Many have heard of this well-known Marian place of Medjugorje. Our Lady Queen of Peace has been appearing in the Herzegovina region, around 25 km (16 miles) southwest of Mostar close to the Croatian border, to drive home God’s plan of saving the world.

Some object to Medjugorje by arguing that there is surely no need for Jesus, the Son of God, to send his Mother to give us his salvific messages. Has He not saved the world already on the altar of the Cross? Was his sacrifice not enough in bringing about the much-awaited salvation? Unfortunately, a good number of people are not giving Jesus’ eternal sacrifice its due importance in their lives. Many are just turning their back on Him and his teaching by literally ignoring his presence and simply do what others dictate to them! In her own words, Our Lady tell us that our hearts can be put to rest solely when they go back to God. “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.”

My recent visit to this holy place made me realise the urgent need of turning one’s heart and mind to God. First of all, by recognising and responding to our deep-seated desire to have peace in our hearts.

Unfortunately, as Our Lady justly laments, “darkness reigns over the whole world. People are attracted by many things and they forget about the more important”. Moreover, the Mother of God reminds us that our broken world will never find peace unless it gives heed to Jesus’ saving Word. Thus, Mary admonishes that “light won’t reign in the world until people accept Jesus, until they live His words, which is the Word of the Gospel”. In other words, the raison d’être of her visitations to us remains the simple but powerful pronouncement she once made at the Cana wedding feast which holds to the end of time: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).

On 30 July 1987, Our Lady confirmed that God had sent her amongst us to be our motherly guide to her Son. Therefore, peace can be obtained solely through prayer. In that apparition Our Lady said: “Dear children, this is the reason for my presence among you for such a long time: to lead you on the path of Jesus. I want to save you and, through you, to save the whole world. Many people now live without faith; some don’t even want to hear about Jesus, but they still want peace and satisfaction! Children, here is the reason why I need your prayer: prayer is the only way to save the human race.”

What kind of prayer is Mary requesting from us? In order to defeat Satan’s personal agenda of destruction and eternal perdition of souls, including ours of course, Our Lady gives us the subsequent fives prayerful stones or weapons so that through them we can defeat our old enemy. These include the daily prayer of the Rosary, fasting on Wednesday and Fridays, daily reading of the Bible, monthly confession and Holy Communion. Thanks to these weapons we can stop Satan from continuing to destroy marriages, creating divisions among priests, making people obsessive and murderous. Furthermore, Our Lady offers us the ensuing counsel: “You must protect yourselves against these things through fasting and prayer, especially community prayer.

“Carry blessed objects with you. Put them in your house, and restore the use of holy water”.

My pilgrimage to Medjugorje opened my heart to the reality of what the great Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote about Mary.

“Let us strive therefore to understand with what devout affection God wishes us to honour Mary, in whom He placed the fullness of all good … Let us venerate Mary then with every fibre of our heart, with all the affections and desires of our soul because so wills He who arranged that all should come about through Mary.”

Mario Attard OFM Cap

SAN GWANN