Monday, April 26, 2010
The Miracle of Medjugorje
From a former U.S. intelligence officer to a famous celebrity to a village untouched by a war that raged around it give testimony to the Miracle of Medjugorje. While the story continues to unfold in Medjugorje the Church still has not made an official proclamation on its veracity. While I see great fruits coming from Medjugorje, we will follow the judgment of the Church in this regard.
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12 comments:
I don't think we can, nor SHOULD we attribute the word "Truth" to "M" at this point.
To do so is very misleading to an already very divided Church.
Good point! I adjusted what I had posted.
I have been to Medjugorje three times and I truly believe that our Blessed Mother placed in my heart in the year 2000 to pray specifically for priests, which I have been doing, with God's grace, ever since. The Virgin Mother was preparing hearts to pray rather than despair, in the face of the current crisis in the priesthood. Like a good mother, she awakens us to the impending danger to the family and involves us to defend and protect it. Yes indeed, we shall await the final decision from the church about the truth of Medjugorje but my heart quietly tells me it will be soon found to be authentic. God bless!Marianne (Sri Lanka)
I have also been to Medjugorje three times and long to go back while I can still climb the mountain. Many spiritual gifts have been given to me as a result of my going there. I am also being called to pray for our priests.
It is extremely dangerous to visit purported apparisional sites that have no explicit blessing of the Church. This is like putting God to the test. Obedience is of paramount importance for the Church, when one starts to ignore or disobey, many will follow, thus causing confusions, discontentments, dissatisfactions, and assumptions that the Church is less blessed than themselves. That are the things the devil will love to sow. I do not understand why people cannot wait, but instead, want to challenge the Church?! If you go looking for a miracle from unapproved sites, it is easy to obtain one from the devil, this may be interpreted as one's vanity at work. Please do not spread Medjugorye, especially from priests! Pray for them.
It is extremely dangerous to visit purported apparisional sites that have no explicit blessing of the Church. This is like putting God to the test. Obedience is of paramount importance for the Church, when one starts to ignore or disobey, many will follow, thus causing confusions, discontentments, dissatisfactions, and assumptions that the Church is less blessed than themselves. That are the things the devil will love to sow. I do not understand why people cannot wait, but instead, want to challenge the Church?! If you go looking for a miracle from unapproved sites, it is easy to obtain one from the devil, this may be interpreted as one's vanity at work. Please do not spread Medjugorye, especially from priests! Pray for them.
The Church has not discouraged the faithful from going to Medjugorje to pray and is in a time now of discernment as to the validity of the apparitions. The Church is always careful and precise in deciding in these regards. Fatima, Lourdes and Betania all went through the same scrutiny. We have to wait and see, but the fruits of Medjugorje are very good.
The fruits are mixed!
Why do you only see one side of this important issue? If people are so certain about M and the seers, why bother to wait for the Church's ruling at all?
People deceive themselves very easily. And if this is a deception the cost to the church will be inestimable because of the existing crypto-schism founded on disobedience and and disdain to the authority of the Church and her bishops. And you will be a party to it! Stating that "the fruits are very good" is equivalent to your initial blunder of attributing "the word "truth" to "M"".
Joe E and Mary: From what you say, you would also have fought against Lourdes and Fatima when those apparitions were occuring. And had you lived in the days of the Apostles, you had not been able to recognize Jesus. The Pharisees were very religious but they were not spiritual, and so they missed the time of their visitation.
Having researched Medjugorje, having read the works of the supporters as well as the antagonists for 10 years now, I fail to see why some people talk about disobedience on behalf of this parish or among the visionaries. Both have been perfectly obedient to the local Bishop. Let anyone come forward if he has evidence of the opposite.
