Ivan’s Talk to Pilgrims at 30th Anniversary; Medjugorje, June 24, 2011
*Please note that this was transcribed as close to verbatim as possible. Ivan was speaking in Croatian, and a translator stood next to him translating each phrase to English. So if the words seem odd at times, know that some definitions in Croation are somewhat different than the normal flow of English we are used to. It may have been hard for the translator to come up with the perfect word, as translated quickly and on the spot like that for a talk.
I would like to greet you pilgrims on this very special day. I think I won’t have to explain how special it is for me, for all of us. I slept last night, or shall I say, haven’t slept at all, I was expecting this day. I was expecting the new day, thinking about these memories that brought me to this, a new life. I have entered into a new school. The school that was started by Our Lady. The school of peace; the school of love; the school of prayer. I was 16 yrs. old when the apparitions started. As I said the other day, I did not understand many things at the time; before the apparitions of Our Lady. I did not know at all it could be possible to have the apparitions. I had never heard before about Lourdes, Fatima or any other places of apparitions. I had never read anything about apparitions. If you want me to be honest, I did not like to read at all. It was being like a child. Now, when I just recall 30 yrs. ago on this day, the morning hours, probably around this time, my mother was waking me up. She said ‘mass is at 11; there is no time to wait, you have to get ready.’ And that morning at this time I woke up and I went down to the church. And you know the rest - I have shared with you on the first day. Some of you were not with us during the presentation on the first day, and I will do it with you again on Tuesday. We will walk together on Tuesday in the next room as same as we did this one. Today I would like to give emphasis to those most important things that Our lady has been calling us:
It was today 30 years, since Our Lady has been calling us; but these 30 years we can call years of many graces. I would say that the apparitions are a great crossroad of mankind. This is the new call. This is the new way; the way that takes us to a new future of mankind. How much are we aware of the message, how serious it is, the call of Our Lady? We have to ask ourselves. Thus, the message of Our Lady comes, to our heart. To live the message of Our Lady. This is the most crucial, the most important question for each one of us. I’m sure that all these 30 yrs Our Lady gives us these messages every day. Don’t you think so? Yes. But now I ask you another question: Could we be able to live the messages that Our Lady gives us, every day, and allow it to be a part of our life? If you live the messages, if you follow them, you will remember that Our Lady used to give messages every week; it was on Thursdays. The message was given for the parish of Medjugorje, and for the entire world. Some years later, Our Lady started giving monthly messages. Why? Exactly what I mentioned a couple moments ago. Our Lady wants to give us more time. So we have enough time to understand the message, and start living and practicing the message. I have to say, once again, it is so important to use the time during the month and use the time well and live the message. Many pilgrims, even priests, bishops, cardinals are not able to comprehend this. They cannot understand why has Our Lady been appearing such a long time - every day. So many ask, what does Our Lady say? What do you talk, with her every day? We talk a lot. And believe me, if we had 24 hours, we would miss some minutes. But one day when the time comes, when some things get revealed, you will understand why the apparitions are such a long time and why every day. Later on, we will understand some things. Later on, our eyes will be opened. When we see physical changes that are going to happen in the world. This is so important to understand. I’m not going to tell you the secrets! (laugh). The time in front of us is the time of great responsibility. Each one of us here today has to be very responsible. We are invited to be responsibility, in the family. We talk here about spiritual dimension of our families as well. To lead the family to grow in spirituality. To face our family life in the Holy Gospel. To do, and practice what the Gospel teaches. This is the message. This is the message being repeated by Our lady during all these 30 yrs. Our Lady hasn’t said anything new in these years We already know the messages. We knew them from before. It is Church tradition, but we don’t live them. Therefore, Our Lady invites us to be responsible; to start living messages in responsibility. Our Lady talks so much about peace; she talks about prayer. I would say these two messages are probably the messages that are being repeated more than any of these messages in these years. Why is it so important that Our Lady keeps calling us to live them? These two messages peace and prayer are the foundation on which we have to place above all other messages. For example, the message of conversion. Our conversion should start in our heart. In our heart! So how can it happen if we do not have peace in our heart? How can we have it if we do not pray? Then we won’t be able to recognize the things that are not good. We will not be able to recognize what the sin is. We will not be able to be open to the Holy Spirit. The conversion is very important to each one of us. But conversion is a process. It is a program for our life. We have to make a decision for it. We have to be persistent. We have to change ourselves every day. To leave sin and evil behind us, every day. And - to be open to this. It doesn’t mean that I converted overnight just because I had seen Our Lady. My conversion is going on every day. And I still want to improve some things every day.
