"Dear children! Today I pray for you and with you that the Holy Spirit may help you and increase your faith, so that you may accept even more the messages that I am giving you here in this holy place.
Little children, comprehend that this is a time of grace for each of you; and with me, little children, you are secure.  I desire to lead you all on the way of holiness.  Live my messages and put into life every word that I am giving you.  May they be precious to you because they come from heaven. Thank you for having responded to my call." 

In this message, Mary promises us to pray for us and with us for the strength and power from on high: the Holy Spirit. Only in the Holy Spirit can we believe in God. Without the Spirit, there is no life, no love, no trust, no unity and no common life. The question of openness to the Holy Spirit is the fundamental question of our time,
of our surroundings, of the whole earth and of our life on this earth. Only in the power and the force of the Holy Spirit can we approach our Mother, the Queen of Peace, who comes to us here. We cannot possess the Holy Spirit; we can only let Him possess us. God gives Him to those who desire and seek Him. By the Spirit, we know God, ourselves and this world. It is not comfortable to call upon the Holy Spirit, because He reveals the superficiality and the shallowness of our faith to us. He reveals to us that the Spirit, of which Jesus and Mary speak, is too often unfamiliar to us. He reveals to us that peace, which they promise, is so far away from us.
However, let us not pray for the gift of the Spirit if we do not want to change anything.

Wherever Mary is present, the Holy Spirit is at work. We know it by the word of the angel Gabriel: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." (Lk 1,35). We also know it by Jesus' words to the apostles, when he recommended them to stay in the town until the Spirit, which was promised, descends upon them. They received the outpouring of the Spirit united in prayer with Mary, in the room of the Last Supper. With Mary, we are secure; that is Her promise given to us. Whoever loves Jesus will
also love Mary, and whoever prays to Mary will be led to Jesus.

The time of the Church is the time of the Holy Spirit and the time of Mary, the Mother of the Church. It is under the cross that She has become the Mother of the Church. By receiving John from the hands of Jesus, She receives each one of us. On the cross, Jesus has pronounced his words "It is accomplished", only after having confided John to Mary and Mary to John. It is as if He wanted to tell that the maternity of Mary was in the plan of God for the salvation of the world. It is like when the head of the household gathers his children
to tell them: "In my absence, listen to your mother. Do whatever she tells you." The essence of all the messages given by Our Lady can be precisely summarized in Her words pronounced at Cana in Galilee: "Do
whatever He tells you!"

Thank you, Mary, our Mother, for not giving up on us. I implore you, lead us on the way of holiness, and may Your messages show us the way and be our light in this valley of tears, so that we may live joyfully together with You, until the final goal, where You await us.

Let us pray together now, six years later, the "Prayer of Thanksgiving to the Queen of Peace" written by Fr. Slavko Barbaric at the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the apparitions:

I am sitting on Your Hill, O Mary, on the place where the scared children saw You for the first time. Today, I want to thank You.

Thank You, O Mary, for each one of Your comings. 

Thank You for each message and for each single word, especially for calling us Your dear children.

Thank You, because I really can believe that we are dear to You and that You love us.

Thank You, because You told us to pray, in order to understand Your love, and then cry and jump for joy.

Thank You, because You said that we are important for You and that, without us, You can do nothing.

On Your Hill, my soul sings the song of thanksgiving to You and blesses the Lord with You, for having sent You to us.

I know that You are the humble servant of the Lord. Allow me nevertheless to praise You and to bless You.

Blessed are You, O Mary, Queen of Peace, my soul exclaims with Elisabeth, with the entire parish and all the pilgrims. Why are we so favoured, that our Mother should come to us?

I bless You with the visionaries and with their families.

I bless You with all the families that have received You and that live in peace.

I bless You with all the prayer groups in the world, because You teach us to pray.

I bless You with all those who came from near and from far to pray with us here.

I bless You with all those who went to confession and who were reconciled with the Lord; I bless You with all those who - through Your intercession - have found spiritual, psychological and physical health.

I bless You with all those who celebrate this anniversary here and in the world.

I bless You for all that the Lord shall do through You in the future.

I bless You with all those who were against and are still against Your coming, because You will show them Your tender motherly love.

With You, I pray to the Lord to pacify each heart and give peace to my people.

With You, I pray to the Lord for all those who are ill in their soul and in their body.

With You, I pray to the Lord for all those who are mourning in the war, for all the exiled, for all the invalids.

With You, I pray to the Lord for all the fallen soldiers who defend their country and all the victims of violence.

With You, I pray to the Lord, that Your Immaculate Heart may be glorified in the world. May He, through Your intercession, give peace to the world.

May the Almighty God be blessed now and forever! Amen.

(Fr. Slavko Barbaric: Follow Me With Your Heart)


Medjugorje, June 26th, 2002
Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic

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English translations of messages, commentaries and reflections are courtesy of The Information Centre in Medjugorje and gratefully acknowledged.  Sign up for The Medjugorje Web e-mail information service.   http://www.medjugorje.org

Message from Steve Shawl - The Medjugorje Web. "All of you know that we do not solicit our subscribers or recommend products or causes. But, we have been involved for over one year with an incredible relief effort called "Rebuild for Bosnia". The organization provides assistance to the forgotten victims of the horrors of the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The effort provides homes, medical attention, and help to the most severe and needy cases. Please take a look at the following page on our site: http://www.medjugorje.org/rebuildforbosnia.htm To help raise funds for this effort, we are selling excellent quality and unique videos about Fr. Slavko, and Medjugorje. Please note that all videos are in NTSC format only for the US & Canada. There is also a secure donation page for those who would just like to contribute to the cause. This initiative is a grass roots expression of living the Gospel and Our Lady's messages in Medjugorje!!" God Bless! - Steve Shawl - The Medjugorje Web - http://www.medjugorje.org