Many Medjugorje opponents suffer from the misunderstanding that the local Bishop is the foremost authority when it comes to the authenticity of the apparition. Yes, that is how it usually is, that is what Canon Law declares. However, in this case, this authority was removed from Bishop Pavao Zanic as early as 1985. The man behind this decision was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, known today as Pope Benedict XVI. The authority was removed from Bishop Zanic because Cardinal Ratzinger saw right through the 'report' that had come from Bishop Zanic's utterly biased 'investigative commission'. To name but one example Bishop Zanic dismissed all the investigations of the visionaries and the apparitions conducted by independent doctors, psychiatrists etc because these experts "do not understand Croatian".
A few years later the Vatican officially ordered Bishop Zanic to stop his campaign of discrediting the apparitions - but Bishop Zanic went on. Excuse me, brothers and sisters in Christ, but who is being disobedient here...? And who is "dividing the Church": Bishop Zanic and his successor Ratko Peric (left out when the Vatican appointed a new Medjugorje commission in March) and their choir of bad researchers - or the millions who pray and fast in Medjugorje, who become apostles back home, who organize prayer groups by the thousands, bring back Eucharistic Adoration to their parishes, in short: renew the Church?
Stop being so judgmental, stop spreading errors. Sit down and humbly take the time to examine the actual facts. Come so far, go to Medjugorje with an open heart and mind. Experience the bliss and the heavenly peace, then humbly ask The Blessed Virgin to show you if this is her place or not (should you still be doubting by that time). She will not fail to give you an answer, most likely in the form of a quite astounding grace. :)
In this Month of May, specially dedicated to our Blessed Mother, may the skeptics pray earnestly to her and THEY WILL find an answer in their heart, provided they are humble enough to accept her whisperings. My own love for Jesus has grown amazingly, as I learn from the school of Mary and definitely my visits to Medjugorje played a big part in this journey. The thousands who testify of amazing conversion experiences, even those who went to Medjugorje to discredit it, is a testimony of its authenticity. Satan hates our Blessed Mother winning hearts for her Son and of course, he will plant seeds of doubts and suspicion in those who are blind to see the beauty of Medjugorje. Mary, Queen of Hearts and Mother of us all, lead us to your Son always! God bless
Jakob, your assumptions are faulty. And your conclusions, at least, about my small input, are rather ridiculous.
I, in fact, hope very much that it is all true with regards to Medjugorje, but I do have my doubts, based on more than emotive reactions. They are based on a great deal of questionable acts and deceits ADMITTED by the seers themselves, among other factors. (And do not ask me for references. If you have done anything like the study of the events as you suggest you will know them yourself.) On the contrary, no negative factors of the kind came out of the events surrounding Fatima or Lourdes. But, yes I would not have blindly accepted them either. As it happens, it is a sin to propagate a private revelation disobediently, but it can
never be a sin not to propagate one.
People DO deceive themselves very easily as I stated - that's an elementary fact. Furthermore, they also are amazingly capable of deceiving others also. The history of the Church is full of such events. As an example, study the case of Magdelena de la Cruz, or Magdalen of the Cross. This sixteenth century franciscan nun did incredible things, healings, levitations, AND claims of visions. She was believed by numerous priests, Bishops, Cardinals, and even the Pope. In the end she admitted having a pact with the devil! Again, people are deceived easily and when the devil is involved, it's almost a sure thing.
With regard to the authority of the local Bishop, you seem not to be conversant with the 1991 Zadar statement which explicitly recognizes the local bishop's authority to regulate pastoral activities there. So, contrast the middle aged children's attitudes with the humility and obedience of past recent visionaries, such as Sr Lucia of Fatima. Or Padre Pio.
Let those come forward who attest to the 'seers' lack of obedience??? Many have!!! How much study have you done!
This is not a clear cut matter, and my initial comment was to make that point. There are two sides to this story, and thus, for anyone to make adamant conclusions about it, I believe, are the ones commiting 'errors', and perhaps sins!
The following have nothing to do with Medjugorje, but they are pertinent to the discussion:
http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/01/mystics-and-visionaries-in-world-today.html
http://www.catholic-pages.com/prayers/120.asp
God Bless
If pilgrims had not gone to the Lourdes apparition site for example and left it alone, the church would not have been forced to investigate it in the first place.
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