One time a pilgrim asked me how did my life change? You see, I experienced all kinds of changes in my life. It is also that I as a father, change the diapers to my youngest son. It is the way you change; it is the scenery you have in front you; there is a direction. You see these little things you can recognize; huge things. And peace. And we can say this world doesn’t have any peace.
Why is it, the world doesn’t have any peace? Because there is no peace in the human heart. Everything comes from the human heart. All the problems in the family, society; talking about divorces, talking about evil things in family. But also we go further with the situation in the world - divorce. This is because the human heart is not at peace with itself. The heart is not reconciled with God. And this is so important. This is the reason Our Lady keeps calling us. To place God in the first place. To walk together with Him to a better future. Then everything else will be added to it. Then everything else will work smoothly the way we want.
But of course, the cross is part of our life. We have to embrace our crosses. We have to carry our crosses. Some people have to carry very heavy crosses; and others, those that are not that heavy. We have to accept the cross as the will of God. So that God will be glorified through us. It is very important to be ready to accept the cross. It is from the human, that we give those comments when things go wrong, “God why did you do it to me? I did so many good things in your name! I went to church I prayed with my family. Why me? Why do I have to carry such a heavy cross? Why do you allow illness to come to my family?” But the cross is difficult. And we have to accept this gift. I say again, this gift could be called the will of God. Probably this cross, the will be glorified; we will receive much more than without the cross. Everything has it’s meaning and the reason why. Everything. We don’t see it from this point. But we have to think that way.
And this is why Our Lady keeps calling us for such a long time. She asks from us to forgive. Forgiveness is such an important thing in this world. To forgive yourself first. Probably this is the most difficult thing. How to forgive yourself? If I cannot forgive myself, how could I forgive others? How could my heart be open? Without forgiveness there is no healing; no spiritual healing, no physical healing. And therefore it is so important to forgive, to have confession, to have your own confessor, to not be afraid to meet the priest and make your confession. May your confessor be the priest you can open your heart to, and to sit together and talk. Then you will feel after confession how free you are. You will not fly, but you will be free. Free from - inside.
Another thing. Our Lady comes here because she wants the best for us. She wants to encourage us, to comfort us. She knows we got tired of this way. She knows this world offers us too much. She wants to offer her own motherly hands to lift us up. She comes to us, bringing us divine medication. .The medicine is actually the message. The message is what Our Lady has been leading us to. There will never be luck with that medication, like you mothers with medication with your children. I believe you are always so patient; you have your own medication to give your children. You give certain medicine to give your children, your family. What is happening when there is no IV in yourself? There is a problem. Because parents should be models for their children. They should have the same approach towards their own children. During all these years Our Lady heals our wounds and puts bandage on wounds with so much love with so much patience. When she wants to heal our wounds we have to press the bandage to make it stick. Like a bandaid, it could peel off if we don’t press it. Everything our lady does during all these years she does with enormous, much love.
For example, every evening during the apparition when the pilgrims are present here. If you could get an idea what she looks like; at the moment she looks at us. Look to the left and then to the right; it’s such a beautiful smile, which is the smile of love. Something that cannot be described. She knows exactly what is in our heart. Sometimes when I recommend pilgrims, and I will recommend all of you tonight; I try to say the intention of the person, she directs me and says ‘my child..’. She knows our hearts. She knows what our heart wants to tell her. She intercedes to her Son for us. She is not the one who heals; but she intercedes to her Son for us. Because He is the one who will heal us.
Our Lady has been coming during all these years and she says to us: “Dear children, the world at the moment goes thru a huge crisis.” But the greatest one is in faith, of trusting God. We have gotten distant from God. We got distant from prayer. Today mankind, families, go toward the future and doubt God. We are all aware of the reality of the world we live in. We are aware of the situation of family lives, in growth of spirituality or holiness. Now we have to talk about crisis. Crisis in the family life. The new society will be based on the family. Without a healthy family there is no healthy society. When we talk about the spiritual connection, we have to say that the family is falling apart, it is broken. Connections, relations between parents and children now are broken. Many believe connections between husbands and wives, are broken. There is no more love. Love became more of an artificial subject. It is not, love that comes out of the heart. Love that would be shared in the family. Love should be lived in the family. Fidelity in marriage. Every second or third marriage is being divorced. What is going on, what is happening with the children out of these marriages? Children will grieve through all kinds of troubles. They take their own place. This society seduces children. They don’t feel any warmth from their own parents. They don’t get any support from the family. Where does it bring the children to? It brings them to drug addictions, alcohol addictions. It brings them to all kinds of troubles that we know today. You see how important it is to live holiness in the family.
