the Holy Mass...
Jesus gives you His graces in the Mass." (April 3, 1986)
"Let the Holy Mass be your life." (April 25, 1988)
This means that the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ must become our
life, together with the hope of His second coming. During Mass, we
receive the Living Christ, as the Eucharist and Wine are transformed
into the Body and Blood of Christ by the hands of the Priest, and in Him
we receive the whole mystery of our salvation that must transform and
transfigure us. The Holy Mass is the perfect expression of the mystery
of Christ in which we can fully participate in His life. "Whoever eats
My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life" (John 6:54). (God dwells
in Churches by means of the Holy Eucharist as God dwells in believers by
His Holy Spirit).
Our Lady has said:
"Mass is the greatest prayer of God. You will never be able to
understand its greatness. That is why you must be perfect and humble at
Mass, and you should prepare yoursleves for it." (1983)
Our Lady wants us to be full of joy and hope during Mass and to make an
effort so that this moment will "be an experience of God". Surrender to
Jesus and the Holy Spirit is a very important part of the messages
because it is the only path to holiness. To be open to the Holy Spirit
in the Sacraments is the way we are going to be sanctified. In this way,
Our Lady will obtain for us, the grace to become Her witnesses in the
world to fulfill the plan of God and Her plan. Our Lady has said:
"Open your hearts to the Holy Spirit. Especially during these days the
Holy Spirit is working through you. Open your hearts and surrender your
life to Jesus so that He works through your hearts." (May 23, 1985) |