Medjugorje: The Message (1989)

When I was in high-school I remember hearing about a small Yugoslavian village called Medjugorje where some kids my age were having visions of Mary. Soon there were videos being shown and scientific studies that showed it wasn't a hoax. Then there were pilgrims and more stories and it all created a great sense of something magical, heavenly actually occurring in our lifetime.

Sure, I had heard of Fatima and Lourdes and other Marian apparitions, but the Mother of Jesus appearing in my lifetime? Amazing.

So, here it is some twenty years later and I'm going to Mass at my mother's church in North Carolina and meet a guy named Wayne Weible who has been kind enough to donate some of his books on Medjugorje to the small church library. It turns out Wayne and his wife are parishioners there and are very nice people.

After heading back to my Mom's cabin and as I was packing my bags to head back home my Mom gives me a copy of Wayne's book. I cracked it open two days ago and found myself unable to put the book down.

The book is about Wayne's personal journey to discover the Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, his calling and its impact on his life. A Lutheran, Wayne watched a video tape on the goings on in Yugoslavia and was immediately called to investigate and tell the story of Mary's visions and messages there. Over the years the Lord leads Wayne to Medjugorje, then in a Communist country where atheism was the official religion and where religious items were confiscated at the border, where he investigated, met and was touched by the Marian apparitions. Over the years and subsequent returns to the small village Wayne became more and more involved with the key players there such as the local priests and even the visionaries themselves.

Wayne's story is compelling on it's own. But, what makes Wayne's book extraordinary are all of the stories that he relays from people he had met and were impacted by the events going on over there. His small, intimate story evolves into a worldwide spiritual tsunami that washes over the entire world with a reinvigorated faith in Jesus. Amazingly, by the end of the book you can actually comprehend the massive and uplifting impact this event and the messages relayed by the visionaries has effected Wayne, the people of the village and, eventually, the entire world.

During the reading of this book I felt myself changed as well.

I've always felt that the truth of Christ and the flame of the Holy Spirit is in us all and that, given the quiet and the focus, we would naturally be drawn to it. And, on some deep spiritual level, that truth is recognizable to us. We know it when we hear it or see it. We just know.

That book touched that inner truth within me. Mary's messages, in their simplistic beauty and divine effectiveness, make complete sense to me. I felt like my eyes had somehow been opened to some great, holy mystery to find the message so simple that I had looked passed it all this time.

Through the book Mary repeatedly puts our focus on her Son, Jesus and talks about peace, about inner peace and peace between brothers and sisters. As I read the book I realized that there is a big difference between contentment and peace. I believe we spend most of our time confusing the two, believing we are at peace when we are merely content.

By the end of this book I feel I had found an inner peace that I had not felt in a very long time. A peace that is deeper and real. A peace that derives from the truth.

It inspired me to check the web for the latest events on Medjugorje. It amazes me that the visions have continued for over 25 years now. Never has Marian visions lasted this long. There are videos online that can be seen here and various other websites such as www.medjugorje.org and www.medjugorje.net.

Interviews with the visionaries also put it all into a greater perspective. As one visionary says, "Never ask for what you want. Mary (and Jesus) knows this. Always pray for unbelievers." This is a great example of the simplistic, but important message. Jesus has already told us he will provide for our needs. So praying for that is redundant. But if all of the unbelievers become believers, well then there would be true and lasting peace.

This turns our prayers from being selfish to being selfless, which is the essence of following Jesus' example.

In the end, reading Medjugorje: The Message has filled a gap that had been in my spiritual life for quite some time. It's a great, inspiring and potentially life-altering read.