Should I talk about morals? We could say today the world we have moral revolution; in media, through internet, on many different ways. They create new idols, and these moral idols take young people away from God. For example, heavy metal music. This is also something very dangerous for the young people. And it is brainwash. Mother calls us, ‘dear children, bring the prayer back to your families’. May each one of your families become a little chapel, a little church, where the prayer will be said. Our families has really to become a little church where the prayer will be said. Our Lady says, there is no living church without a living church in the family. How will the church be the living church, if the family is not the living one? It cannot be put together. This is the reason why Our Lady keeps telling us of how important the prayer is.
Our Lady wants to start a new evangelization in the family. I believe it takes us to a new evangelization of the world. I believe this process of evangelization, supporting this world. There were many huge steps made. But we have to be persistent and keep working in the same direction.
There is something else. Our Lady comes here because she wants to offer us hope. Because today’s world is hopeless. There is no hope. Many live just day by day expecting what the next day will bring. Our Lady comes to us bringing the new hope. Not the fear - not the punishment - not the criticism. She comes to us because she wants to lead us to her own Son. And we can find the peace and hope in her Son alone. Our Lady says, ‘Dear children; no, don’t talk about peace; lets start living peace. Don’t talk about prayer; start living prayer.’ Only if you bring the prayer and peace back into your family, will your family will be spiritually healed. Because this world needs to be spiritually healed. Because this world is spiritually sick. This world is not going thru economical crisis or recession. It is the question of spiritual recession. Every kind of spiritual recession produces all other kinds of recession; spiritual, family, and any other kind. Why? Because man is empty. Man is used. Because he has abused his relationship with God. He turned toward the world. So we can say that the family - mankind, lost his credibility and dignity. According to the most important virtues that God gives us.
We can also talk about cults in the church. We talk about the vocations for the priesthood. There is lots of priests because of the liberalism . Our Lady keeps calling us to pray for their vocation. To pray for the holiness of priests. So they may preach the word of Christ. To preach the word of Christ so they can live it in their own lives. Mother comes to us because she wants to lift up this sinful humanity. She is very much concerned about our own salvation. Therefore her message goes like this: ‘Dear children, I am with you. I come to you, because I want to help you to reach for and receive peace. But dear children, I need all of you, each one of you, only with you I can achieve peace. Therefore, decide for good. And finally, against evil and against sin.’ Her words are very simple words. She uses very simple terminology so that we all can understand. Many times she repeats things and never gets tired. I feel the same way. I keep repeating the same things for the last 30 yrs. You see, I see what Our Lady does every day. She keeps repeating and she hasn’t got tired yet. I am not going to ask you, if you got tired repeating how many times you repeat to your children the same thing? The same is with Our Lady. Is there any mother who can say, Oh it was for me, not just to say once and my children obey immediately? There is no such a mother. The same is with us.
Many people ask me if Our Lady has ever talked about the second coming of Jesus? No. Has Our Lady talked about the end of the world? No. Our Lady hasn’t come because of that. Jesus is given to us every day. He is there during the Eucharist in the Holy Mass. And we receive Him in the Holy Mass, alive. Do we need anything more than that? We have to be aware of it. Jesus is being given to us. Are we aware of it? The moment of the Eucharist, when we receive Jesus? Are we aware that we receive Jesus? You say it is us human who always want to touch something, to see something to have proof that there is something there. Blessed are those who do not see, but believe. I do not know what would happen if maybe tomorrow Jesus would knock on the door of your house. What would you say? Who are you? Would we open the door to him? Would we recognize Him? Our Lady teaches us to open our hearts today, to Jesus. To be the living sign today. Today we have to become the living sign. Not to wait for tomorrow and look for signs. That is so important. We have to pray with our heart. To pray out of love; with love. To pray with our entire being. So our prayer may become an encounter with Jesus. May our prayer become an encounter during which Jesus would talk through our heart. Because Jesus talks. Our Lady talks. They are always with us. But there is question, we must respond. We must respond to our own weaknesses. How much time do we spend with Jesus and Mary? Where is our time? That we are supposed to spend with Jesus? Now don’t talk about that you don’t have time. Time is not a problem. Love is the problem. Love moves. Love conquers. Love moves many things in our lives. So when we love something we find time for it. So it should be the same way with prayer. It is so important to be persistent. To start the school of prayer. To attend the school every day, keep studying. As a family, as a society, community. And Our Lady says; ‘Dear children, if you desire to pray better - you have to pray more.’ To pray more is your personal decision. But to pray better is always a grace - a grace given to those who pray more. Therefore, pray more! Thank you.
Questions:
Pilgrim: When people pray for other people, is there an energy force that comes from us to them that helps them to heal? How do we reach other people?
Ivan: I would really like to use the term energy. Our Lady asks from us to support her with our prayers for intentions that she has. And we have to pray. We have to focus on prayer. So our prayers go to Our Lord and Our Lady will set these results of the prayer there where it is needed. And this is a kind of transmission between us and the people we pray for.
