"Dear children! Today I call you to put prayer in the first place in your life. Pray and may prayer, little children, be a joy for you. I am with you and intercede for all of you, and you, little children, be joyful carriers of my messages. May your life with me be joy. Thank you
for having responded to my call." May 25, 2002

THE EYES OF MEDJUGORJE

We know well the famous proverb, which states that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. It is really true: The eyes reflect our inner reality. Almost without any effort, we can read in the eyes the reality of life of each person. In the eyes of a brother or of a sister, we can see if we are accepted, loved, noticed... The look cannot hide lies; the eyes always give the contours of truth.

To see the eyes of the pilgrims in Medjugorje is a special experience. To look at someone eye-to-eye is a great mystery, accessible to everyone. It seems to me that the faithful in Medjugorje have a special brilliance in their eyes. In this shrine, after the encounter with God, eyes become a sparkling reflect of the interior. They become signs of hope, of warmth, of faith... And although people mostly arrive here with a cheerless look, tired of life, oppressed and with a negative image of themselves, everything changes here. A believer changes here; and not only the believer, but also any person that opens the heart, the eyes and the soul. Under the shelter of the Queen of Peace, the pilgrim lifts up his eyes towards the source of light, towards heaven, which is the source of the most excellent radiance. Climbing the Medjugorje hills, reciting the rosary, seeking the way to the peak, they lift themselves up into the heights and change. It is difficult to remain indifferent here.

In this shrine, for 21 years now, pilgrims meet God face-to-face, eye-to-eye. It happens in a special way in the confessional. Here, they leave their past, reject the old man and put on the new man. In the confessional, they leave darkness and enter into the space of light, which is visible in every eye. This is why it is so fitting to call Medjugorje, "the confessional of the world".

This is how it has gone in Medjugorje for 21 years now. Medjugorje walks forward with its fruits and its witnesses. The springtime of life that Our Lady is talking about in the message of April 25th, can be felt here more than anywhere else. This is why we can say that - in Medjugorje - there is only one season: springtime. God always plants new seeds here, which bring fruit a hundredfold. And the eyes of the faithful, with their brilliance, seem to watch over the nights of Medjugorje and chase away darkness and despair. May these eyes and the spiritual spring of Medjugorje continue to rouse us towards the fullness of life, to which Our Lady calls us. And something else: See you eye to eye on June 25, the day when our Mother is with us in a very special way.

Fr. Mario Knezovic

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