LAST June 25, the sun shone abnormally huge as thousands prayerfully assembled to mark the 40th year of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother in Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Those who were there later posted photos of the giant sun as the unminding faithful focused on the al fresco Mass they were attending. (Yes, after a pandemic lull, thousands of pilgrims are back in Medjugorje.)
It was the 40th year of the apparitions, the number giving rise to speculations on its biblical significance, from the Old to the New Testament. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the desert where Satan had tried to tempt Him. Between His resurrection and ascension were 40 days, too.
The number 40 appears in the Bible in situations having to do with judgment or testing and many scholars associate it with some kind of probation or trial and that the number warns of times of trouble and hardship.
Medjugorje, of course, is where the Blessed Mother first appeared to four girls and two boys (now adults with families of their own) on June 25, 1981. Apparitions from thereon became daily, becoming less often to those to whom the Blessed Mother had given all 10 "secrets." Some of them still experience regular apparitions to this day.
Medjugorje's messages revolve around the call for prayers, fasting, Confession, the Eucharist. It is believed that some of the secrets given to the visionaries were the same ones already revealed from the apparitions in Garabandal, Spain in the 1960's: the Warning, the Miracle and the Chastisement (readers can access past columns on this via Google search.)
Meanwhile, from the most credible website countdowntothekingdom.com, I came across visionary Martin Gavenda of Slovakia.
Scientifically unexplained events began there on December 4, 1994. Recalled the website: "On their way home from Sunday Mass, four children were talking about going to pray by a local cross in Dobra Voda when one of them saw the sun spin and change colour. Sensing that this could be a sign, the children began to pray the Rosary. Martin Gavenda -- who would become the main seer of the apparitions -- saw a white light and a female figure who said that she wanted to use him for God's plans. At the woman's next appearance, the children sprinkled the mysterious figure with blessed water, thinking it might be a demon, but the woman did not disappear. The apparitions continued in Dobra Voda, then in Dechtice, where other children also began to receive messages. On August 15, 1995, the woman identified herself as Mary, Queen of Help."
"The principal themes of the messages from Dechtice, which continue to this day, are essentially the same as those received at other credible apparition sites in recent decades. They underscore Satan's attempt to destroy the Church and the whole world and the remedy given by Heaven: the sacraments, the Rosary, fasting and reparation for offenses committed against the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, refuge and 'ark' for the faithful in our troubled times," the website said.
The visionaries were given a blessing by Monsignor Dominik Toth of the Trnava-Bratislava archdiocese, although the archdiocese's inquiry into the events is still ongoing.
Here, I share from the website some of the messages given to main visionary Martin.
Our Blessed Mother on February 15, 2021:
"My beloved children! Approach the beloved Triune God in fear [reverence], forgiveness, and in sincere repentance. Place all your suffering in my most pure maternal hands, so that I might cleanse it and offer it to God for the conversion of the most stubborn sinners, so that they might find God and stop harming the world. I am especially asking the seriously ill for sacrifices, so that together with me they might implore mercy and salvation for the poor souls who are in bondage to evil and want to enslave the whole world. I immerse you in the love of Jesus’s and my Hearts."
On March 15, 2021:
"My beloved children! I come among you by the grace of God so that you might flee to me under my mighty protection. Whenever you see painful events affecting my holy Catholic Church, of which I am the Mother, do not let yourselves be poisoned by the venom of hatred and anger, but turn to me with still greater love; pray, make supplication and penance. All this must come so that finally the victory of Jesus’s and my Hearts, our Sacred Hearts, would shine forth: the victory of true, pure faith. I will always help you to receive the Savior sacramentally. Only, dear children, always receive Him with as much humility and respect as possible. I immerse you in the love of Jesus’s and my Heart."
On April 15, 2021:
"My beloved children! Look at my risen Son, who, through his suffering and glorious resurrection, has restored life to you as children of God. You are free and no one can take that freedom away from you. Only you can become slaves through a sinful and godless life. Therefore, avoid the spirit of liberalism, which is increasingly enslaving the whole world and spreading the culture of death. Woe to those who set themselves against God and life. Woe unto those who are proudly powerful, for they will be struck by God’s hand. My dear children, offer up your suffering and prayers for the salvation of immortal souls that are on the path of perdition. I pray with you that the eyes of the lost might be opened and that they would go back to living the Gospel and walking the path of God’s commandments. Do not be afraid, children! When the liberal spirit appears in all its abomination, with Divine permission for every blasphemy against God, I will descend as the Woman of living faith, mediatrix and advocate, and with my heel I will crush the head of that proud serpent. I immerse you in the love of Jesus’s and my Hearts."
On May 15, 2021:
"My beloved children! It is the wish of my most pure Heart that you continue to pray the Holy Rosary in your families, so that you might receive from my hands all the graces that you need in this time of lies and unease. The Holy Spirit will overshadow those families in which pure love burns for me, your Holy Mother, covering them with His mighty protection, and they will not lack true light. Remain in the true faith of the Triune God. I immerse you in the love of Jesus’s and my Hearts, which are mysteriously united in the Holy Spirit."