Pilgrim: Why does Mary ask us to fast?
Ivan: I just added a little question, today is the feast day I said should we fast and I say no, it is a feast day and we should not fast. It is a practice of the church. Ok? (Laughter…)
It is the design of Our Lady to fast on Weds and Fri. on bread and water. So Our Lady invited us, but did not put any ultimatum on it. She did not say “you have to”. She says those who cannot fast on bread and water, they can fast in other way. Give up something we like, give up something we really - enjoy. What do we love today? Coffee? Cake? Anything that we really like. When we talk about fasting: For me personally, fasting is a real purification of myself. It is the way my spirit will grow and become stronger; my faith as well. I shall compare fasting with a little seed from the Gospel. You see what happened, what happens with the seed, it is planted in the soil. It has to die. To be lost, and later on, out of it, there are fruits that will come. So what is happening with the seed when it does not find good soil? When it comes to the rocky ground or bushes? It will not bear fruit. So we are the ones who are supposed to prepare a good soil. So we may become the good soil where the seed will come. God asks from us just a little bit. And He gives us rewards a hundred times more. Satan does not offer anything, and he takes away everything from us.
Pilgrim: Do you journal your conversations with Mary?
Ivan: I hear this question many times. Yes I do. Why do I do it? For example if the apparition would stop tomorrow. If it happens tomorrow, I could go back in my memories, and everything I have written down I could go back and refresh my memories. And this is for the rest of my life, and to live from this nourishment.
Pilgrim: Is it hard for him to apply and live the messages?
Ivan: We are all human. We all do our best, to live the messages better as possible. During personal conversations with Our Lady I get advice from Our Lady; so she explains things to me some things so I may understand it better. We all must go to the depth of the prayer and living of the messages.
Pilgrim: Has Ivan ever considered publishing his journal? (Laughter)
Translator: If you do so, Mary TV will announce it…(laughter).
Ivan: Maybe one day the apparitions are still taking place, everything has to be recorded very careful about everything, tell and we will just see what timeframe it is.
Pilgrim: Does Our Lady..? Could not hear question…
Ivan: (Laughter); You know you should have asked Vicka about that. I really cannot talk about it, because Our Lady has talked to Ivanka and Vicka, all and so they know. The apparition is established…could not hear.
Pilgrim: Could not hear question…
Ivan: You already heard it; last year March 17 the Vatican commission was established. They have been working really hard, so they are already in possession of all the medical investigations and all the investigations that were done on the visionaries. There are 17 of them. The president of the commission is Cardinal Mirinki, professor Laheko(?). That’s all. They were..they will invite us if they need us. As you know the visionary Ivanka was already with cardinal Mirinki having an interview 2 weeks ago. When are we going to go, are they going to call us? We will see. They have not called yet. You see when they come they are not going to say, “Here we are with all the information”. It’s incomplete. They are always around. It is very secretly done. So we don’t know. Don’t expect any statements from their side, comments. Don’t expect anything as long as the commission works. Don’t expect that tomorrow if I go to Fatima that I will give you some response of how it was. No, I cannot say.
Pilgrim: Is there any comparison to the 30 years of the Blessed Mother, is the 30 years of the life of Christ and the last 3 years?
Ivan: (Laughter)…It’s a tricky one. Some things could be connected, but I am afraid I cannot reveal, talk. Next question.
Pilgrim: Some question about the world, could not hear.
Ivan: We can hope. I said already, she comes as a mother. She is the mother of hope, she wants to bring hope to this world who is tired. She wants to take us in the way of hope; she is not here to bring any fears. If you would ask me personally to bring the sign of the apparitions during the last 30 years, my simple response would be: the greatest sign is the spiritual renewal of the world of mankind. People don’t have to come. They return to prayers. They start prayer books, they start confession; they start to forgiving each other; they started loving each other. In the Eucharist, adoration, how many chapels of adoration have opened after the apparitions started? How many hearts of people are opened in these chapels? Only these two things, nothing else matters. One of the facts that will be proved by the commission on the fruits is – the fruits. Because the Gospel says, you will recognize it by their fruits.
Pilgrim: How can we best support and pray for the visionaries?
Ivan: The best way to support the visionaries is to pray for the visionaries. Any prayer that comes out of our mouth is for faith. Thank you.
Pilgrim: Thank you, Ivan, thank you so much for giving us this time, when you have so little of it during the apparition - thank you so much for giving this time to us. Applause…end.
Copyright © 2011 Ivan Dragicevic
If you wish to see the video of this talk, view it here:
http://www.marytv.tv/
