THE AGE OF MARIAN APPARITIONS

INTRODUCTION
      No matter the age, the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart have been imparting the same message: "Pray! Pray! Pray!" A return to God is the priority and why God has sent His messenger - the Mother of God in a special way to convey God's Will, reinforcing Divine Revelation and His Holy Church. It is only through constant prayer, taken as a bouquet in loving, motherly intercession before the Throne of God, that the hearts of mankind will eventually be softened and all her little ones brought into accord with the Will of God. Today and throughout the month of June we continue bringing you the story of the most current Marian Apparition currently still on-going - that of the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje where for the past seventeen years Our Lady has been appearing daily in this tiny mountain village in the former Yugoslavia. The thousands of apparitions and messages at Medjugorje, intricately linked with Lourdes and Fatima as well as other sites throughout the Age of Marian Apparitions, play a significant role in the fulfillment of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart promised before the end of this millennium, which will usher in the new "spiritual paradise" on earth - the new Era of Peace - the Second Advent - the Reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - the Second Golden Age of Mankind where men will live in harmony with each other and nature as God willed it from all time. Thus we repeat the Medjugorje story as a key player in this glorious goal. This continuing in-depth series on the grace-filled mystical phenomena of Our Lady's appearances through the ages and the meaning of her messages will open eyes and hearts because she is the mother of us all and her words of wisdom and warnings must be taken seriously...very seriously!

"These are my last apparitions to mankind."

      Today, one week from the Seventeen year anniversary when Our Lady first appeared to the visionaries in Medjugorje on the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, we examine what Medjugorje means to all of us, what the significance of her words "last apparitions to mankind" mean, and what Our Lady indicates the Messages truly should mean.

      How close we are to the fulfillment of this only God knows, but we do know that the Blessed Mother has been imparting to innumerable visionaries and messengers that her time to be among us in a special way is nearly at an end. This is confirmed by the cessation of numerous apparitions and messages/locutions over the past few years. We don’t know God’s timetable for "no one knows the day nor the hour" but we also cannot presume that it will go on that much longer. It could be within months, it could be years. Whenever it is, we must be prepared. That is the chief reason Our Lady has been with us daily at Medjugorje now for over 15 years. No apparition in history has lasted longer. The number of apparitions, well over 6,000, in this time span is also unprecedented.

      What can we do in so little time? Go back to basics. Pray, Fast and receive the Sacraments frequently and worthily. It is vital that all partake in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as Blessed Mary advises for Confession is the mighty "Eraser" which will eradicate sin on our souls. It’s also important to take time to go back and re-read the words of Blessed Mary. If we do this, calling on the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, to fill our hearts with Understanding, Fortitude, Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety and Fear of the Lord, we will better understand Sacred Scripture for the Bible clearly states that all creation shall tremble and every knee shall bend before the Lord our God. This is the direction Our Lady is guiding us. She merely asks us to be living examples of the Gospel lived, recognizing the proper, edifying and uplifting way in which we, God’s children, are to worship Him by obeying His laws and loving one another as He has loved us. As we have printed often, all the messages the Mother of God conveys at Medjugorje and elsewhere around the world, are and must be always rooted in Sacred Scripture. There is nothing really new in any of the messages, only a confirmation of what God has given us in Scripture and through the Dogmas, Doctrines, Traditions and Teachings of Holy Mother Church.

      The fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, which Our Lady emphasizes time and time again, capsulizes the journey and reasons for Medjugorje. For fifteen centuries the people of this area have fought against bondage, fought to be free, to have true peace. Yes, for fifteen centuries they have been fighting "the phantom" of peace for there can be no true peace without God. They, as well as we, must strive to adhere to Paul’s words in Galatians 5: 1, "Stand fast, and do not be caught again under the yoke of bondage." For seventeen years Our Lady has given them and us the formula for true peace. Yet, when we look at the overall picture from our view it indeed looks mundane and tedious, discouraging that the world has not been converted yet, that we have not progressed as far spiritually as we would like. We have accepted as commonplace Rosaries turning gold, the sun spinning, lights flashing, etc. while forgetting the salvific shadow over our shoulder. That shadow is the loving, caring Son of God Who is with us always, constantly bearing the brunt of the weight for each one of us in carrying our cross daily. It is only through Jesus and all that His Blessed Mother asks that this "burden" can become a true joy! This Jesus promised in Matthew 11: 28-30: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light."

     Because of the importance of the messages, we repeat the five steps toward sanctity imparted by Our Lady in the conversion process of the messages in Mary's Call to Peace from the Queen of Peace.

The Essence of the Medjugorje Message

According to the testimony of the visionaries in Medjugorje, Our Lady introduced herself: "I am the Queen of Peace" Mary is calling all of humanity to PEACE, PEACE, PEACE - for it is necessary to save all humanity. We have to begin by first creating peace within our hearts, then in our families and then in this war-threatened world. This can be done in the following manner:

COMMITMENT TO GOD

Turn to Him and communicate with Him. He is our Eternal Father. Let Him rule your life. Begin by turning away from sin.

FAITH

Through our trust in the Lord and our total belief that Mary is the Mother of all God's children on earth. Faith is our lifeline to God. So live it.

PRAYER

Our Lady specifically calls for daily prayer consisting of the Apostles' Creed, 7 Our Father's, 7 Hail Mary's, and 7 Glory Be's which incorporate the "Peace Rosary"; then the whole Rosary and, if possible, all 15 Decades meditating on the Mysteries; daily reading of the Word of God in Sacred Scripture; and personal communication with God throughout our active daily duties and during quiet time with your own special prayers between you and God.

FASTING

Mary asks us to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and, if possible, on only bread and water. If this is unfeasible, then restraining from various activities is encouraged so that we may begin to abandon our worthless worldly values, denying the flesh, the world, and the devil. These sacrifices will help assure eternal bliss for ourselves and others.

SACRAMENTS

Our Blessed Mother asks us to receive the Holy Sacraments as often as possible. She requests monthly Confession or even more frequently for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and asks that we worthily and reverently receive her Divine Son in the Holy Eucharist as often as possible at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

      The true answer to all Our Lady asks at Medjugorje is her Divine Son Jesus. Night and day He can be found in our hearts and in the Tabernacle where He calls all of us to come to Him. That is the Medjugorje Our Lady is calling all of us to - her Divine Son. Only by fleeing to Him, by placing ourselves in His loving and powerful arms, by giving our will totally to Him in total submission can we achieve all His Blessed Mother asks and achieve the crowning Glory of guaranteed passage to Heaven.